Christian Heritage School (Tyler, Texas)

Coordinates: 32°21′29″N 95°23′25″W / 32.3581°N 95.3904°W / 32.3581; -95.3904

Christian Heritage School is a Co-Educational, College Preparatory Private Christian School located in Tyler, Texas. The school houses grades from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and currently has a total school enrollment of approximately 200 students and has a school history of 36 years.

School history

In the late 1970s, the evangelical Christian organization Youth With a Mission decided to establish a school for children to serve the greater Tyler, Texas area. The organization purchased a school building and site in the Dixie neighborhood of Southwest Tyler, directly behind Tyler Pounds Field Airport. The name of the school was Dixie School and had been built as a WPA project during the 1940s and had served the immediate area for almost 40 years. The building was purchased from Tyler Independent School District after TISD built the new (and current) Dixie Elementary School, roughly three miles from the old location. YWAM took the school and worked to restore it. The school was renovated to keep the older educational look to it, while bringing in modern renovations. The old Dixie School football field was converted to a soccer pitch, and the gynamsium would have a chemistry lab installed inside and locker rooms and weight rooms were added in the second level of the gymnasium. New playground equipment was installed for elementary students and a cafe was built for students to eat lunch in. The school opened officially in 1980.

In the Spring of 2016, James Kilkenny, who had been the Headmaster for almost 36 years, suffered a sudden illness immediately after teaching one of his classes and died three days later. This was a massive loss for the school and the community as Kilkenny had been the only Headmaster in the history of the school. His wife, Barbara Kilkenny, was named Headmistress.

Academics

CHS has a very rigorous, college preparatory, Christian centered education, based on Christian worldview. The standards for admission are somewhat high, as students applying must score at least on grade level on a standardized admission test which is administered prior to being accepted.

The teachers have a somewhat unusual agreement with the school. Most teachers are from other parts of the country and the world, and as part of becoming full-fledged internationally practiced teachers are not paid for their teaching duties. They rely on donations from school benefactors or sponsors affiliated with YWAM for income. Despite this arrangement, many teachers stay at CHS if they find steady income and continue to teach for many years.

Athletics

Christian Heritage offers athletics for students in grades 6-8 for middle school teams, and 9-12 for high school teams. The mascot is the Patriots, in respect for America's Christian Heritage. Junior High fall sports include Boys Soccer, Girls Volleyball, and Boys and Girls Cross Country. Winter sports are Boys and Girls basketball, and Spring sports are Boys and girls track and boys and girls tennis. CHS accepts home schooled students to compete with the school's athletic teams.

High school sports include Men's Soccer, Women's Volleyball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's basketball, Men's and Women' Track and Field, and Men's and Women's Tennis.

The most well known and most successful sport at CHS is Men's soccer. The Patriots have been playing for 25 years and have won more than a dozen Conference Championships, six State Championships, and three Private School National Titles. CHS has also been state runner-up numerous times and National finalists three other times as well.

Notable alumni

Morgan Wade- BMX Rider who has participated in the X-Games. Wade Attended CHS from 1997-1999 and played striker on the Patriot Soccer team.

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References

1. ↑ "Christian Heritage School". EducationBug. Retrieved 31 January 2011.