A Letter From Our Board President

Dear Zeeland Christian School Society Members,

It is an incredible honor to serve God and our community as members of the ZCS Board of Trustees through these unique and unprecedented times. We are deeply inspired by the ZCS community which puts into practice its motto by loving God, kids, and learning.

For the last several months, we have opened our Board meetings by reading the association mission statement of ZCS. It reminds us of our partnership with parents and our responsibility to create an environment in which ZCS graduates demonstrate a love of obedience, service, and Christian duty. When we consider the partnership between ZCS and parents, it also causes us, as parents, to ask ourselves if WE are modeling these traits in our own lives. These have been lofty goals for the school since its inception, but it seems even more challenging, and yet more critical, at a time such as this. We are grateful for those who have gone before us to guide the school to this point through governance, teaching, and diligent work.

The Board is a cross-section of the Society, with each of the 13 members bringing different perspectives, opinions, and interpretations to each situation. While coming to a consensus among 13 individuals can be challenging, we recognize that it is essential and leads to positive outcomes when making governing decisions. We are so thankful that the Lord has led us to unity in so many critical areas of decision making that we have faced. Each member takes very seriously his or her responsibility to fulfill the Duty of Care, as required by Michigan law, to ensure the school is financially sound, and to ensure the educational principles are consistent with the mission. As we continue to make decisions that lay the groundwork for the future of ZCS, we trust that the Lord will continue to use us, and you, to further define and protect the mission-critical aspects of the school.

While the Board works on higher-level governance of the overall mission of ZCS, the Head of School and Leadership Team make the day-to-day decisions that allow the school to smoothly operate. We are so very thankful for each member of that team. They continue to sacrifice their time and energy to make sure the school operates in the most normal fashion possible, going above and beyond what is expected and required. The real unsung heroes of this year are the teachers and assistants in each classroom. We cannot express enough appreciation for the hard work each one of them performs, in addition to the encouragement and instruction they provide to our children. Several of them are facing significant personal challenges this year and yet continue to persevere at school. Thank you to each of you as parents for finding ways to partner with the Hospitality Committee and Room Parents to encourage each teacher in a myriad of unique ways. We know that you are all carrying additional stresses in your lives, and we appreciate your support of the students, staff, and teachers at ZCS.

Since the spring, feedback to the Board has been frequent and representative of varying opinions. We value and welcome thoughts and questions from each of you as a Society member. Some of our best Board level discussions generate from questions posed by Society members. We would like to encourage you to reach out to the Board for answers to questions and discussion of concerns. Thank you to those of you who have held us accountable, encouraged, and guided us this year. In our social media-driven culture, we have repeatedly observed the importance of going to the source of concern to seek truth, answers, and affirmation. Most concerns were resolved by a simple correction of misinformation or rumors. If we, as a Board, are not the most appropriate source of answers we will direct you to the correct individual. Please feel free to email the board at zcsboard@zcs.org.

In anticipation of the weeks and months ahead, our desire and prayer is that we, along with all members of the ZCS society, will stay unified by our mission, encourage one another, celebrate God’s faithfulness, and ultimately, BURN BRIGHT in our community and beyond. May we model the traits of loving obedience to God’s will, service, and responsibility towards our world that we desire to instill in each of our graduates.

Burn Bright,

Betsy Koop ‘98 Board President