Christian Heritage School (Tyler, Texas)

Christian Heritage School is a Co-Educational, Private Christian School located in Tyler, Texas. It has classes from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and currently had a total school enrollment of roughly 250. Mr. James V. Kilkenny is the current Headmaster and Mr. Elias Hernandez in the Dean of students and also athletic director.

School History

In the late 1970s, the evangelical Christian organization Youth With a Mission decided to establish a school for children to serve the greater Tyler, Texas area. YWAM believed part of its mission was to teach students to have them serve the nations of the world through education. YWAM purchased an old school building and site near the Dixie neighborhood of Southst Tyler, directly behind Tyler Pounds Field Airport. The name of the school was Dixie School that had served the immediate area for almost 40 years. The building was purchased from Tyler Independent School District after TISD built the new (and current) Dixie Elementary School, roughly 3 miles from the old location. YWAM took the school and renovated it.

The school was renovated to keep the older educational look to it, while bringing in modern renovations. The old Dixie school football field was converted to a soccer pitch, and the gynamsium would have a chemistry lab installed inside and locker rooms and weight rooms were added in the second level of the gynmasium. New playground equipment was installed for elementary students and a cafe was built for students to eat lunch in. The school opened officially in 1980.

Academics

CHS had a very rigorous, college preparatory, Christian centered education, based on Christian worldview. The standards for admission are somewhat high, as students applying must score at least on grade level on a standardized admission test which is administered prior to becing accepted, and must come from a family whose parents are Christians and are active members of a local church. CHS has small senior classes, ranging from 10-20 typically, but has ACT and SAT scores much higher than the national average and has a 100 percent college bound rate for seniors.

The teachers have a somewhat unusual agreement with the school. Most teachers are from other parts of the country and the world, and as part of becoming full fledged internationally practiced teachers to other parts of the world, and as such, are not paid for their teaching duties, they must rely on dontations from school benefactors or sponsors affiliated with YWAM for income. Despite this arrangement, many teachers stay at CHS if they find steady income and continue to teach for many years.

Athletics

Christian Heritage offers athletics for students in grades 6-8 for middle school teams, and 9-12 for high school teams. The mascot is the Patriots, in respect for America's Christian Heritage. Junior High fall sports include Boys Soccer, Girls Volleyball, and Boys and Girls Cross Country. Winter sports are Boys and Girls basketball, and Spring sports are Boys and girls track and boys and girls tennis. Baseball and softball were once part of the program, but were cancelled due to lack of interest.

High school sports include Men's Soccer, Women's Volleyball, Mens and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's basketball, Men's and Women' Track and Field, and Men's and women's Tennis.

The men's soccer team has won 3 national small private school titles and multiple state championships, as have the women's volleyball team, and the track teams have also won state championships as well.

CHS competes in the Texas Christian Athletic League (T-CAL) in conference AA. It was a member of the now defunct East Texas Christian Conference district, but now competes in the "Eastern Texas" division of T-CAL. CHS accepts home schooled students to compete with the school's athletic teams, in accordance with T-CAL rules.

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References

1. ^ "Christian Heritage School". EducationBug. http://texas.educationbug.org/private-schools/12895-christian-heritage-school.html. Retrieved 31 January 2011.