Marc Popovici, Head of SchoolAt Schaumburg Christian School (SCS), a ministry of Bethel Baptist Church, these convictions are lived out daily as church and school come alongside families to nurture children in faith and learning.
Serving students from preschool through 12th grade, SCS delivers a Christ-centered academic experience that integrates spiritual formation, academic achievement and personal growth. The school believes the best way to reach the child’s heart is to care about the family as much as the student. Many begin at age three, learning routines and structure. Teachers partner with parents to establish the same patterns at home when challenges arise. By sharing strategies and reinforcing practices across school and family, children gain the consistency needed to thrive in academics, faith and daily life.
“We see students for over 1,300 hours a year, but they’re with their parents the rest of the time. Education has to be a cooperative effort centered on the family as God intended, because when the family is strong, the child will thrive,” says Marc Popovici, head of school.
In practice, this conviction extends beyond the classroom through biblical counseling, parent guidance and support for families navigating everyday parenting and college preparation. SCS is also the only private school in Illinois with a full-time police officer on site, not to enforce discipline but to build trust. The officer meets with students daily and serves as a resource for parents, reinforcing safety and care as part of the school community.
We see students for over 1,300 hours a year, but they’re with their parents the rest of the time. Education has to be a cooperative effort centered on the family as God intended, because when the family is strong, the child will thrive.
Care like this is most visible in moments of crisis. When a student learned in the school parking lot that his father had passed away, administrators, counselors and the church immediately surrounded the family with prayer and support. For SCS, these responses show that walking with families means more than academics; it means being present in their most challenging moments.
Academic excellence at SCS flows from spiritual priorities rather than competing with them. The school grounds its vision of success in Joshua 1:8: “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous.” This verse anchors the conviction that true prosperity comes when students are rooted in God’s Word. Achievements naturally follow, with graduates including 25 ACT rising star students, winners of 33 Fine Arts and state awards and admissions to leading universities such as USC. SCS participates in the American Christian Honor Society, which has 66 students enrolled at SCS. Yet these outcomes are seen as fruit, not the ultimate goal. Lasting success is measured instead in restored family relationships, stronger parenting and children discovering their God-given path.
The same philosophy continues past high school. Through partnerships with Christian colleges such as Grace College’s Lancer Direct program—the first of its kind in Illinois—qualified seniors receive automatic admission. By opening these pathways, SCS reassures parents that their children remain supported through the transition to college. Many families who leave often return within two years, drawn back by a culture that values the family unit as much as the classroom.
For SCS, education is a covenant relationship uniting family, church and educators in shared mission. Supporting a student means strengthening a family and from that foundation, young people are nurtured to love God, pursue truth and serve others joyfully. Graduates leave SCS prepared for academic success and lives of faith, equipped by a community where educational excellence and spiritual formation work as one.
