HONORING OUR PAST: A HISTORY OF OUTSTANDING FACULTY

One of Worthington Christian’s essential values is recruiting and developing an outstanding faculty. Student after student, and alumnus after alumnus, share that it is WC’s teachers that have had the most significant impact on their lives. School leader after school leader considers WC’s teachers as the heartbeat of the school. Over 40% of teachers K-12 hold graduate degrees in their field. Beyond statistics, what cannot be measured is how intentional and caring this group of outstanding teachers show themselves to be on a daily basis—they are truly outstanding. 

Considering the school’s 50-year history, having an outstanding faculty has always been a fundamental element of Worthington Christian. The school’s first leaders determined that “recruiting highly qualified teachers to deliver an academically exceptional education” was one of their three top priorities from the school’s onset. Even in its earliest years of existence in the 1970s, WC quickly developed a reputation for academic excellence delivered by incredible educators. Grace Brethren Senior Pastor and school visionary Jim Custer recalls how WC earned such a reputation so early in its existence. He explains, “Nearly all of the people that stepped forward to become WC’s earliest faculty members were educators with many years of experience…Many had taught their whole lives, some even deciding to come out of retirement and teach again just to be a part of what God was doing here. It was a sense of mission that brought such experienced educators in the school’s first years.” As is true today, WC’s first teachers were not only marked by experience and scholastic excellence but also a firm commitment to Christ-centered teaching. In Pastor Custer’s words, “[WC’s first teachers] had this sense that their work was about praising the LORD, and they literally brought that Sunday morning worship experience into their classrooms.”