Bellevue Christian School

Great school. Really nice bus drivers too. The staff is really nice here. 1A school. Come and see and check out the Web site for more information on the school.

No use keeping it a secret. I was on the faculty at Bellevue Christian for many years, and my children all attended BCS from pre-​school through 12^th grade. I am retired now, but I will be a BCS booster for life. Now that I’ve disclosed where I’m coming from, I hope you will find that the information I give you is still useful and reliable.
Bellevue Christian breaks a lot of stereotypes. I’d like to talk about four of those stereotypes, beginning with the one that private Christian schools are elitist. The school’s philosophical bent towards respecting students as unique individuals of great worth favors a more open admission policy than some private schools have. BCS does not screen students for academic ability, in fact the school takes some students in its Special Academic Services program that have needs that cannot be met in public schools. Bellevue Christian prepares students well without being a prep school or cherry picking students. Standardized test scores are not released to newspapers, but that policy has everything to do with educational philosophy, and nothing to do with how the school’s scores match up with those of other schools. Interested families can request both test information and an explanation of why the school doesn’t use test scores for recruitment purposes.
A second stereotype is that private schools are academically superior to public schools. Academic excellence is a complicated issue. BCS students probably win more than their share of awards, and some go on to the most exclusive universities, but a school should not be judged by how its best students do. Schools should be democratic institutions. For young people whose attendance is mandatory, they should be able to depend on a school doing its best for them whether or not they are academically gifted. BCS achieves academic excellence in a way that compared to other schools is more philosophically defensible. Excellence comes from people working together rather than competing against each other, and excellence is achieved and valued in all school programs. Excellence in the classroom is matched by excellence in the music department, the athletic department, the drama department, the art department, and in student government. BCS staff members care deeply about their school and about the students and their families. The same can be said about the parent body, but the bottom line is that the students themselves are involved in the programs and are vested in each other and in what they can achieve together.
The third stereotype is that Christian Schools have «good discipline,» i. e., lots of rules that are rigorously enforced. In all honesty, BCS teachers vary in the amount of control they exert over their students. Where there is more agreement is in a general philosophy that relationships are more important than rules. This is not a rationale for accepting poor behavior, in fact it is a call for everyone to live far above the minimum standards that the rules set. Most of the students at BCS «get it» sooner or later. Student-​teacher relationships are strong. Students learn to be responsible when given trust. Lifetime friendships are common. Finally, the general status-​definers like good looks, athletic ability, clothes and wealth are noticeably less in play at BCS.
A fourth stereotype is that Christian schools indoctrinate students and shelter them from «the real world.» There are some basic beliefs BCS teachers hold in common, but more often than not, issues that are discussed in our broader communities and in our nation are treated as opportunities for students to sharpen their thinking, discover their own personal values, and relate to those who may have very different perspectives. Students are challenged to be leaders as thinkers and doers, rather than buying into someone else’s idea of what it looks like to be «successful.» Discussions are much more common than lectures.
Bellevue Christian is different from any other school I am acquainted with. It has a rich philosophical heritage. (Pick up «Second Sight» by Lowell Hagan at the BCS bookstore.) If you’re «shopping» for a school, don’t buy into the stereotypes, and don’t make your decision by simply crunching numbers like dollars and test scores. You could miss out on a school experience that will enrich your entire family.