Faith Christian marks 25 years

Ruth Clapper never fancied herself as a "director" sitting behind a desk.

She figured she'd always be in a classroom teaching.

When she was hired to start the Faith Christian Elementary and Junior High School in Geneva 25 years ago with a combined first- and second-grade class, most of her time was spent in the classroom.

She taught every grade from 1 through 8, hiring teachers over time as the school expanded to eighth grade.

But after 15 years of teaching most of the time, and overseeing operations part of the time, Clapper found herself in that director's chair full-time as the Christian school grew in size and stature.

"I would never have thought that I'd be running a school for 25 years instead of just teaching in the classroom," said Clapper, who retired last year and moved to Virginia.

"But it was a great opportunity for me to incorporate my curriculum and pray with the children and teach about the Bible, because these things were not appropriate to do in public school settings."

The Faith Christian community is coming together to celebrate the work that Clapper started with a 25th anniversary celebration Saturday, at the Q Center in St. Charles.

The event will raise money for the establishment of a future endowment fund for the school, located on Kaneville Road, while also honoring the dedication of Clapper and her husband, Jim, who was a teacher at the school.

Sherry Anast has played a key role in Faith Christian history, as she actually hired Clapper to start the elementary school in 1982.

Anast had already established a nursery, preschool and kindergarten at Faith Christian three years earlier, moving her program to Faith Lutheran Church in Geneva after five years as the Covenant School in Lily Lake.

"The parents at Faith Lutheran invited us to come, and I was dealing with some church politics in Lily Lake at the time," Anast said.

"Faith Lutheran had a new addition and an empty classroom, so I was very excited about bringing the preschool there."

Anast said her program was separate from Faith Lutheran, as the pastor did not want a church-school affiliation at that time.

"It has been a blessing both ways," Anast said.

"When we first started, the church was very good to us, and now the school has helped out the church because the church can use school space and supplies and things as needed."

When Anast attended city meetings to get zoning issues and other considerations squared away, she said the stories about the process "turned out to be a good way to get the word out."

After the word spread, the quality of the curriculum became the school's top selling point.

"We were an academic preschool at a time when 'play school' was in vogue," Anast said. "Our 4-year-olds are reading when they leave here."

But Anast wants to make sure everyone realizes the upcoming celebration centers on the creation of the elementary and junior high, not her preschool.

After hiring Clapper to start the elementary class, Anast said the school continued to grow and became its own entity, separate from the preschool program.

Clapper was able to turn Faith Christian into a family affair. Her daughter, Sarah, was in the first class and, thus, a member of the first graduating class seven years later, and her husband Jim joined the staff as a teacher.

"One of the motivations for me to get into this was my daughter, because at that time I wanted her to have this curriculum, especially the reading program," Clapper said of her devotion to the A-Beka foundation curriculum.

"When my husband joined the staff, the three of us went to work and school together in the same place and it was really nice."

Clapper, in anticipating her retirement, spent the major part of last year training DeAnne Appleton to take over as director of the elementary and junior high.

Appleton was no stranger to the school, having served in its music and science departments since 1999.

"I love this school, and my three kids actually graduated from here," Appleton said.

"I loved the foundation it gave my kids with the curriculum and the music and sports."

In much the same manner that Clapper was asked by Anast 25 years ago, Clapper posed that question to Appleton.

"Ruth approached me and asked, 'What do you think of running a school?'" Appleton said.

It didn't take much to convince Appleton that it would be a wise choice to accept.

"I believe this school is a little diamond in the Fox Valley," she said.

"The curriculum is so wonderful and so achievable, and it addresses the whole person by addressing the spiritual side."

Appleton feels that the spiritual teachings are "such a large component of who we are as human beings -- and if you can't address that, then it is very crippling."

Faith Christian Elementary and Junior High has 145 students enrolled and a staff of 27 full- or part-time teachers, which translates to small classroom sizes.

"Part of the glory of our school is that we are small," Appleton said. "With small class sizes we can pinpoint weaknesses in the students and address those one on one."

Clapper and her husband were scheduled to return to Geneva today in preparation for the anniversary dinner and celebration.

"I'm the one who started it (the school), so I do come back every couple of months for board meetings, so I haven't completely abandoned it," Clapper said.

Everyone involved with planning the gala event is excited about the attention is it receiving.

"I believe there are already about 350 people coming," said Anast. "It's just amazing how we were on our own in the beginning and just added staff and supporters as the school grew."

Those interested in attending the celebration can purchase tickets by calling the school at (630) 232-7779.

Cost is $75 per person or $600 for a table of eight. Entertainment will include live and silent auctions and music by Jim Guter's Big Band.