GRCS Superintendent Welcome

Summer 2021

Dear Grand Rapids Christian Schools Families and Friends:

As we enter the 2021-2022 school year, we have much to celebrate, including the 100-year anniversary of Grand Rapids Christian High School, which opened its doors in 1921. Today, as has been true for 100 years, Grand Rapids Christian Schools students are prepared to thrive throughout their communities, in classrooms, on performing arts stages, and on athletic fields for another year of learning and growing in their faith.  

This fall, we will welcome nearly 2,300 Preschool — 12th-grade students at five campuses from an ever-expanding geographical region. Enrollment is very strong across all grades and, in fact, has grown by more than 150 students over the 2020-2021 school year.  In order to ensure each student receives an excellent education in classrooms where they are known well by Christian educators, we have hired 25 new faculty and staff over the summer season.   

We have experienced first-hand a renewed enthusiasm for Christian education from increasing numbers of parents throughout our community, which is a reflection of a deepened appreciation for providing a child with an education that uniquely prepares them to be effective servants of Christ in contemporary society.

Though we are still uncertain about how the pandemic may impact school this year, we are committed to honoring health and safety protocols in order to protect our students and staff.  We are grateful to have been able to make masks optional during our summer academic and childcare programs. We are indebted to our parents and staff for their diligence and for the partnership we realized with health officials throughout the past year.  We will continue to maintain close contact with them to ensure cleaning protocols and practices are in place in order to keep students healthy and in school. As more details are known, they will once again be shared with parents as we approach the start of school and throughout the coming school year.   

Grand Rapids Christian is more than just a Christian school in Grand Rapids. It's a community of Christians who come from all walks of life, from a variety of backgrounds, and with varying faith practices. It is a school that prepares students for lives of service locally, nationally, and abroad. At all levels and at each campus, students grounded in Christian faith excel, maximize their potential, and meaningfully engage with each other and their community. It’s what is necessary to truly reflect God’s kingdom and prepare students to impact the world as His servants.

Whether it is pursuing subjects in personalized learning in the elementary grades, leading small groups and deepening understandings of personal faith in middle school, or engaging in two-week domestic and international excursions during Winterim at the high school level, Grand Rapids Christian students experience God’s call on their lives in environments masterfully planned by skillful and nurturing Christian educators. And after they graduate from Grand Rapids Christian High School, Grand Rapids Christian alumni continue their connection to the school community they call home, enrolling their own children and encouraging their grandchildren to enroll at GRC so that they may experience what they experienced. 

Thank you for partnering with our more than 450 faculty and staff in the education of your children.  They and you differentiate Grand Rapids Christian Schools; you are the reason we continue to be the school of choice for thousands of families, alumni, and members of our community.

Grand Rapids Christian isn’t simply a school — it's a community that everyone is able to call home.

 Tom DeJonge
Superintendent, Grand Rapids Christian Schools
tdejonge@grcs.org