A Faithful God in a Time of Transition – From the Board of Directors

Heritage Families, as the end of the 2021-22 school year draws to a close, we pause to reflect on all that has happened this past year. There have been challenges, blessings, and uncertainty; through it all, God has remained faithful, sovereign and patient.

We still had to deal with the challenges of the COVID pandemic with the Omicron variant, but by God’s grace, Heritage was able to maintain in-person learning for the school year. The students were blessed by the diligence of the teachers and staff in not only providing sound academics, but by daily preaching of the gospel and partnering with parents in discipling our children.

We have had our share of uncertainty this year. Last fall, Mr. Scott Montgomery announced that he would leave Heritage at the end of the 2021-22 school year to pursue other endeavors as he has felt led to do. More recently, Miss Tammy Veenstra (Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment/Algebra and Pre-Algebra teacher) announced that she will be leaving Heritage as well to pursue the next chapter of what God has in store for her. In between these two announcements, we learned of other staff (finance director and teachers) transitions for next school year. Finally, we will have some transition of leadership on the Board as well, with long time members finishing their terms.

All the transitions can seem overwhelming if we choose to focus on the uncertainty associated with them. Instead, if we focus on God, the constant (“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” – Hebrews 13:8), things seem much more manageable. The worries become a glimmer of hope, and the hope grows to confidence in the reminder that Heritage Christian School has always been God’s school. Its mission, “we exist to serve Christ by partnering with parents to provide biblically faithful, academically excellent education,” will not change and it is not dependent on who is serving as the Head of School, the Curriculum Director, teaching in the classrooms, nor serving on the Board.

As we continue to pray, trust, and wait on God’s provision for the next Head of School (HOS) and to fill the remaining positions on the staff for next school year, the Board will continue to work diligently. As announced at the May 5th ICACSA meeting, we have partnered with CACE (Center for the Advancement of Christian Education) to help us with a search for an interim HOS for the 2022-23 school year. Once that person is identified and on boarded, we will continue to partner with CACE for the search for a Head of School for the 2023-24 school year and beyond. Some of the many reasons we decided to partner with CACE are:

• Their commitment to Christian education.
• Their understanding of the importance of the need to select the right interim HOS candidate to build groundwork for the following year for the new HOS.
• Their familiarity with Teaching for Transformation. In fact, they are the ones who developed it.

Please join us in thanking Mr. Montgomery, Miss Veenstra, and the rest of the teachers and staff for all they have done in teaching, loving, and discipling our kids. For those who are transitioning, we pray for God’s peace in their next endeavors. For all of us, especially the teachers and staff, we pray for a chance to refresh and recharge over the summer. Please continue to pray for God’s wisdom and provision as we continue with the HOS search. As things develop with the search, we will keep you updated.