Tippecanoe Christian principal sets sights high for school

Tim Parsons, former president and regional dean of Harrison College, took the reins at the Lafayette private school in September, weeks into the start of the school year.

As a member of the school's parent church, First Assembly of God, he was familiar with the school and always has been drawn to education of any level.

"Education is something in my blood," said Parsons, who admitted he's still in the transition stage of his new role.

For Assistant Principal Linda McKinley, Parsons' hire was a relief. Up until that point, McKinley had been acting principal -- a tough job, she said, considering she was feeling her way through a newly established and controversial school voucher program.

"It was something I was not familiar with," McKinley said of vouchers. "None of us were."

The voucher program, which provides tax-based private school scholarships for middle- and low-income families, was passed into law earlier this year and continues to draw controversy as the constitutionality of the program is set to be debated in court.

The school had eight voucher students this fall. The voucher program is a key part of the school's goal to expand enrollment, Parsons said.

The school has 93 students this year, and while that's less than the school's enrollment last year, Parsons is optimistic.

"Next fall I could see doubling that," Parsons said. "We certainly have the space."

That includes capacity for serving high school students, which Parsons said is an active goal of the school.

"It's certainly something me and the board have been talking about and something we need to move forward with," Parsons said. "It's just a matter of getting into January, February, March and seeing is the demand there."

In the meanwhile, Parsons said the school will continue advancing in other ways, for example with a new program that provides Android-powered tablets for use by seventh- and eighth-graders.

Eighth-grader Cassidy Clark agrees that the program, which began this year, is an improvement.

"I like that we don't have to carry books around," Cassidy said. "And I can get on the Internet at home because I have no computer at home."

As far as Parsons is concerned, seventh-grader Courtney Clark said he's doing a good job in his first few months.

"He's kind of cool, calm and talks things out," Courtney said.

While Parsons' new role is more discipline-focused, including dealing with an occasional crying 3-year-old, he said he's made the right choice. He credits his place in education to a former teacher of his own.

"He just created that passion for learning," Parsons said. "I wanted to be able to transform lives. It's hard to run away from that."