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A merger that takes effect Thursday will join the two faith-based institutions to form Lancaster County Christian School (LCCS), which expects to open its doors to about 500 students on August 26.
"It starts with the outstanding faculty and curriculum we will have," Mark Cote, head of school at LCCS, gave as one reason for the merger. "We'll have more options for our students."
Cote said that while the new school was not able to take in all faculty members who formerly taught at Lancaster Christian School and Living Word Academy, "the faculty that's emerged from this (merger) is an excellent group."
The new school system will make use of the two campuses, in West Lampeter and in Leola, that were the previous locations of Lancaster Christian School and Living Word Academy, respectively.
Cote, former head of school at Living Word Academy, will serve as head of school at LCCS.
"It's a title often used for what would be a superintendent at a much smaller school," Cote explained.
He will be responsible for working directly with the school board and leading an administrative team comprised of a principal at each campus, a director of athletics and facilities, a director of admissions and development and a director of finance and human resources.
Sandy Outlar, former headmaster emeritus of Lancaster Christian School, will serve as the community liaison for LCCS.
According to Outlar, the position is part-time and entails collaborating on staffing policies, building relationships with local churches, interacting with other private schools in the area and working with civic and business leaders.
Outlar said that while "nothing of any great magnitude" has been needed for construction at either of the LCCS campuses, "there's been a moderate renovation."
"At this point we are sufficiently outfitted as far as square footage … at least for the near future," Outlar said.
The West Lampeter Campus of LCCS will house pre-kindergarten, elementary, and middle school students and the Leola Campus will house preschool, elementary and high school students.
LCCS covers two school districts — Lampeter-Strasburg and Conestoga Valley — with its two elementary school locations in Lampeter and Leola.
Cote said having both campuses house elementary students is an added convenience.
"This allows us to have smaller class sizes at the elementary level, which is important to parents," Cote said.
The merger also gives LCCS the opportunity to add or expand course offerings and extra-curricular activities.
Outlar said the new, larger school system will be able to compete athletically with larger schools now, too.
Additionally, the PIAA recently approved an athletic co-op that will allow high school athletes at LCCS to join teams at J.P. McCaskey High School for sports that are not offered at LCCS.
Another innovation that parallels the merger is a new busing system.
Parents who have students at both the West Lampeter and the Leola campuses can drop their students off at either campus and the school will arrange to have them bused to the other campus as needed.
"We anticipate that we will have students from 125 different churches," Cote said. "The desire is to continue to grow and continue to be a school system in Lancaster County that can serve a number of different churches."
The Worship Center, located on New Holland Pike, previously owned Living Word Academy and shared a space with the school.
Currently in the process of building a new church in Leola which is scheduled to open in the next month, The Worship Center granted permission for the merger and became the founding church partner of LCCS.
Cote expects to celebrate the opening of the new school with a convocation ceremony this fall.
"I anticipate a lot of excitement," Cote said.
