Praise be to God for His provision to VCS. As Chapter 43 comes to a close and we prepare for Chapter 44 (the 2025-26 school year), I wanted to personally share a few updates with you from the desk of the Head of School.
Before we get into some specifics, I want to share a link to our 2025 High School Commencement ceremony. It would be impossible to sum up an entire year or our entire organization in a short video, but if there was one, I think this might be it
Student Body President, Luke Fuller, and Senior Class President, Abigail Stipp, both did a marvelous job at the 2025 Commencement Ceremony. Luke’s speech, in particular, moved me to the brink of tears with gratefulness (if the link does not start you right at 35:23, fast forward to that point). Luke referenced some of what happened in the classroom this year (VCS’ first pillar: academic excellence) and referenced the relationships between the senior class and even the larger VCS community (VCS’ second pillar: lifelong community). Then Luke gave a 3-minute Gospel presentation that was one of the best I’ve ever heard, and certainly the best I’ve ever heard from a student (VCS’ third pillar: spiritual growth). Our Spiritual Life Director, Dr. Greg Tonkinson, then went on to deliver an incredible message of hope and inspiration, consistently lifting up the Lord’s name. And at the 8th grade promotion the day before and the kindergarten graduation the week before, the same thing happened – God’s name was lifted up.
At Valley Christian Schools, we have the wonderful privilege of doing some excellent things inside the classroom, on the athletic fields, across stages all over the country, and on ministry sites all over the world. But even considering all that we do, there is nothing more important or impactful than sharing the Good News that an Almighty God created us in His image, and that while we were yet sinners, He sent his Son to die for us to pay the penalty for our sin. This is the primary reason the faculty and staff at VCS do what they do – equipping students to be well-qualified and well-prepared culture changers for Christ. Praise be to God!
As we prepare for 2025-26, we have shared a “big four” priorities with our staff, and we’ve begun to share these with our parents at our Parent University sessions. If you are a VCS parent and haven’t already attended a session, we’re excited to see you either on June 14 (Foundations of the Faith) or July 22 (Practical VCS Culture). July 22 will be particularly interesting and helpful for our partnership. Some quick notes about our “big four”:
1. 2025-26 Theme: Who We Say We Are
- We have been working hard at, first, best defining who we are as a school, and, second, best-representing who we are in every area. This includes defining, communicating, and living out our mission, vision, and core values, as well as defining our staff culture and hiring priorities, and even prioritizing and pursuing our partnership with parents. I can’t wait for you to see some of the manifestations of this theme in action during the 25-26 school year.
2. ACSI Accreditation
- Every six years, VCS is jointly accredited by Arizona Christian Schools International (ACSI) and Cognia. Aligned with our theme next year, accreditation is a thorough evaluation of who we say we are on paper and who we truly are every day. Our board, administration, and staff are each excited to contribute to this effort in 2025-26, with our ACSI visit scheduled for the fall of 2026.
3. Partnering with Parents & the Local Church
- As we shared in January, we added a 5th core value this year: “Partnering with Parents & the Local Church to strengthen the three-legged stool of student support.” Our pursuit and dedication to this partnership is primarily built around communication, transparency, and accountability on each side of this partnership. Our Parent University initiative developed from this, as did our Transparency page and our plans for a Parent Advisory Council (more soon). Prior to this core value being added, we also began year-round parent surveys via Parent Pulse and quarterly response videos called “We are Listening.” Going forward, this “From the Head of School’s Desk” blurb will be part of 1-2 of our Staying Connected e-newsletters each month as a way of placing our overall vision for VCS in front of our parents on an even more regular basis.
4. Classroom As Core
- “Classroom as core” is one of the school’s 24 cultural values, as we boldly acknowledge that our work begins in the classroom. Our ancillary and support programs – which are critically important to us, as well – are successful chiefly because we are first successful in the classroom. There are some exciting things ahead stemming from this initiative, and we will share each of them as we are able. Perhaps most notably for now, our decisions to move early release from Friday to Wednesday this past year, and our decision to move K-8 chapels from Tuesday to Wednesday and to adjust our 5th-8th grade daily schedule from 8 periods to 7 are each a result of our prioritization of our classrooms. We’ve also shifted some departments and personnel around to free up our Principals and Vice Principals to be able to spend more time in the classroom and with students, as we have adopted a “Leaders live in the classroom” mantra for our school.
We are grateful and honored to serve you. Each summer, we pray for our team members’ summers to be both highly restful and highly productive. We pray the same for you, as you likely take additional time with your family during the next two months. We hope to see many of you at our summer camps, but for the rest of our parents and students, we can’t wait to see you when school returns on Wednesday, August 6th!
Soli Deo gloria,
Troy A. Thelen
Head of School