4 minute read
Through Amy’s Eyes
Amy Atteberry witnessed the beginnings of Covenant as families prayed over the grounds and worked together to complete our current building.
THROUGH AMY’S EYES // REFLECTING ON 25 YEARS AT COVENANT
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Covenant Christian is honored and blessed to be celebrating its 25-year anniversary this fall. Covenant’s story is one of continuity. “We started off as a family, and that feeling has continued,” says Amy Atteberry. Atteberry has worked at Covenant Christian High School for the entirety of the existence of the school, so on the cusp of this important moment, it seems prudent to get the story of the transformation of Covenant from the person who has seen it all.
“We started off as a family, and that feeling has continued,” said Atteberry. In the early days of Covenant, classes were held in the basement of Chapel Rock Christian Church, and a group of 10 or so teachers and staff did whatever they had to provide a quality Christian education to the students whose families had decided to entrust their kids with this new institution. Atteberry said, “The Word was always first and foremost in what we taught; making sure it was authoritative and what we rooted everything in, our foundation is set in that, and from there we did education.”
“From day one, it felt like a real school. Jim [Spencer] had taught in the public schools for 35 years, so he knew education so well. His leadership was a combination of simplistic and deep. He was very intentional about who he hired. All of us who worked there taught a variety of subjects and coached, so we all took the job seriously because we had to make it work. We loved and fought like family. The students fought like brothers and sisters, too,” said Atteberry.
In the early days, Atteberry said the experience at Covenant always first and
was marked with continual provision from God. When there were needs for supplies or finances, prayer and responsibility reigned supreme.
“I remember Jim [Spencer] coming in and saying, “I don’t know if you’re going to get paid, so pray it in. I don’t know where it’s going to come from.” But it always came. Atteberry remembered in particular that there was a time where she realized she needed a speaker or PA system to facilitate her classes well, and someone independent delivered a check
In one of the biggest moves of God’s faithfulness, the Laskowskis donated the funds for our building. Covenant moved out of the basement next door and into a beautiful new space, but Atteberry said the transition to the building felt more like using a tool and less of a piece of the identity of the school.
“It wasn’t any different relationally. We had to gradually keep hiring more staff, but because we had the same administration, the transition was smooth. The same type of people were being hired, with their relationship with the Lord, educational principals, and ideals.” Atteberry said that the space allowed for more student opportunities and allowed for the staff to be better stewards of their time, and “of course, having a big space could allow for more students to join us.” Gone was the need to rent local gym facilities, and students could conduct experiments in bonafide labs. “It made it easier to do school, in many regards. We were so grateful and appreciative because it was all a gift and stewarding that gift was so important. We kept making relationships with each other and with our families.”
While the physical space was a blessing, Amy has also been present through changes in leadership, and she sees each transition as important notches in Covenant’s timeline. “Jim was the original leader, and then Bryan [Hudson] came in and was a visionary. Jim helped us establish deep roots, but Bryan helped us develop dreams and he encouraged us to think big.” Atteberry said that while sometimes the dreams weren’t realized, the encouragement and culture helped keep Covenant feeling like a family that was doing important, Christ-centered work. Once Hudson left, current principal and CEO Dr. Andy Goodwin took the lead and Amy said that Goodwin’s leadership has continued in the tradition of the school while prompting the school to respond to new challenges.
Amy Atteberry, Covenant Teacher (1995 - present)
“I can still walk into Andy’s office and cry and tell him what is going on, which has always been a trait of this place,” said Atteberry, “And Andy has been leading us into the necessary technological developments well. We’re still balancing a grace-driven vision. It’s been a constant story of sticking to the original vision but responding to new things.”
Through these 25 years, through good times, tough times, new staff, new leadership, new challenges and opportunities, Atteberry says that the non-negotiables of being grace-centered, Word-focused, and deeply relational have been so prominent that now the thought of leaving that environment is tough on her. “The family and relationships that I’ve built through this place, to me, when I think of leaving someday, that is what is going to be hard. It’s family. It has been from day one. From the beginning until now.”
