Happy Independence Day 2015!

"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."

~Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

~John Adams, 2nd President of the United States

What if "the whole mass of the people" are educated and informed, but in the wrong way? If education does not include morality and religion, what of our Constitution? If education does not preserve and promote the principals and values that lead to liberty, what of our liberty?


It is certainly possible to educate and inform and at the same time destroy liberty.  The children being "educated" in Islamic State schools today will certainly not grow up promoting liberty - especially not for women or religious minorities.  The children educated under the communist regime of Mao Tse-Tung, or in the former USSR, were not "informed" in ways that lead to lasting liberty.  Tyrants everywhere use education to teach children the "proper" worldview in order to maintain their tyranny.

If we want liberty, if we want to remain a free people, then WHAT is taught in our schools and HOW it is taught are critically important.  An educated and informed citizenry can maintain liberty only if their education has inculcated in each one the principles that preserve liberty.  And what are those principles?  There are many, touching on standards and practices of government, of economics, of social reform, of cultural plurality, of freedom of expression and assembly, and so on. These many, though, must find their foundation in a smaller set of guiding principles about who people are and how they should be treated.  The most free nations the world has ever seen have been those informed by and grounded in this smaller set of principles, which are ultimately moral and religious principles having their origins in the Christian Bible.

The evidence is overwhelming that a fundamentally Biblical orientation toward humanity, morality, and religion formed the foundations of the US Republic, and were a routine part of our Founder's thinking and vision, including Adams and Jefferson.  The historical evidence is overwhelming that countries and cultures that largely embrace these Biblical principles become markedly more free than those that do not.

We have a tremendous heritage of liberty in the United States.  Is the education of our children promoting morals, principles, practices, and religion that will tend to lead toward the preservation and promotion of that liberty? If a primary objective is to maintain our status as a free people, how well are we building an educated and informed citizenry that knows what liberty requires, and is committed to personal action that promotes the common good in our communities and across our nation?

Happy Independence Day!  May we never assume that freedom is the norm, (history tells us it is not!) or that a free people need not work to maintain their liberty!

DPCA Graduate Receives Academic Honors

We're excited about this press release notifying us that Micah Ritschard, a 2013 graduate of DPCA, has been named to the fall President's List at LeTourneau University:

LONGVIEW, Texas (March 20, 2015) - Micah Ritschard of Buena Vista was named to the Fall 2014 President's List at LeTourneau University. The President's List recognizes students who have achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average to receive this honor.

LeTourneau University President Dr. Dale A. Lunsford said being named to the President's List is a significant academic achievement and honor.

"LETU students are among our nation's best," Lunsford said.  "I'm especially impressed with these honor roll students. Expect them to have a significant impact on our future."

LeTourneau University is a comprehensive institution of Christ-centered higher education where educators engage students to nurture Christian virtue, develop competency and ingenuity in their professional fields, integrate faith and work, and serve the local and global community. LETU offers a wide array of undergraduate and graduate degree programs in aviation, arts & sciences, business, education, engineering and nursing. Around 1,300 students study at LETU's main campus in Longview, Texas. LETU also offers a robust suite of online programs, as well as hybrid programs in Dallas and Houston.

Claiming every workplace in every nation as their mission field, LeTourneau University graduates are professionals of ingenuity and Christ-like character who see life's work as a holy calling with eternal impact. 

Hear the Story

I found my anchorage in Him while at DPCA, because I was challenged to live excellently, to love, to persevere, to forgive, and above all, to walk with Christ. My teachers set an excellent example and walked with me through every struggle and triumph. I am truly blessed that God blessed me with my time at DPCA, and I hope that many more will have the same privilege.  

Ethan, DPCA Class of 2012

DPCA means a lot to me… Everything done is based upon God and God’s Word.

Malachi, 5th grade 2015  

Randy and Carole Barnes played before and after

Testimonies like these made up the heart of DPCA's "Hear the Story" Banquet March 9.  Over 100 guests enjoyed a fantastic meal at Trail West Lodge and heard from students, staff and board members as each shared how God is working in student hearts and lives through the ministry of Darren Patterson Christian Academy.  Finn and Sully (current kindergartners) opened the banquet with some of their memorized Bible verses and a prayer of thanksgiving for the evening, the day, and the food.  Eagles basketball team players served guests a gourmet meal of roasted pork, new potatoes, spring salad, steamed vegetables, and rolls, followed by a strawberry cheesecake.

Sully and Finn get the evening started

Laughter picked up as board member Michael Courson called students and staff to the front for a game involving hotdog throwing and catching.  Former board president Dave Macnab shared how friends of the school could donate "stuff" through the school's new partnership with iDonate; following Dave, several students and staff shared stories and testimonies from life at school.  An obvious theme quickly emerged:  the Lord is faithfully meeting needs and growing disciples through the learning, mentoring, and community-building that characterizes each day at DPCA. Whether in the classroom, or in chapel, or in the gym, or on the trail with Ekklesia Mountain High courses, from kindergarten through senior high, students are finding in their teachers caring mentors who do so much more than "just" teach the academic lessons. 

That's either Grizzly Adams or board member Michael Courson getting the hotdog contestants ready

Keely (center) and Mr Euler show off their hot-dog catching moves while Noah (left) remains calm

School Administrator Erik Ritschard began the evening wrap-up with a reminder that the financial need that DPCA has each year is not even close to the whole story. Rather, the best part of the DPCA story is victory and triumph being realized in the lives of students who are learning and growing in an environment firmly grounded and centered in the Bible. The Academy's need is for partners who will delight in helping to support that mission and those triumphs. 

Guests enjoying the evening

Board member and banquet organizer Brian Dengler brought the evening to a close with an appeal for support and a closing prayer expressing our school community's gratitude for the evening and the Lord's faithfulness.  Guests responded enthusiastically: over $10,000.00 was contributed at the banquet to support DPCA, with some additional funds coming in as this article is being written. Readers who would like to contribute to the banquet or our annual Strength to Serve funding effort, please click here.

All of us in the DPCA family want to express our gratitude for a great evening:

Mr. Euler shares how he has seen the Lord work.

Lily shared an essay "What DPCA means to me."

• Our guests: thank you for coming and for your so very generous response!
• Brian Dengler:  thank you so much for taking the lead and working as our banquet organizer!
• Randy and Carole Barnes for music before and after the banquet.
• DPCA School Board and office staff: thanks for your support and so much help and work "behind the scenes."
• Parent, staff, and student volunteers: we couldn't have had such an enjoyable, beautiful evening without your help and support with decorating, set-up and clean-up, serving, and child-care. Thank you so much!
• Trail West Lodge staff and volunteers: Wow, you all know how to do things well!  Thanks so much for hosting our banquet and for the fantastic food!

And finally,

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good, and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100: 4-5

 We're grateful that the Lord has provided for and sustained DPCA for almost 33 years, and we join with Finn and Sully in giving thanks for a great day and a great evening!



Darren Patterson Christian Academy has been guiding preschool through high school students on paths of excellence in Christian life and service since 1982.  To learn more, please visit us on the web at www.dpcaweb.org.

 Ekklesia Mountain High is a boarding and day-student program for high school juniors and seniors at Darren Patterson Christian Academy, in which approximately forty days of wilderness experience and leadership training is integrated with rigorous academics in DPCA's Biblically-centered environment.  To learn more, please visit  the EMH program's website at www.emhweb.org.

Fitness Challenge

First through sixth grades have taken on a Fitness Challenge this month: 15 minutes a day helping our students achieve fitness goals.  Here's some of the action:

Hooray for Our Volunteers!

There are so many "little" things to do around a school - "little" in that they are not very noticeable at first glance - but not little at all in the impact they have on the overall quality of our school community!  Many of these things simply would not get done in a timely fashion (or often not at all) without help from our many parent and community volunteers.  Look at our list of volunteers just from the last month or so:

Carole Barnes – Spanish teaching and tutoring

Stacy Angle – Art help

Catherine Bearss – Art help, recess, reading groups

Anna Bearss - reading groups

Janel Wingo - recess

Miss Joyce with a reading group

Julie Arnold – recess

Jenni Thomas – recess

Charity Courson – recess

Angela Lundy - recess

Steve Lewis - recess

Elizabeth Leon – recess

Cailin Bearss – recess

Dean Morgan – reader at snack

Andrea Morgan - recess 

Courtney O'Neill - recess

Julie Little – reader at snack

Carol Schell -  reading groups

Miss Joyce Markham - reading groups

Mitzi Norton in chapel

Sue Snively - reading guidance and tutoring

Beth Bowen - 3rd/4th science

Marie Patton - Spanish

Vanesa Durbin - office and bulletin boards

Sherry Turner - basketball programs, snacks, advertising, Booster Club

Grace Parker - concessions

Erik and Venus Phillips - electrical work, scoreboards, playground repair, biology

Kandice Alkire - chapel sound, small groups, sports program

Sha White - basketball stats

Matt Thompson - boys basketball, chapel

There they are in the background: Erik and Venus Phillips

Skippy Bardol - plumbing issues

Mark Michael - outside lights

Shaun and Nicolle Christiansen - personal finance class, missions, small groups

Debbie Martinez - Chapel

Mitzi Norton - Chapel
Kevin and Barb Burdges - game film, JH volleyball coaching, athletic program secretarial help, driving players to games

Shelby Phillips - Concessions
Isaiah Durbin - Concessions 
Zach Bearss - Coaching, chapel
Austina Campbell - Coaching
Dave Aldridge - Coaching consultant
Roger Van Deel - coaching, driving athletes
Jordan Euler - coaching
 
Volunteers, we want you to know how MUCH we appreciate your time and service! We're so very grateful for all the energy and enthusiasm you bring in to the school - and for the impact you have in student's lives because of your efforts!  If we missed you on this list, a thousand apologies, because we are so grateful for each and every one of our volunteers.  From all of us, from our whole school community, a huge

THANK YOU!