Westminster Christian Academy (Missouri)

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Westminster Christian Academy
The archway in front of the main entrance of Westminster Christian Academy
Location
St. Louis, MO, USA
Information
Enrollment	approx. 865
Faculty	73 Full Time / 5 Part Time Jim Marsh, Headmaster Dr. James Sefrit, US Principal Steve Hall, MS Principal Tim Hall, Dean of Students Scott Holley, Dean of Academics
Type	Private
Established	1976
Colors Mascot	Blue and white Wildcat
Homepage	http://www.wcastl.org

Westminster Christian Academy (WCA) is a private,Christian school, 7-12 grade secondary school located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States.

The school currently has an enrollment of approximately 865 students in grades 7 through 12. It is further divided into an Upper School (9-12) of approximately 611 students and a Middle School (7-8) of approximately 254 students.^[1] Tuition for the 2008-2009 school year is $11,050USD regardless of grade.^[2]

[edit] History

Westminster Christian Academy opened on September 7, 1976 to 72 students. In the first two years, Westminster operated out of rented classrooms from Missouri Baptist University. After two years of renting space, the administration purchased a campus known as the "Des Peres School" in Kirkwood, Missouri. In four years after moving to that campus, the student body had quadrupled, and it was obvious that Westminster had to move to a bigger campus. So in 1982, they purchased the Creve Couer campus, where they are at today.^[3]

[edit] Campuses

[edit] Creve Coeur Campus

Purchased in 1984, the 30 acre Creve Coeur Campus serves as the primary campus for the school.

In 1999, the school started an $11 million construction and renovation project. With the money, the school added a new gymnasium, new student commons, new senior and 8th grade hallway wings, a new weightlifting facility and locker rooms, a new bookstore, and new offices. Dubbed the "Creve Coeur Campus", the building has over 150,000 square feet, a 25 yard indoor pool, library, two gymnasiums, cafeteria, academic and administrative rooms, and outdoor sports facilities.

[edit] Town and Country Campus

In 2002, Westminster purchased the campus of the West County Vocational Technical School in Town and Country with plans to renovate the space to serve for future growth of the school. Currently, the property is being rented out to unaffiliated associations and is also used for various school activities. The school has recently announced plans to move the school to this location in the fall of 2011. Additionally, an adjacent parcel of land was purchased from Central Presbyterian Church. The purchase was made possible by a donation to Westminster by an anonymous supporter^[4]. Plans are underway for a total of $50 million in renovations of the property in anticipation of the school moving to this new campus in 2011. The current site plan contemplates the addition of a multitude of fields for both practicing on and hosting games, 2-3 gymnasiums, 1 theater that seats 1000, black box theatre, a football stadium, soccer field, 2-4 practice fields, ice rink, swimming pool, and many storage facilities and locker rooms^[5].

[edit] Academics

Westminster is strong academically -- during the 1990-1991 school year, it was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education^[6]. 61% of the faculty have advanced degrees, including 7 doctorates^[7]. During a recent school year, 100% of the graduates went on to college and the school had 6 National Merit Semifinalists/Finalists and 7 National Merit Commended Scholars^[8]. The school also offers a Special Services program to address the educational needs of those families who have students with diagnosed disabilities^[9]. Westminster was the first Christian school to be accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS)^[10], an accredidation which the school maintains to this day^[11]. The school is also accredited by Christian Schools International^[12].

[edit] Activities

[edit] Athletics

Westminster Christian Academy has a large and successful athletic program. In June 2007, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ranked Westminster Christian Academy as the number one athletics program among small schools in the St. Louis metro region^[13][14]. The upper school fields 9 men's teams, 11 women's teams, and 2 co-ed teams that compete as part of the Missouri State High School Activities Association.

In 2006 in the Missouri state Class 4, both the men's and women's basketball teams were ranked in the top ten in the state. The men were ranked #9 and the women were ranked #4.

In 2005, Westminster Christian's Academic Competition team (coached by Bob Vass) won the MSHSAA state championship, which is the only MSHSAA title that Westminster has to date. However, many other teams have earned "Final Four" honors at the state level.

Wrestlers have continued to put more wrestlers in the state competition year after year.

[edit] Community Service

The student organizations and each class participate in community service projects. In addition, the seniors participate in “Faith in Action,” a unique program in which they serve in various help agencies throughout the St. Louis community for two hours each Thursday morning of the school year^[15].

[edit] Headmasters^[16]

• Nolan Vander Ark, 1976-1977 - The school's first Headmaster had previously served as a Christian Reformed missionary in Africa^[17].
• Evelyn Downs, 1977-1981 (first year as Interim Headmaster) - The school's first and only headmistress. Her son, Brian Downs (Class of 1983) was killed while serving in the Air Force in Iraq^[18][19].
• Arlen Dykstra, 1981-1984 - Oversaw the relocation of the school to the current location and the accredidation of the school through Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) during his tenure^[20]. Westminster annually gives the Arlen R. Dykstra Master Teaching Award, a $1,000 bonus, to an instructor who exhibits outstanding teaching skills^[21]. Currently serving as provost and vice president for academic affairs for Missouri Baptist University^[22].
• Larry Birchler, 1984-1985 (Acting Headmaster) - Currently serving as registrar for the school^[23].
• Jim Marsh, 1985-present

[edit] Memberships

Westminster is a member of the following organizations:

• Missouri Association for College Admission Counseling (MOACAC)
• National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)
• The College Board
• Independent Schools of St. Louis
• Christian Schools Association of St. Louis
• Christian Schools International (CSI)
• National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)

[edit] Notable alumni

• Curtis Francois, 1982, race car driver in the Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series^[24][25].
• Michael Gerson, 1982, former presidential speechwriter for George W. Bush and one of Time Magazine's "25 Most Influential Evangelicals In America"^[26][27].
• Stephen Hauser, 1988, author of screenplay for 1998 movie, Sphere, based on Michael Crichton's 1987 novel by the same name^[28][29].
• Mark F. "Thor" Hearne, 1979, attorney, national counsel to Bush-Cheney 2004 Campaign, 2004 recipient of Missouri Lawyers Weekly Missouri Lawyer of the Year Award^[30][31][32].
• Barth Holohan, 1991, owner of St. Louis based Continuum and 2007 recipient of St. Louis Business Journal's 40 under 40 award^[33][34].
• Andrea Mackris, 1989, FOX News television producer, allegedly harassed by Bill O'Reilly^[35].
• Sandra McCracken, 1995, singer-songwriter^[36][37].
• Jack L. Oliver III, 1987, Republican strategist, chairman of Bryan Cave Strategies, LLC and 2007 recipient of St. Louis Business Journal's 40 under 40 award^[38][39][40].
• George Thampy, valedictorian 2005, Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion in 2000 while homeschooled, entered Harvard University Fall 2007, featured in the movie Spellbound^[41][42].

[edit] Notable faculty and staff

• L.B. Graham, Bible teacher, author of Binding of the Blade epic fantasy series.^[43].
• Todd Worrell, Baseball Pitching Coach, former Major League Baseball pitcher is a pitching coach for the school's baseball team^[44][45].

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Westminster Christian Academy