Sterling, Rochelle in line to get new conservative Christian schools

STERLING – The Duncans tried Christ Lutheran School in Sterling and really liked it. But then the school stopped offering middle school, so they switched gears and enrolled their three kids in St. Mary’s School in Sterling.

Again, a good fit, but not a great fit. Someday the kids will have to leave St. Mary for Newman Central Catholic High School, Faith Duncan said.

Like Goldilocks trying out private schools, however, this time the Duncans think they have found a fit that’s just right for them – the nascent Grace Sterling Christian Academy.

The Grace Association – Gracefully Reclaiming a Conservative Education – is planning new schools for pre-K through 12th-graders in Sterling and in Rochelle. It hopes to open them in the fall, depending on interest and whether it can finding suitable locations. Informational meetings on what its schools have to offer are being held.

It’s that preschool through grade 12 component that has Duncan working with Grace to help the Sterling school materialize. The Duncans want an education that comes with its own community.

“We were kind of looking for that one whole campus location, that family-for-life location,” she said.

That’s not all.

“We’re looking for that alternative that fits our family’s needs,” said Duncan, who is a program engineer with the Illinois Department of Transportation office in Dixon.

“We want freedom of education, and removal from some of the government mandates that we have seen over the last couple of years – and that we could see in the future – and a return to traditional education.”

Duncan is so committed that she agreed to be a liaison between local families and the association. Folks can call her at 815-718-5284 if they have questions, or ideas for a site, or an available building.

“We are on board to pursue this until it comes to fruition.”

So far, about 45 families in Sterling and 55 in Rochelle have expressed an interest, Al Crespo, Grace’s director of communications, said in an email Thursday. A team of families is helping in the hunt for a building.

“Our ability to open this fall in Rochelle and Sterling will depend upon enrollment and finding a building – church buildings would be the easiest way to open schools because of zoning and already having a special-use permit,” Crespo said.

Grace also is opening or planning schools in other northern Illinois counties.

According to its March newsletter, “G.R.A.C.E. was established in 2021 in response to parents seeking an alternative to public school education riddled with indoctrination replacing academic rigor. This indoctrination is boldly contrary to conservative family values.

“G.R.A.C.E. is a network of independently run schools ... united in their framework – supporting traditional values and ensuring a cohesive standard.”

The association was founded by the Rev. Randy Blan, pastor of Families of Faith Church and headmaster of Families of Faith Christian Academy in Channahon, which has been operating for 16 years and is its founding school.

The Families of Faith school also was one of three sued by Gov. JB Pritzker in July 2020 over its refusal to require students and staff to wear face coverings to stop the spread of COVID-19.

In the year since its inception, Grace has been working hard to extend its reach.

In addition to those in Whiteside and Ogle counties, schools potentially will open in August in the Lincolnway/New Lenox/Orland Park/Frankfort area in Will County; in St. Charles, which straddles DuPage and Kane counties; and in Sugar Grove, in Kane County, Al Crespo, Grace’s director of Communications, said in an email Thursday.

Fairbury in Livingston County, a little farther south, also is on the list of sites that may open next school year.

The new Grace Oak Meadows Christian Academy in Wood Dale in DuPage County, and the Grace Romeoville and Grace Naperville Christian academies in Will and Cook and DuPage counties, respectively, will be opening in August, Crespo said.

Other cities where Grace Association wants to open schools include Wilmington, Arlington Heights, Lombard/Villa Park, Hanover Park, Oswego, Aurora, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Palatine and Chicago, he said.

The Rochelle informational meeting begins at 7 p.m. March 31 at the Calvary Lighthouse Church, 14409 Hemstock Road, and the Sterling meeting begins at 7 p.m. April 8 at New Life Lutheran Church, 701 W. Lynn Blvd.

Those who register in advance will receive an informational packet.

For information, go to www.graceassociation.org, find Grace Association on Facebook or call 815-277-9302.