“I thoroughly love coming to Aboite Christian School (ACS). The caring, one-on-one attention students get here is just unbeatable. The teachers know what their students need not just academically, but spiritually and socially, too.” You might expect a satisfied parent or student to say something like this, but these are the sentiments of Luann Hallberg, a public school teacher who works for Fort Wayne Community Schools.

 As a Title 1 Reading Teacher, Hallberg works in six schools in the Fort Wayne area providing reading and math enrichment to students who qualify for Title 1 services. On Tuesdays and Thursdays she works one-on-one with six ACS students who qualify because they would attend a Title 1 school were they not attending the church school.

Aboite Christian School has been Hallberg’s first exposure to Adventist education and multigrade classrooms. “I’ve noticed the children are very good at working on their own when necessary; they seem to take responsibility for their learning,” she observes. “I also think it’s great how each child can work at his own level and pace.

“It’s true that the public schools try to implement all of the latest strategies and innovative methods, but I see the teachers here at ACS doing all of the same things and more,” says Hallberg. “Also, the children are so polite and caring and the teachers, Nadine Schultz, Sheldon Schultz and Stephanie Wines are such a joy to work with. They make me feel so welcome!”

 Hallberg did not originally plan to be an elementary school teacher. “Because I love languages, I began college majoring in German and Latin,” she explains. “But, after a summer spent doing volunteer work with low income students in Indianapolis, I changed my major to elementary education.”

Following her graduation from Indiana University (Bloomington), Hallberg taught at Shambaugh Elementary School and Adams Elementary School, both in Fort Wayne. After taking a few years off to raise her children, Hallberg returned to teaching as a full-time substitute teacher for Fort Wayne Public Schools. Upon completing her master’s degree in literacy, she began specializing in reading enrichment.  In addition to her work as a Title 1 Reading Teacher, Hallberg also volunteers at Transitions, a long-term care facility for women, and their children, recovering from addiction.

The Hallbergs sent their two children to Lutheran schools. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against the public schools,” she explains, “but, God is very important in our life and, as parents, we just wanted our children to go to a school where they would associate with other students, teachers and parents who shared the same values.

“Raising a child today is so much more difficult than it was in the 80s,” says Hallberg. “Back then we didn’t have the Internet and incredible amounts of media and entertainment that now tempt our children all the time. I think it is more important now than it was 10 or 15 years ago to send your children to a Christian school.”

When asked what advice she had as a professional educator for parents who are trying to decide whether or not a Christian education is worth investing in for their children, Hallberg said, “Parents have to decide what they value most.  As parents, what my husband and I valued most was that God’s word and Christ would be incorporated in every subject, all day long for our children. Because Christ was the center of our life and our learning, we just had to send our children to a Christian school.”

Located on the southwest edge of Fort Wayne, Aboite Christian School (ACS) is one of 14 elementary schools operated by the Indiana Conference. Established in 1924, ACS provides quality Adventist Christian education in a caring, family-like setting to 28 students.

This story first appeared in the 2nd Quarter 2010 issue of the Indiana Conference Connection newsletter and is reprinted by permission. Mark Haynal, Ed.D., was educational superintendent of Indiana Conference before his current role as president of Canadian University College.