The story of God’s faithfulness to
Stillwater Christian School
The story of God’s faithfulness to Stillwater Christian School over forty years is revealed in a number of important
milestones in our history:
- November 13, 1979: Twenty-two concerned Christian parents met at the Evergreen Alliance Church to discuss
starting a traditional Christian school for grades kindergarten through sixth grade. - March, 1980: The original school board consisting of fifteen members from various churches hired a
superintendent and began planning for a fall opening. - September, 1980: Flathead Valley Christian School (FVCS) opened with 57 students at Evergreen Alliance
Church in Evergreen, MT. - May, 1987: The first graduating class of three seniors graduated from FVCS.
- September, 1993: FVCS began operating at its current site, the former Flathead County nursing home, which
a group of donors purchased from Flathead County in the summer of 1993. - Spring, 1995: FVCS received its initial accreditation through the Association of Christian Schools International
(ACSI). SCS has been reaccredited in 2005, 2011 and 2017. - Fall, 1995: FVCS began exploring a transition to a classical model of curriculum.
- Spring, 1996: the board hired Dan Makowski as FVCS’s third head of school and formally adopted a classical
Christian school curricular model. - Summer, 1997: Thanks to another generous donation, the school added a new building containing four
classrooms, a music room, a gymnasium, and offices. - Summer, 1998: The school added four classrooms to the original building (elementary building) and
performed a major overhaul of that building including a new heating system, asbestos removal, new asphalt
and sidewalks. - Fall, 1999: The board created the SCS endowment which supports the SCS variable tuition (financial aid)
program. The endowment is currently valued at $900K. - July, 2004: The board changed the name of the school to Stillwater Christian School (SCS) to create a more
distinct identity in the community. The Cougars mascot was adopted. - September, 2009: SCS opened a Montessori-style preschool for 3- and 4-year old children.
- November, 2011: Stillwater hosted a visiting team from the Council for Educational Standards and
Accountability (CESA) to perform a comprehensive institutional review. SCS became a member school in the
Spring of 2015, joining a small group of exemplary Christian schools nationwide. - November, 2015: SCS added a new wing to the secondary building with six new classrooms, a lobby/
commons area, and a high school office. Fine arts classrooms and the preschool also experienced major
improvements. - August, 2017: SCS added three classrooms and additional bathrooms to the middle school wing to
accommodate enrollment growth and to better connect the secondary school. - July, 2018: Jeremy Marsh became Stillwater’s fourth Head of School in 38 years, demonstrating the stability of
leadership that has been Stillwater’s legacy - August, 2018: SCS21, Stillwater’s current Strategic Plan, was published by the SCS board following a
comprehensive, collaborative planning effort in the Spring of 2018. - July 28, 2019: The U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear Espinoza v. Dept. of Revenue, a case filed by three
Stillwater moms protesting Montana’s decision not to allow them to use tax credit scholarship funds to send
their kids to Stillwater. - September, 2019: SCS opened with 430 students, breaking the previous all-time high of 373.
SCS21 Strategic Plan
Published in the fall of 2018, SCS21 is Stillwater Christian School’s strategic plan and roadmap for mission and vision accomplishment, and school improvement, during the next 1-3 years. The priorities, strategies, and goals within the plan are the product of a comprehensive planning process that began in early 2018 and included more than 60 SCS constituents from a cross section of the Stillwater community. The updated document builds on that initial planning work, reflecting new realities since the initial plan was unveiled. Each year, the head of school reports on the status of SCS21 efforts and publishes an updated document which identifies priority goals for the academic year. We are thankful for the progress we’ve made thus far and are excited to see where God leads Stillwater as we continue to implement and pursue our SCS21 priorities, strategies, and goals.
Published in April of 2020 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Action Plan 2020 is Stillwater Christian School’s response to the unique challenges of a unique season. The Plan outlines the priorities that will guide leadership decisions through this season in the context of the already-identified strategies and priorities included in our Strategic Plan (SCS21) and capital campaign (Building for Growth). For more information on either of these plans please use the links below:
Building for Growth
Launched on October 1, 2019, Building for Growth is the name of Stillwater’s current capital campaign (“Step 3”) which builds on the success of previous campaigns. This step includes several exciting projects related to our school’s growth. Most notable among these is a four-classroom expansion which was completed in the summer of 2020. Other projects include: renovations to our elementary facility (complete), a new weight room for our athletics program (complete), funding to address congestion concerns on FFA Drive, funding to support our variable tuition program and more. Building for Growth is a $1.75M campaign which we hope to complete by May of 2021. We praise God for the generous financial support of our donor community. If you’d like to learn more about Building for Growth, please check out the GIVE portion of our website.