Briarcrest Christian School

Briarcrest Christian School is an independent coeducational college preparatory school with two campuses in Shelby County, Tennessee, in Memphis (2 year old to Grade 5) and Eads (3 year old to Grade 12).

History

The school opened in 1973. Programs for kindergarten through Grade 8 began in 1973, as Briarcrest Baptist School System, and a program for Grades 9-12 was added in 1974. In the early years, Briarcrest maintained as many as 12 locations in Southern Baptist churches throughout the Memphis area. In 1989 the school split from the founding church and re-chartered as an independent school, Briarcrest Christian School. Over the next 20 years, Briarcrest Christian School grew to 1,600 students and became strong financially, as evidenced by the successful completion of elementary through high school and athletic facilities on its campus on Houston Levee Road east of Memphis.^[1]

Program

Briarcrest is now non-denominational. Christian values and biblical morals are taught and practiced throughout the program. All students attend weekly chapel services, study the Bible and are encouraged to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Briarcrest offers honors, advanced placement and dual enrollment classes. Fine arts programs begin in preschool and continue through grade 12 in visual arts, choral music, instrumental music, general music, and theatre arts.

Accreditation and affiliations

The school has dual accreditation from the Southern Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Briarcrest is also a member of the Association of Christian Schools International, Tennessee Association of Independent Schools, Memphis Association of Independent Schools, and the College Board.

Sports

Briarcrest participates in TSSAA Division II West AA for large schools, competing with both private and public schools in the region. Since 1998, Briarcrest has won nine state championships (six of which, two in football and four in girl's basketball, were coached by current Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze). The school offers a wide range of athletic offerings including football, baseball, basketball, wrestling, cross country, golf, extreme bowling, swimming, trap shooting, softball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, track, tennis, prom and cheerleading.

Notable alumni

• Michael Oher - University of Mississippi and Tennessee Titans football player; First team all-Southeastern Conference football team 2006;^[2] subject of book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, by Michael Lewis; and subject of the 2009 movie The Blind Side, written and directed by John Lee Hancock. In the movie, Briarcrest Christian School is fictionally represented as Wingate Christian School. Michael also authored an autobiography, I Beat the Odds.^[3]
• Jim Mabry - University of Arkansas football player; Associated Press First team All-American 1989.
• Lisa Quinn - television personality, Emmy winner
• Jill Horn - Miss Tennessee 1991
• Greg Hardy - defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys and former All-SEC and second-team All-American defensive end for the University of Mississippi ^[4]
• Leslie McDonald - basketball player for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill^[5]
• Nicole Jordan - Miss Tennessee 2010^[6]

Main entrance to East Memphis campus

References

1. ↑ "Briarcrest sees more growth in future". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 2012-12-26. 
2. ↑ Michael Oher   (1986-05-28). "Michael Oher, T for the Baltimore Ravens at". Nfl.com. Retrieved 2012-12-26. 
3. ↑ Holmes, Linda (2011-02-08). "Beyond 'The Blind Side,' Michael Oher Rewrites His Own Story : Monkey See". NPR. Retrieved 2012-12-26. 
4. ↑ Greg Hardy  . "Greg Hardy, DE for the Carolina Panthers at". Nfl.com. Retrieved 2012-12-26. 
5. ↑
6. ↑ "409: Site not active". Suburbancommunitynews.com. Retrieved 2012-12-26. 

External links

• Briarcrest Christian School
• The Ballad of Big Mike, New York Times Magazine article on Michael Oher 2005