Brazos Christian School welcomes students, parents for first day of school

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - Brazos Christian School was the first in the Brazos Valley to kick off the school year Wednesday. Students and their parents filled the front of the school to take pictures and reunite with classmates.

The school’s headmaster Jeff McMaster said he was both nervous and excited going into the first day. He’s looking forward to a great year, especially as the school continues to grow. The school has seen a 15% growth in students over the last two years, according to McMasters.

“For years, we had waiting lists in most of our lower grades, and as we’ve been able to begin to open up more classrooms, particularly in both middle school and elementary school, we’ve been able to start adding more students,” McMaster said.

The growth has allowed the school to add new faculty and staff including an assistant athletic director and varsity head football coach. Brian Thrift, the school’s athletic director, said the football and volleyball teams have been preparing all summer for a great fall season. Organizations like the National Honor Society have also been planning service projects and other activities during the summer.

“I think a lot of those things through the student life, through National Honor Society and our athletics, I think those are opportunities for them to develop leadership,” Thrift said.

Teachers are also ready for the school year ahead. High school English teacher Catherine Lee said she’s looking forward to connecting with new students and their families along with diving into the students’ summer reading. Lee said she encourages students to have a planner to stay organized and a calm demeanor to tackle the school day.

“Take some deep breathes, put yourself out there, get to know people and rely on the teachers to provide support,” Lee said.

One way the administration is continuing to support students, faculty, staff and parents is by keeping safety a priority. McMaster said they’ve always had a safety plan in place but have taken the extra steps to have it reviewed by experts.

“As they’ve come in and evaluated and reviewed our plan, walked our campus, looked at the plan we have in place, they’ve been able to give us any council that helps us continue to make steps to improve it,” McMaster said.

McMaster said this has been well received by parents and has given them more confidence that their children will have a safe and productive school year.

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