ABOVE: Three students raise their hands to answer a question during third and fourth grade science class at Fairmont Christian School.

FAIRMONT – Eight years after its inception, Fairmont Christian School (FCS) has fully expanded to K-6.

Administrator Kim Niestrath said the school has 38 students across all levels. This is their evolution from starting at pre-k with 8 students. The school merges focuses on play-based and experience learning with God.

“We want our kids doing, experiencing and learning real-world skills,” Niestrath said. “The other thing I’m pretty proud of is we teach kids no matter where they are. If we have a child struggling, we don’t wait for them to fail to intervene. We intervene as soon as we can.”

This year, Niestrath said school has gone really well, with students learning in and outside of the classroom.

“We want the kids out and exploring the world,” she said. “So far, our classes have traveled 708 miles. We go to field trips, state parks, conferences, museums.”

The addition of a sixth grade and students starting to graduate for the first time led sixth-grade parents to want a unique and exciting going-away experience. After fundraising, Niestrath said they would be traveling 1,800 miles to Kentucky.

“They are going to the Creation Museum and Arc Experience,” she said. “We’ll be gone five days, going to stay at an Airbnb house, and see things down there.”

In terms of grade levels, Niestrath said she and the board will keep it at K-6 for the foreseeable future. She said sixth grade provides a good stopping point because middle school starts at seventh grade. Besides this expansion, Neistrath said they have made some other changes.

“Security is one of them because all schools want to be a safe place for their students,” she said. “We’ve added different safety features to our school. We have grown as a board. We started with four or so board members. We now have seven. They have a variety of expertise, which makes it very helpful.”

Fairmont Christian School has also become its own entity by creating a 501c3 after having started with assistance from Mountain Lake Christian. Now, Niestrath said they have had the opportunity to help a new Christian school starting west of them.

Niestrath said it has been an amazing opportunity to have students come to Fairmont Christian School. She said the role she has played in developing and building the foundation for Fairmont Christian School’s continued growth is an honor.

“I work very hard to be the helper of the school,” Niestrath said. “‘What does the school need today? What do the students need today? What does the staff need today?’ I could have my schedule full of meetings but if I’m needed somewhere by anyone, that’s what I do that day. It gives me the opportunity to serve in a way I feel is unique and I take that as a big privilege.”

For more information, visit https://www.fairmontchristian.org/.