Wheaton Christian dedicates new site

If reactions from parents and officials on Sunday are any indication, the new Wheaton Christian Grammar School has been worth the wait.

After nearly 10 years of planning, developing, construction and what officials called "jumping through hoops" to get the $25 million facility ready, residents and area leaders filled the school's gymnasium to capacity and looked on as school administrators celebrated its opening with a dedication ceremony.

"It's an opportunity to start the year off on the right foot," said school Principal Mike Rogers. "It's a Christian school and we believe it's important to publicly proclaim that what we do is to honor and give glory to God."

On Tuesday, 536 students will start the school year in the brand new facility, which sits on a 35-acre campus on Taylor Road in Winfield.

During the ceremony, officials on the school's board of directors took turns with Rogers and his assistant principal, Roger Burgess, praising the groups that partnered to make the school a reality.

As the ceremony went on, some parents wandered the halls with children taking a peek at the computer rooms, commons area and library, as well as state-of-the-art classrooms that come equipped with laptops and advanced cooling and heating systems.

"It's incredible," said Winfield resident Lori Hardy, whose daughter Ella, 5, will start kindergarten Tuesday. "As a parent, you want your kids to have all of the advantages they need to compete as they go to school. You want them to have more than you had."

The school hopes it has provided that. Wheaton College President Philip Ryken, a Wheaton Christian alumnus, said he still holds his time at the school in great regard.

"It's amazing to see the beautiful building but the best is seeing the school carrying on its mission," he said. "It holds a special place in my heart and it's a great privilege to send my children here."

As Burgess went through a history of the school, he chronicled a continuous growth from a one-room schoolroom to the building at 530 E. Harrison Ave. in Wheaton, which went through several additions before becoming too small for the school's enrollment.

About 10 years ago, officials saw the need for a new building and started looking into the idea. After what Rogers called "a few false starts," an area of farmland was chosen to be the site of the school's first move in its 68 years.

For Sugar Grove resident Lynda Clark-Gracious, seeing the new school was a far cry from the 1963 graduate's time at the original building.

"It's a blessing," she said. "It took a lot of sacrifice on the part of a lot of people to bring this to reality."