Plumstead Christian School
Educating Students for an Unknown Future
“Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.” —Ecclesiastes 7:8
Our children’s future has a lot of unknowns in it. How do we prepare them for such a future? We have already seen technological advances in the past decade render a slew of careers obsolete, while opening the door to countless other exciting opportunities. Scores of popular and lucrative jobs in today’s marketplace did not even exist when our current seniors stepped into their kindergarten classes 13 years ago, and it is likely that our current kindergarteners will be stepping into a world 13 years from now filled with opportunities we cannot even imagine.
Plumstead Christian School, a preschool through 12th grade nondenominational school in the heart of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is aware of and responsive to the rapid evolution of technology from a pedagogical perspective and from a social perspective. Even more importantly, however, we are determined to focus our efforts now more than ever on the core competencies that have been and will continue to be vital to the lifelong success of our students.
We call these core competencies our “Portrait of a Graduate.” Our intent and aspiration is that each Plumstead Christian School graduate fully develops the virtues and life skills that we have compiled as our Portrait of a Graduate. No matter the students’ vocational interests, these virtues and life skills will serve them well—contributing to their quality of life and success in whatever God calls them to do.
The life-on-life transformation takes place as our school community invests in each student through robust and engaging curricular offerings at every grade level—offerings that include STEM and STEAM programs; honors classes; an array of Advanced Placement and dual-enrollment courses; and electives in the performing and visual arts, technology, and culinary arts. Students also grow in these skills and virtues while involved in our co-curricular programs (sports, clubs, musical theater) and through meaningful personal relationships in a way that builds these virtues and life skills into every graduate. No matter the vocational calling, each student who possesses these core competencies will stand out from their peers, will be highly sought after by employers, and will be able to lead and serve effectively.
Portrait of a Graduate
Plumstead Christian School graduates possess the following virtues: surrendered to Jesus as Lord; fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23); others focused (Phil. 2:3-4); a lifelong, independent learner; a desire to grow and help others grow; honesty; servant leadership; discernment; empathy; humility; committed to moral purity; cultural sensitivity and compassion for the world; responsible; self-disciplined; and confidence.
Plumstead Christian School graduates possess the following virtues: surrendered to Jesus as Lord; fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23); others focused (Phil. 2:3-4); a lifelong, independent learner; a desire to grow and help others grow; honesty; servant leadership; discernment; empathy; humility; committed to moral purity; cultural sensitivity and compassion for the world; responsible; self-disciplined; and confidence.
In terms of life skills, Plumstead Christian School graduates are able to do the following: think biblically, critically, and creatively; serve effectively; lead Christ-centered lives; recognize and articulate truth; communicate effectively; faithfully steward God’s resources; foster healthy community; lead others well; collaborate well with others; show grace to people with different views; take risks and learn from failures; take initiative; maintain a good work/rest balance; set goals and manage time well; and use feedback for self-improvement.
If you are looking for a school that prepares students to live well both now and into their adult life by emphasizing the mastery of skills and virtues over the memorization of scholarly facts, we invite you to visit our school’s website at www.plumsteadchristian.org and to arrange with our admissions department (215-766-8073) for a tour of one or both of our campuses.
Photo by Jody Robinson
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, March 2023.
