Harvest Christian School celebrates a decade

It would be impossible to convince the founders, current board members, staff, parents and students at Harvest Christian School that there wasn’t more than a little divine intervention in the school’s first 10 years.

How else do you explain how a private Christian school has grown from a school with 27 students in a borrowed home to a flourishing educational facility with more than 150 kindergarten through eighth-grade students in its own home with 10 classrooms, a library, computer lab, art room, multi-purpose/cafeteria and outdoor playground.

The school is located in an industrial park on Lakeville Highway, but doesn’t seem to be a hindrance to parents who bring their children from all over Sonoma and Marin counties to learn not only academics, but about community and Christian-based values.

“We have been successful because people want a Christian school in town, and because of the commitment of our board members and parents,” says school principal Jonathan Wraith.

“At the center it is God,” emphasizes board president Lesha Harding. “God has been our guide and has directed us. There is no ego involved. We all have pride in the school. You see it all over the place. Whatever needs to be done, someone does it.”

“It is our style of education (that attracts families),” says board vice-president Beth See. “No other school offers the same Christ-centered classical education. We teach the students how to write well, think well and speak well with Christ in the middle of it all.”

While the emphasis is on a classic education (you won’t hear common core standards mentioned, and students still learn to write cursive), Harvest Christian has moved into the world of technology with Google Chromebooks purchased through a Petaluma Educational Foundation Major Impact Grant in its computer lab.

“Technology is here, but we understand that it is a tool,” says Wraith.

While the school prides itself on its academic achievement, arts and athletics have not been neglected. Music and drama are important and a highlight of the school year is the students’ annual production of a school play, with all grade levels participating. This year’s production was “The Music Man.”

The school participates in a variety of sports including boys and girls basketball, co-ed cross country, co-ed volleyball, co-ed flag football, co-ed soccer, track and field.

Wraith points out that students who leave Harvest Christian are well-prepared for high school. “We have graduates all over the place, and they are all doing extremely well,” he says. “It is exciting to see are students go on to high school and be successful there.”

The quality of the school was recently re-confirmed when it received its second three-year accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Harding says the school is available to anyone who wants a Christian-based education for their children. “We are affordable,” she says. “We have financial help so families can afford to send their children here.”

Another attraction, according to Harding, is the small student-to-teacher radio, 15 to 20 students in each grade. “Because of the small class size, we are able to recognize individual students and set them up for success,” she says.

With “affordable” tuition, small class size and the other expenses involved in running a k-eighth-grade school, financing is always a concern.

Funding comes from tuition, grants and private donations.

“It’s a challenge,” says Wraith.

Harding describes it a bit differently. “It is a work of faith every year,” she says. “Every year, we manage to work it out.”

Two of the founding teachers are still with the school.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to start at ground zero and watch it grow and flourish” says fifth-grade teacher Kerie Fink. “I love teaching the gospel and I love the children.”

“I love the families and the people I work with, agrees kindergarten teacher Jill Meekins. “I like the fact that faith in God is part of everything we do. Not to mention kindergarten is the best class. You don’t have to earn the students respect, they just give it naturally.”

Board member Colton Irving, one of the original board members and one of the leaders behind the original dream, says much of the credit for Harvest Christian’s 10-year success goes to founding teachers like Fink and Meekins, along with current leaders Harding and Wraith.

“Without them we wouldn’t be where we’re at,” he says. He also praises the contributions made by secretary Stacey Arancio, who not only keeps things running smoothly, but was also one of the originators of the school’s important Parent Teachers Federation.

“I’m proud of our reputation in the community,” Irving says. “The spirit we have here and share with the community is a nice thing for the entire community.”

After more than doubling in student population from the time the school moved into its current home at 3700 Lakeville Highway and more than doubling in facility size at that location, Harvest Christian School is well entrenched as part of the Petaluma school community, but in the spirit that led to its birth and growth, its leaders dream on.

“we would like to have a k-12 school on one campus,” says Harding. “It is important to have one campus so the older students can mentor and be role models for the younger ones and both can learn from the other.”

It seems like a stretch, but a Harvest Christian School with K-8 classrooms and a growing enrollment seemed like a big stretch just 10 years ago.

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscourier.com)