Steinbach Christian School celebrates growth, values, and 75th anniversary

Steinbach Christian School (SCS) is expanding its campus with five new classrooms opening in the end of July for their growing student population.

The five new classrooms will mostly be for high school students. Four classrooms were also added last year.

“Growth creates challenges,” said Thor Barkman, principal and CEO of SCS. “There are loads of work for new problems that you have to figure out. How are we going to find a classroom for this many students? Where will we find other teachers that we need to hire?”

SCS recently bought the shared campus from Steinbach Bible College (SBC). SBC will be relocating to a new facility on Loewen Boulevard in 2026.

Barkman said the school’s growth is from the increasing interest in Christian education.

“The focus and values that we’re presenting, the fact that people are interested in that in greater numbers. It’s an indicator there’s something else happening. They (parents) are thinking ‘We want a slightly different opportunity for our kids,’” said Barkman.

Christianity and faith is a core part of student life at SCS.

Each grade chose a Bible verse to write on the floors of the new classrooms, which will be covered once the final flooring is installed.

Students take dedicated Bible classes throughout their grades, and the school will also be offering a new marketing course available for high school students.

“Christian education makes a difference. The values of Christianity are the building blocks of Western society,” said Barkman. “We’re not asking kids to try to change the world. We’re asking kids to try and change themselves. Master yourself and become more disciplined as students pursuing a goal.”

The tuition for the 2025-26 school year ranges from $2,700 to $5,780 for kindergarten to Grade 12.

Barkman’s parents were also teachers who travelled in many countries including Belize and the Bahamas to teach.

He has experience teaching abroad including in Morroco and Kenya.

“There are advantages that we have here that certainly in some of the developing countries that I worked in they don’t have. They’ll have to work harder for a less certain return. But you learn that hard work does make a difference, and character makes a difference,” he said.

He sees faith-based education becoming more relevant in a “post-Christian” society.

“Right now, Christian education is important because as you move into a post-Christian society, you’re beginning to forget some of the foundational principles that were there,” Barkman said. “If you look at anxiety and mental health rates in children, obviously we’re doing this in some way to ourselves, we live in the most developed and safest countries in the world. Why would there be this incredible rise in mental health issues?” he said.

Around 18.3 per cent of Canadians aged 15 years and older met diagnostic criteria for mood, anxiety, or substance abuse in 2022, according to Statistics Canada.

Topics including gender and identity will be “addressed in religion classes” and “sensitive issues” classes.

“I think there’s age-appropriate times to deal with topics,” said Barkman. “One of the religions classes is going to look at some of the contemporary issues in society. It’ll be addressed there.”

Teachers at SCS are required to sign a statement of faith upon hiring.

He said each year they receive between 80 to 120 new students.

The school raised over $150,000 at their ‘Not Golf’ Fundraising Raffle and 75th school anniversary event on May 30.