Written By Miranda Beard, Chamber High School Intern
When asked, “What do you strive to see in your students?,” James and Anne Hubbard agreed that good values, integrity, having a shared Christian faith, demonstrating leadership and performing good services are what they both like to see.
New Covenant Christian School is 35 years old and was originally founded in 1981 with only a handful of students and rooted in the Anabaptist denomination. There are now 40-50 Christian denominations represented at the establishment and almost 260 full-time students. Within the last 15 years, the high school grades were introduced into the school, making the whole building a mixture of younger and older students. Anne Hubbard, director of development, and her husband James Hubbard, principal, represent the New Covenant Christian School.
The question about having a school uniform always comes about when you think about private schools. Anne replied and said that there is no school uniforms but students are required to dress in a way that is modest and is "honoring to those around them." The average class size at the school is about 17 students per grade. Anne and James mentioned that this was very suitable for their students because they learn and grow together and develop good relationships with each other, as well as with the teachers.
James said that he
believes the enrollment rates will increase next year, resulting in having over
280 students attending. The school has a total of 45 full-time and part-time
faculty members; 25 of them are teachers. The school has a holding capacity of about
300 students.
New Covenant Christian School has the same GPA system as most other schools in the area. The GPA system includes 90-100 being an A, 80-90 being a B, and so on. Their curriculum consists of integrated Christian Bible classes, chapel classes, and apologetics classes that are required for graduation. Starting in K4, the students are required to do projects that connect them with God. When the students get into the high school grades, they are able to participate in the mission trips that the school leads. The students will be fundraising for a mission trip to the Dominican Republic in the upcoming months.
James mentioned that “hybrid classes” are something with which the school is experimenting depending on the needs of different grades and classes. Hybrid classes have the class period split between stations with each focusing on different forms of instruction. There is a station where the teacher directly lectures, an independent station where students can work individually, and a collaborative station where students can work together on projects.
The school is also currently conducting a capital campaign for their new Student Life Center. It is a $2.5 million campaign that James said will have another kickoff again next year to keep donations coming in and help raise additional funds. The center should only take about six months to build once funds have been raised. James said that they need about $1.8 million to get started. This new center is designed to add additional classrooms, expand the school’s athletic facility, and it will feature a larger court space and gymnasium. Currently, limited athletic space requires that some of the sports teams travel to Summit International School of Ministry for their practices and games, which is about 20 minutes away from the school.
When asked the percentage rate of New Covenant’s seniors who graduate and go off to college, James answered about 90 percent. “Most kids end up going to tech schools, or traditional colleges like Lebanon Valley College, Messiah, Millersville, and New York University,” he said. He also said the students are competitive academically. New Covenant’s retention rates are high, and its enrollment continues to increase annually.
Anne made it very clear that the students’ relationships with God are a “big deal” within the walls of the school. Anne said that this relationship serves a “sweet purpose” because the students learn that by having a friendship with God, “He will know all.” She also said, “He [God] knows the right things for you, who you will marry, and who your friends are going to be.”
Both Anne and James made an effort to point out that Christianity is woven into their student life at the school, and it is not just part of the school’s name. The school offers a mentoring program which consists of over 30 individuals who work with those who are younger than them; upperclassmen students can also have staff mentoring them.
James mentioned that in
order to be enrolled in the school, one parent must have a Christian background.
Having a basic understanding of the Christian faith is essential to a student
coming into the school.
Upcoming fundraising events that New Covenant Christian School will be hosting include their 2016 Golf Tournament which is being held on Thursday, May 26, at 1 p.m. at Fairview Golf Course located in Lebanon. Another event that the school will be hosting is “An Evening with Frank Reich,” who is the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. This event will be held Friday, May 6, from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Lebanon
Area Evangelical Free Church located on 600 Shepherd Street in Jonestown.
To register for these fundraising events or for more information about New Covenant Christian School, call 717-274-2423, or visit their website at www.nccspa.org.
