Parkview Christian School

Lincoln, NE

Excitement and enthusiasm were the order of the day in the fall of 1980 when the congregation of Calvary Community Church and its pastor, Dr. Carl Godwin, started Parkview Christian School. Under the leadership of Principal Bob Winebarger, the school began as a K-8 school with 60 students. Today, Winebarger lives in Indiana and teaches Bible and History in a Christian School, but he remembers those days with fondness. "Those were exciting, glorious days" Winebarger relates, "as we saw God's Hand moving to provide a Christian School to the residents of north Lincoln." Within two years of opening, the school expanded and began to offer a fully graded K-12 program. Continuing to expand to minister to families in the Lincoln area, a preschool and daycare were opened in the fall of 1991. A few years ago, Parkview stepped out from under the umbrella of the church and became a separate, non-profit entity. Parkview Christian Schools, Inc. now operates three separate locations for preschool and daycare for young children. Expansion continues even today as the school has opened a new elementary campus at Highway 77 and Old Cheney Road. Although things are operating smoothly now, the school's early history was full of the struggle to be independent from state control. The school initially lost a court battle and was ordered not to reopen in the fall of 1983. This announcement brought an outpouring of prayers and support nationwide from Christians concerned about the overt intervention of the state into church affairs. "Everyone in the field of Christian Education knew what was happening in Nebraska. In fact, I remember praying for this school and pastor during that time, never dreaming that one day, I would be serving as the Superintendent of schools there", Dr, Myers said. The school went ahead and held classes, and received a stay from the Nebraska Supreme Court until the court could hear the case. During that winter, a study by a task force of the governor's office looked at the operation of the school. A bill was passed by the State Legislature in the spring of 1984 allowing the operation of church and home schools within the state of Nebraska without a government permit. Founded on that principle of religious freedom, and always striving towards excellence in education, the school is now fully accredited by the Department of Education and boasts degreed teachers at all levels of education. After opening the new campus at Highway 77 and Old Cheney Road this fall, the future will include opening a series of preschool and daycare facilities strategically placed around the city. "As a 'tuition-driven' school, our budget is dependent on our enrollment. For us to be viable long-term, we must build our enrollment through our pre-schools. Growing our elementary and secondary enrollment will depend on us being successful in recruiting and retaining children in our daycare and pre-school. In addition to the daycare/pre-school expansion, the school has a long-range goal for there to be two elementary campuses, in north and south Lincoln, and expansion of the middle and high schools. In particular, the middle school expansion may be critical with Lincoln Public School's announced closing of North Star Middle School next year and the proposed bussing of students to other areas of the city. Whatever, the future might hold, Pastor Godwin is convinced that God will remain faithful. "He saw us through some of the darkest hours of tribulation, so I know that He can see Parkview through whatever they might encounter in the future." Indeed, the next 25 years does look bright for Parkview Christian School.