At Legacy Christian Academy, our teachers are the heart of everything we do. Their love for Christ and commitment to academic excellence shape our students daily. The Legacy Christian Teacher’s Fund helps us retain our beloved educators and attract new teachers who share our biblical convictions and educational values.
Your generous Giving Tuesday donation will directly support Legacy Christian Academy's crucial teacher retention and recruitment efforts, helping us secure and keep the exceptional educators our K-12 students deserve. Investing in our teachers’ growth and professional development ensures we can attract exceptional educators and retain the dedicated staff who shape our students every day. A strong faculty is foundational to our mission and is a vital component for maintaining a robust, cutting-edge STEAM program. Join parents, trustees, and the community in donating today to empower our teachers and secure Legacy's competitive edge for the future.
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At precisely 8:15 each school day at Legacy Christian Academy, a bell chimes across the kindergarten playground. As soon as they hear it, every Legacy kindergartener knows it’s time to exit the sandbox, leave the playground, or end the game of tag and gather in a straight, well-organized line outside their classroom. Once the students are in place, the classroom door opens and their teacher, Briana Van Dyke, appears.
“Good morning, students!” she calls.
“Good morning, Mrs. Van Dyke,” 27 little voices answer.
Then one-by-one, the students file past Mrs. Van Dyke, stopping briefly to give her a hug as they enter the classroom. By the time Briana greets the last student and waves goodbye to any parents, each kid is seated at his or her desk, ready to begin the day.
This is one of dozens of routines Briana teaches her students the first few weeks of the school year. Her goal is to get her class organized as quickly as possible, to teach them how to follow instructions, avoid distracting behavior, and move from one activity to another. Through her years of teaching kindergarten, Briana knows the learning will be stunted if the classroom isn’t highly organized and scheduled. She also knows that once students know where to go and what to do, they are ready to learn. And at Legacy, kindergarteners learn an extraordinary amount.
“In the first week of the new school year, few of my students know how to read. They typically don’t have much experience sitting still or following directions from a teacher,” Briana said. “By the final week of school, all of them can read and they have progressed from a cloud of chaos to a group that knows how to follow instructions and look out for each other. It’s a joy to see so much growth.”
Parents who volunteer in the classroom, and others who observe Briana in action, note how effectively she organizes the class, how compassionate and patient she is with the children, and how little time is wasted. By instilling discipline and keeping the students engaged and learning throughout the day, no matter what ability the student had when they arrived at Legacy, Briana provides a foundation for these students as they progress through their first year of school.
“Being their first teacher is a big responsibility, one I don’t take lightly,” Briana said. “This is the foundation of their education, and I want them to not only learn how to be in school, but also love school.”
Providing that solid foundation for Legacy’s kindergartners wasn’t something Briana always wanted to do, but a specific moment of seeing a student grow changed her perspective. It happened four years ago. At the time, Briana had taught seventh, fourth, and third grade at Legacy. She’d never considered teaching the youngest students at Legacy, but Briana had always operated with a simple philosophy: serve where needed. So, when the administration asked her if she’d be willing to help a kindergarten teacher who was needing some time away from the classroom, she didn’t hesitate.
“I specifically remember helping a student recognize the pattern of numbers,” Briana said. “Once you get to 10 and then 20, it’s one, two, three, four but with a zero. I could see the light bulb go on. This student’s face lit up as they understood the concept. It was rewarding and a lot of fun.”
After a few months, Briana knew without a doubt that she wanted to be in kindergarten long term. So, when the administration asked her to stay the following year, she didn’t need any time to consider. She said yes immediately.
“God knew this grade was a great fit for me. He knew it long before I did,” Briana said. “It’s been so rewarding over the past four years to see the growth every day. You obviously see growth in other grades, but you don’t see it as dramatically as in kindergarten.”
Now on the cusp of her fifth year in kindergarten, Briana marvels at how the Lord led her through a series of jobs and surprising circumstances to prepare her to serve in her current role.
“I grew up in a family that understood service,” Briana said. “My father was a police officer. Other members of my family worked in law enforcement. When I graduated from The Master’s College (The Master’s University today) twenty years ago, I thought I was heading for a career in law enforcement.” But shortly after graduation, Briana found out about a need for a teacher at a missionary school in Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia.
“When this need came along, I decided to serve, even though I knew it wouldn’t be easy,” Briana said. “That year I spent in Kyrgyzstan was a wonderful, challenging experience. The culture there is very different. But I was able to serve and learned a lot about how to honor God and go wherever he sends you.”
When Briana returned to the states, she again found herself serving the church, this time working as part of the maintenance staff at her church in Simi Valley. Her intention was to join the police force, but the Lord had other plans. An injury sidelined Briana, keeping her from training. Then Briana started dating. Her boyfriend at the time (husband today) was a police officer. As the couple grew more serious, Briana realized it wouldn’t be good for their relationship, or their future children, if she was a police officer as well. Yet as the Lord seemed to be shutting the door to law enforcement, he opened another door.
“My best friend, Tiffany Seston, who I played basketball with at Master’s, asked me if I’d consider teaching at Legacy,” Briana said. “They had a need for an assistant teacher.”
Once again, the Lord’s will for Briana’s life came in the form of meeting a need. She joined the Legacy team and has been there ever since, meeting needs. That’s been the theme of her life. Serve wherever a need arises and watch as the Lord brings along a job she’s passionate about.
“Teaching kindergarten is definitely fulfilling. And it's all the Lord,” Briana said. “[Teaching] certainly has its challenges. It can be hard going home after pouring into the classroom and then parenting and caring for my three children. I know I’m only able to do all that because of the Lord. He gets all the glory. Because of Him, I love what I do.”
If it’s the Lord’s will, Briana plans to be in the same place each school day at 8:15 a.m. Ringing that bell, then greeting the little souls God has entrusted to her as they file into her class for another day of learning and remarkable growth at Legacy.
