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History

History

 

In the spring of 1979, a nucleus of parents led by Pastor Don McMillan of First Baptist Church in Richland met to discuss the possibility of starting a Tri-Cities area Christian school. Pastor Mac (as he was affectionately referred to) served the Lord as pastor at First Baptist Church for 25 years and had a vision for a Christian school that would benefit children throughout the Tri-Cities academically and spiritually. The school began in the fall of 1980 with approximately eighty students under the leadership of Mr. Dale Phillips, the first principal.

As the school expanded, classes met in Sunday School classrooms at various churches around the Tri-Cities and even rented rooms for a time from Richland School District in the Spaulding school building. In 1997, a group of praying moms asked God to provide a building that Liberty could call its own. The Spaulding school building, which had been mothballed by the local school district, had a fire break out, destroying the north wing of the campus. LCS had previously approached the district to purchase the property, but the price was simply too high.

Now with the fire, Richland was ready to sell. God works in amazing ways. Even though extensive renovating would be required, Liberty now owned a school building on a beautiful 19-acre campus in the heart of Richland.

In the fall of 2000, K4 through sixth grade held their first classes in their very own school. It was a day of great rejoicing, but there was still much to be accomplished to complete a secondary wing. Three years later, the entire school, K4-12, was finally housed on the same campus. A brand new science lab was provided through a grant from Battelle Laboratories. However, it was through the sacrifice and dedication of hundreds of volunteers, parents and Golden Grandpas that Liberty Christian School was now ready to take on the future. It was the fulfillment of many prayers and strategic planning by the board. One part of the building remains to be renovated. The old cafeteria is a large space currently used for storage and maintenance. It continues to be the school leadership's desire to see that final phase completed.

During the early 2000s, Liberty experienced growth until the nationwide economic recession brought in a season of challenges. Through much prayer, effort, sacrifice, and by God's grace, the school weathered those storms. Enrollment stabilized for the 2012-2013 school year after a loss of several hundred students. Since that time, the school has had an enrollment that has fluctuated annually between 380 and 410 students.

Liberty continues to develop its program through the integration of 21st Century skills, project-based learning, and more course offerings in the secondary program, as well as an increase in student activities.

From the beginning, Liberty's mission has been to provide a Biblically-based education to students, marked by academic excellence, in a nurturing atmosphere. Corporately, Liberty Christian School encourages its students and families to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and live committed Christian lives here and beyond.

A yearbook page from Liberty's early years.

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