Immanuel Christian School (Springfield)

Immanuel Christian School is a private Christian school in Springfield, Virginia, 15 miles (24 km) from Washington, D.C., United States.[1]

Immanuel Christian School
Location
Springfield, Virginia

United States
Information
TypePrivate school
Religious affiliation(s)Christian
Established1976 (1976)
Head teacherStephen Danish
GradesK-8
Enrollment469 (2019)
WebsiteOfficial website

The school accepts students from kindergarten to the eight grade at its main campus.[2] As of 2019, the school had 469 students; slightly less than half were non-white.[3] The head of the school was Stephen Danish.[4] The school has been recognized by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.[5]

The school opened in 1976, but its roots date to 1966 with the groundbreaking for Immanuel Baptist Church in northern Virginia.[6] In the fall of 2019, the school opened its high school in Alexandria, Virginia, by enrolling students in the 9th and 10th grades, announcing it would open 10th and 11th in the following two years.[7]

In January 2019, Karen Pence, wife of the Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, returned to teach art part-time,[8] after a six-year absence from the school, where she previously taught for 12 years.[9] A daughter of the Pence family graduated from Immanuel Christian.[10]

The school's employment application requires an affirmation of Christian faith and bars "moral misconduct", which it defines to include, among others, "homosexual or lesbian sexual activity, polygamy, transgender identity."[11]. The attention the school received as a result of this caused a media debate as to whether their policies are discriminatory[12]. A result of this controversy is the decision of The Sheridan School (a private school located in Washington, D.C.) to refuse to play division basketball games with ICS [13].

References
  1. Christine Hauser; Neil Vigdor (27 September 2019). "Update: Virginia Girl Recants Story of Assault, and Family Apologizes". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 September 2019. Immanuel Christian School is a private Christian school that enrolls kindergartners through eighth graders at its campus in Springfield, which is 15 miles southwest of Washington.
  2. Niraj Chokshi (30 September 2019). "Virginia Girl Recants Story of Boys Cutting Off Her Dreadlocks". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 September 2019. The school enrolls kindergartners through eighth graders at its campus in Springfield
  3. By Joe Heim (30 September 2019). "Virginia sixth-grader now says she falsely accused classmates of cutting her hair". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 September 2019. Immanuel Christian is a private K-10 National Blue Ribbon school with 469 students. Just under half the pupils are students of color
  4. "Black student recants accusation that white boys 'cut her dreadlocks'". BBC. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019. The head of the school, Stephen Danish,
  5. Joe Helm (26 September 2019). "Three boys accused of assaulting girl, cutting her dreadlocks at private Virginia school". Washington Post. Retrieved 1 October 2019. Immanuel Christian is a private K-10 National Blue Ribbon school
  6. https://www.icsva.org/about-ics/our-heritage/
  7. https://www.icsva.org/about-ics/ichs/
  8. Elisha Fieldstadt; Janell Ross (30 September 2019). "Black girl who said 3 white boys cut her dreadlocks at school now says she was lying". MSN. NBC News. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019. Vice President Mike Pence's wife, Karen, teaches part-time at Immanuel Christian School.
  9. Eli Rosenberg (15 January 2019). "The school that hired Karen Pence requires applicants to disavow gay marriage, trans identity". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 September 2019. the second lady had taught at the school for 12 years previously when Mike Pence was a member of Congress.
  10. Matthew Haag (16 January 2019). "Karen Pence Is Teaching at Christian School That Bars L.G.B.T. Students and Teachers". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 September 2019. "Mrs. Pence [...] teach art to children at a Christian school, and the school's religious beliefs, are under attack." Mrs. Pence, 62, taught at Immanuel Christian School from 2001 to 2013. Their daughter Charlotte, 25, graduated from the school
  11. Haag, Matthew (Jan 16, 2019). "Karen Pence Is Teaching at Christian School That Bars L.G.B.T. Students and Teachers". Retrieved Aug 30, 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
  12. Opfer, Chris. "Karen Pence Teaching Gig Features LGBT, Religious Rights Debate". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved Aug 30, 2019.
  13. comment, 2019 / Leave a (Feb 4, 2019). "School Will No Longer Play Sports Games at Christian School Over LGBT Stance". The Daily Signal. Retrieved Aug 30, 2019.

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