Discover Grand Rapids Christian Schools
Grand Rapids Christian Schools is an independent, nonprofit, school committed to providing excellence in education to students from preschool through 12th grade. This commitment to academic excellence, along with the teaching of God’s absolute truth by highly qualified, Christian teachers, is what distinguishes Grand Rapids Christian Schools in our region. We hold ourselves to the highest standards as we strive to educate and nurture an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse student body based on a foundation of faith, a tradition of excellence, and a legacy of success.
Foundation of Faith
At Grand Rapids Christian Schools, we are dedicated to educating and inspiring students in a faith-based environment. We believe your child’s potential is God-given and infinite. With dedicated teachers, a caring staff, challenging curricula, wholesome athletics and arts, and high expectations, we let the Spirit work through us to help students achieve their greatest potential.
Our Mission
Preparing students to be effective servants of Christ in contemporary society.
Our Core Values
Students, parents, and staff are made in the image of God and, as a learning community, are committed to fully developing students' gifts in ways that affirm and celebrate each person.
Our school environment conveys God's love and motivates students to understand and delight in God's universe, exploring old and new questions, from a Biblical perspective.
In and outside of the classroom, what we teach and how we teach focuses on understanding our God, the breadth of creation, and how we must respond to God.
Our Christian learning community is committed to excellence, and all students are challenged to develop and use their God-given gifts.
Students are prepared to seek to reclaim God's world through work and service.
Our Statement of Faith
Grand Rapids Christian Schools subscribe to a faith in the triune God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that God has revealed himself in the Bible as a loving God, actively in control of human lives and history.
Our Faith Perspective
“Our World Belongs to God: A Contemporary Testimony” (shared with permission by the Christian Reformed Church in North America) is the Christian perspective that guides Grand Rapids Christian Schools. The Contemporary Testimony provides biblical perspective for the entire curriculum, not just in religion courses. It also affirms that the purpose of education is to enable students to become spiritually wise, world-engaging citizens of God’s Kingdom, not just successful income-earners and good citizens.
For a more detailed explanation of the perspective found in “Our World Belongs to God: A Contemporary Testimony”, click here.
Tradition of Excellence
We serve 2,500 preschool through high school students in the metropolitan Grand Rapids area. Our campuses extend throughout the city and north into Rockford, offering five elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. Grand Rapids Christian Schools also offers a variety of three and four-year-old pre-school options including full- and half-day and Young 5’s.
What follows is a brief description of the GRCS school programs. More detailed information can be found under the Schools tab.
Preschools
We offer a foundation of faith and fun customized for three- to five-year-olds as they begin their journey of interactive learning. Our teachers are fully certified, and our preschool, located at 1050 Iroquois Drive SE, offers a range of scheduling options.
Elementary Schools
Located in Grand Rapids and Rockford, our inclusive, faith-based, education program is designed to meet diverse learning styles.
Grand Rapids Christian Elementary School (GRCES) is open. Located in the heart of one of Grand Rapids’ most historic neighborhoods, the new GRCES site brings together our Christian elementary schools into one, state-of-the-art campus.
Middle Schools
Grand Rapids Christian Schools operates two middle school programs that serve fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at Grand Rapids Christian Middle School (1875 Rosewood SE) and sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at Rockford Christian Middle School (6060 Belding Road).
Our middle school students receive a faith-based, liberal arts education that focuses on academic excellence and fine arts experiences. In addition to outstanding academic programs, middle school students can also participate in a variety of sports. Sixth grade sports are intramural, 7th grade offers no-cut sports, and 8th grade has multiple competitive athletic teams.
High School
Grand Rapids Christian High School provides students in grades nine through twelve with a rigorous academic environment that encourages intellectual, physical and spiritual growth. GRCHS teachers create dynamic classes that invite inquiry, nurture creative thinking and meet the needs of students with different learning styles. A growing list of advanced placement and honors classes gives students the opportunity to excel. GRCHS is a Michigan Class B high school offering more than 20 competitive sports and an array of extra-curricular activities for students to explore. Our three newest initiatives expand students’ opportunities to love the Lord with their whole bodies:
- The DeVos Center for Arts and Worship offers hands-on experience in fine arts, both on stage and behind the scenes.
- Our beautifully renovated athletic stadium boasts synthetic turf, new and expanded bleacher seating, new restroom and locker facilities, as well as a new scoreboard.
- The Quest Center features a renovated competition gymnasium with new bleachers and equipment, updated locker rooms and a new training room. We’ve also added an auxiliary gym with 2 full-size courts, additional spectator seating and an indoor track.
Administration
As an independent, nonprofit school system, Grand Rapids Christian Schools is operated by an Association whose membership consists of parents, staff, donors, and alumni. The Superintendent is the chief administrator of Grand Rapids Christian Schools. We are governed by an Association-elected Board of Trustees, and each of our schools has a Board and a principal to oversee its operations. Grand Rapids Christian Schools is a member of Christian Schools International, an association of Christian schools in the evangelical, reformed tradition.
Teachers, Counselors and Staff
Teachers, counselors and staff at Grand Rapids Christian Schools (GRCS) integrate faith and knowledge everyday in our classrooms. Our teaching community is centered around demonstrating the nurturing love of God within an environment that is passionate for excellence and the achievement of each child.
The principles that follow represent core values at Grand Rapids Christian Schools and will guide the educational programs and delivery of instruction at the new Grand Rapids Christian Elementary School.
Knowing and Serving God, Knowing and Serving Children
Knowing and Serving God
- A comprehensive academic program that combines high academic standards with a wide range of educational and extracurricular opportunities – all taught from a Christian worldview by committed and highly-qualified Christian teachers – offers an enriching education grounded in God’s truth without compromise.
- The faith of our students is deepened—as the Spirit works in each of us—through meaningful relationships with Christian role models, testimony, biblical knowledge, and opportunities to reflect Christ within the school, immediate neighborhood, and broader community. Students are equipped to discern right from wrong, which prepares them to be agents of change in every aspect of their communities.
- Classrooms with students of all ability levels representing ethnically and socio-economically diverse communities, taught by trained Christian teachers committed to the unique cause of Christian education, reflect God’s kingdom and best equip students for lives of service in a global community.
- A Christian community—rooted in shared faith, strengthened through prayer and love for each other, and joined in practices that nurture faith and worship God—becomes united in purpose.
Knowing and Serving Children
- Teaching, learning, and the formation of faith in the lives of students are a shared responsibility, occur in community, and are accomplished best when done in partnership with parents and the church.
- Faculty committed to personally knowing and fully supporting students and families academically, spiritually, and socially creates a nurturing environment unique to a Christian education that values each child as a unique image-bearer of God.
- Teachers’ collaborative response to individual student performance, measured against rigorous academic standards, strengthens teaching and prepares students for future learning.
- Relevant instruction that is differentiated and delivered individually and in small and large groups results in high levels of student achievement.
- Early interventions and challenges, along with appropriate corresponding validation, are critical components in students’ mastery of academic standards.
- High expectations, a challenging curriculum for all students, and a belief that every child can succeed are important hallmarks of a high-quality Christian school.
Legacy of Success
Grand Rapids Christian Schools’ tradition of excellence in education began in 1969 when eight (Creston, East Paris, GRCHS, Mayfield, Millbrook, Seymour, Sylvan, and Oakdale) area Christian schools formed the Grand Rapids Christian School Association. While conforming to the high standards and guiding principles set forth by the Association, the schools have kept the unique characteristics that made them outstanding neighborhood schools. Forty years later, the Association consists of five elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school.
Of the Class of 2009, 97% will attend colleges and universities in the fall. Our graduates are among the best in their fields and have used their education to make positive contributions to their communities, professions and churches. Our loyal alumni remain active in GRCS activities and sustain us with their generous contributions and unwavering support.
As we have grown and changed, Grand Rapids Christian Schools’ love for the Lord, commitment to diversity and tradition of excellence has remained. It is a tradition built on a foundation of faith and the knowledge that all of life and learning belongs to our Lord and Savior.
Our mission to equip students to be effective servants of Christ continues to guide our work as we build on our rich heritage and continue to look toward a bright future together.