Six years ago Skyview Learning Academy near Douglas, Nebraska, opened its doors to be the area’s only nature-based private Christian school in Southeast Nebraska. Founders Mick and Michele Ray, who are long-standing members of the College View Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lincoln, felt a calling to offer a unique, nature-focused education to area students and families.
“From the moment I read Ellen White’s book Education, my life changed,” said Michele Ray as she gives a nod of credit to the true inspiration for the school. From that day forward, the school was planned, opened and has seen a consistent growth every year. This growth has necessitated the recently-finished school expansion project that they have been working diligently on for the past seven months.
“The growth of our school has been tremendous and we simply ran out of room,” explained Ray, who is the director of the school. “We now have 49 students and eight full time teachers, so we knew it was time to expand!” The school grew by 4,000 square feet which has allowed for the addition of two new preschool classrooms, a science room, a new high school room, several restrooms, a storage closet and an office for the school’s business manager.
The new entry to the school has been blessed with the addition of some taxidermy animals that are on loan to the school from Camp Arrowhead near Lexington. “The addition of the animals adds such a beauty and a nature-feel to our school,” said Ray. “We are very grateful that the camp chose to let us display these beautiful animals where they can be enjoyed by our students and guests for years to come.”
When asked about the added classrooms, Ray was eager to point out that the school is expanding its high school offerings for the 2020-21 school year to go all the way through 12th grade. “The students who are here don’t want to leave when they finish 10th grade, so we are moving forward with them in mind. It makes complete sense.
What we’ve known all along is that students learn best in small classroom settings.
We have found that the students who come to us from other schools that have large classrooms are not getting the full education that they need and they are falling behind. Here, due to our low student to teacher ratios, we have been able to finish two math books in one year and the students are actually “getting it” and they are happy and confident—praise the Lord!”
Another thing that has added to the momentum of Skyview’s academic offerings is that the school will be completing its pilot program of working with Southeast Community College to offer dual credit classes. “We’ve only had one student going through the dual-credit program this year, but we have gotten most of the kinks worked out and it has been going well. This student is only a sophomore and he will have college credits completed by the end of this school year. That is just plain awesome!” exclaimed Ray.
The growth of the school has not been without its hurdles. As with any school, finances are often tight. Armed with the knowledge gleaned from Ellen White’s writing, Ray has moved forward to ensure that the school is financially solvent in the future. Two years ago she opened BetterWays Thrift Store in Lincoln to help provide the support that a typical Christian school would receive from a constituent church, which Skyview doesn’t have. “We have the added challenge of not having a church or conference that financially supports us and it is not easy,” she said. “However, I believe that God provides us with the power to overcome difficulties in His name and we are running full steam ahead armed with that knowledge. We currently have a store manager who runs the store and 19 faithful volunteers who consider the store to be a wonderful ministry to the community as well as a support to the school. We are so blessed. So incredibly blessed.”
More information about Skyview Learning Academy
Photos: Courtesy Skyview Learning Academy
