If you were to list the most important thing that you are looking for in a high school, what would it be? Strong academics? Superior athletic programs? School safety? What is the one non-negotiable characteristic that your high school must have?

Let’s do some simple math. The average high school student attends class for approximately 6 hours a day for 180 days out of the year. Add athletics, drama, clubs, and other activities and you can probably add an additional 2-3 hours per day. Using 8 hours as an average number of hours per day, that comes to 1440 hours per school year that the average teenager spends in school. This will equate to approximately 40% of a teenager’s time will be spent in school.

The decision about Christian education really come down to this: Spend that 40% at a school that encourages growth in Christ—OR-- spend that 40% at a school that wants nothing to do with Jesus Christ and promotes a non-Christian worldview.

The truth is that Christian high schools have the one thing that public schools or other private schools will never have, and it is the most important educational tool ever – God’s Word, the Bible. God’s Word is used in Christian high schools for:

• Salvation – Students will come to know Jesus as their savior
• Training – Students will not only learn daily about God’s grace, but will also learn how do defend their Christian faith and beliefs as they learn what it means to be a Christian in today’s world.
• Magnifying God’s glory – students will come to know just how great God truly is.

God is welcome at Vail Christian High School. He is welcome in:

• Daily theology classes
• Chapel and other prayer and praise opportunities
• AP, Honors, and regular academic classes
• Team and small group devotions and Bible studies
• Classes where teachers teach, share, and mentor their students
• In every area of our school

Current scientific research tells us that a teenager’s brain is not fully developed until the early 20’s. The underdeveloped pre-frontal cortex of a teen’s brain explains certain teenage behavior: recklessness, emotional outbursts, poor decision making, etc. What this means for you is that high school plays a pivotal role in the development of your teen’s brain. High school, those that are teaching, shaping, and mentoring your teenager will have a definite impact on your teen’s decision making processes.

The decision on whether or not to attend a Christian high school is really the choice between developing with Jesus Christ or developing without Him. Today, more than ever your choice could truly have eternal implications.

Now, go back and take a look at what you think is the most important characteristic of the high school in which you will place your child. "Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it." Luke 11:28