Lubbock Christian School (LCS) Superintendent Peter Dahlstrom has been named the 2015 recipient of the Vaughn Luster Award, as the outstanding administrator of a member school of the National Christian School Association (NCSA). LCS is the oldest private school in the greater Lubbock area.
The honor was voted on by the heads of other member schools. It was announced in Atlanta at the association’s annual meeting on Thursday, March 5, according to an LCS news release.
The NCSA serves more than 32,000 students in 90 member schools in 28 states. NCSA’s accreditation protocol is recognized by the State of Texas and AdvancEd, the regional accrediting agency for Texas. Its president, Philip Patterson, cited Dahlstrom’s work in increasing LCS enrollment, raising both faculty salaries and endowment, improving the physical plant and improving the impression of the school in the community among the superintendent’s accomplishments. Patterson is an LCS graduate who credits Dahlstrom with the success of the school.
“Peter’s legacy will be his insistence that the Christian school is called to a higher standard, and that is obvious in every aspect of the operation of Lubbock Christian School,” Patterson said in the news release.
Brian Pitaniello, LCS Board of Trustee President, offered his congratulations, calling the accomplishment huge. He added, “LCS is a special place” and credited Dahlstrom for the school’s uniqueness in the news release.
Other staff and faculty members, such as Joe Bullock and Shelly Price, mirrored these sentiments in emailed statements to Breitbart Texas, calling it a well-deserved distinction. LCS band director Charlie Parrish was delighted to see Dahlstrom recognized and that others got to catch “a glimpse of what we’ve been seeing for years.” He called Dahlstrom a great leader.
The award is named for the late Vaughn Luster, Jr., a former head of Dallas Christian School, who headed the committee that wrote the NCSA accreditation standards. When the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the agency that oversees K-12 public education, announced in the mid-1970s that it would no longer accredit private schools, the National Christian School Association wrote an accreditation protocol to be recognized by a new commission created by the TEA regarding private school accreditation.
The NCSA is recognized by the Office of Non-Public Education in the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Educational Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. The NCSA’s Children’s Crown and Lamplighter Awards for outstanding children’s literature is one of the NCSA’s premiere programs.
According to their website, NCSA member schools average between the 70th and 95th percentiles in standardized test scores. Graduates of NCSA schools typically score higher than their state averages on ACT and SAT scores. Each year, NCSA member schools in several states win statewide athletic, music and forensics titles competing with both public and private schools.
LCS opened its doors in 1954. Today, they serve students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. They were the first school of 15 in Texas to be accredited by the National Christian School Association, according to Patterson.
Today, the school is accredited by the NCSA, AdvancEd, the regional accreditation organization for Texas, and the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAQ), which is fully recognized by the TEA, according to the news release. LCS accepts families of all faiths and admits students of any race.
Follow Merrill Hope on Twitter @OutOfTheBoxMom.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.