The Vision has been cast!

Slidell Mayor, Family Research Council President, State Rep and other distinguished guests speak at LCA's Vision Night; Launch set for Fall 2016.

Lakeside Christian Academy is quickly developing a buzz around town! Last night, LCA hosted their first Vision Night that had over 150 people in attendance.  Pastor John Raymond, LCA Founder, opened the evening with a life-giving welcome, prayer and opening remarks that set the tone that lasted through out the entire event. The speakers included Slidell Mayor Freddy Drennan, LA State Representative Greg Cromer and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins via telecast from Washington DC. 

The entire event was updated via Lakeside's Twitter, which you can follow @LCAslidell or the hashtag for LCA's launch process, #LaunchingLCA. The first tweet of the night reads "We want this school in Slidell, and I will do anything I can to get it here!" Mayor Drennan said as he excitedly welcomed LCA into the community. 

LCA also announced the first members of their Advisory Board that includes respectable members of the local Christian community with extensive education experience. The Board will serve as a team of advisors to support Lakeside in prayer and advise decisions made during the launch process.

The Board as of now includes:

Ben and Courtney Haindel: After graduating from a Christian school, Ben continued teaching and being involved in various administration rolls for over a decade. Ben just finished his first year as High School Principal of Parkview Baptist School in Baton Rouge. His wife Courtney also has an extensive background in Christian education, and currently serves as the Marketing and Enrollment Director of PBS, which serves 1,265 students.  

Wynn Williams is a lifetime Slidell native and active member in the Christian initiatives that take place in the community. She currently serves on many boards in the area including, St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce and St. Tammany Parish Economic Development District. 

Dr. Joey Shorter has served as the headmaster of Northlake Christian School in Covington, Louisiana for a number of years and has dedicated his career to teaching, coaching and administration in the private and public schools from pre-K through the university level. 

In addition to the impressive speakers listed above, LCA's Vision Night also included speakers who gave heartfelt testimonies from a perspective of a parent, teacher and student. 

Anna Lacy, a mother of 3 students in the St. Tammany Parish Public School System, shared a story she recently experienced with her child who is entering 9th grade. Her teacher assigned a paper to be written on the child's hero. Anna's daughter chose to write her paper on Jesus, as any mother, Anna was thrilled. After turning the paper in, Anna's daughter was told this would not be allowed for submission and would have to be rewritten on a different hero. This was in Pearl River, Louisiana. These stories are no longer on the other side of the world or country, but right here in our schools. 

Tammy Lamy, who has taught in the St. Tammany Parish School System for 17 years and his been nominated multiple times for Teacher of the Year spoke of her calling to teach in the mission field of the public school system. Regardless of what mandates were in place, Tammy always made sure to share her faith with students and welcome them to do the same. As time went on, and Common Core became a require curriculum, Tammy could no longer bring herself to teach kids things that were so far from truth and retired from teaching within the public school system. Tammy has 3 children and hopes to enroll and teach at LCA when the doors are open. 

Monica Raymond, daughter of LCA Founder and member of the launch team is a product of lifetime Christian Education. She spoke of many experiences during her time at Northlake Christian School that have helped shape her into the Godly woman she is today. She urged parents to train and equip their children with a biblical worldview and teach them to love the Lord. She reminded parents and students, through humor and story telling, that your identity must be strongly rooted in Christ before the world renames you. 

As the speakers concluded, the event went over a 12-month timeline projection and answered some of the most frequently asked questions. Last night's Vision Night has truly set the tone for the life-giving, Christ-filled culture that will be Lakeside Christian Academy. 

*To date, over 170 children are pre-enrolled and over 90 applicants have submitted resumes.