Shadow Days-Oct. 9 & 16
A Message to Our 2026-2027 Students
By: Dr. Michael Dewey, Head of School
As well-known author, pastor, and broadcaster Vernon McLellan wisely observed, "What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year." This sentiment echoes Galatians 6:7-9, where we are reminded that “whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (ESV). With this in mind, I would like to offer a few challenges to the 197 students we currently have enrolled. My hope and prayer are that as we begin this new year, we will sow the kind of seeds that will ensure a rich harvest of growth and achievement in the months ahead.
First, let’s start with the numbers! We officially have 197 students enrolled in grades 9—12. This means that we have surpassed our enrollment goal of 195 students. This enrollment matches the number of students we finished with last year. Here is the breakdown of these students:
62 new students.
47 freshmen, which matches our highest 9th grade enrollment.
15 transfer students in grades 10–12.
92% retention rate. For the second year in a row, our retention rate for students eligible to re-enroll is above 90%. This equates to 135 students returning from last year.
50 seniors, which matches the number of graduates from last year.
54 juniors, which is our highest number of students ever in a single grade. To put this number in perspective, there were only 38 students in this group when they first entered ECS back in 2024—2025.
46 sophomores, which is just one less student than last year’s class.
As a school that reaches capacity at 200, these numbers show that God is continuing to draw students to our program, and that more and more parents are keeping their children here through graduation. What a wonderful confirmation that this school is doing the work that God called it to do. He is faithful! But as encouraging as these numbers are, I am even more excited about the individual students we have at ECS.
Let’s begin with our 62 new students. Each year I receive at least one question about how we decide who is offered enrollment at Evergreen. I understand that the question comes from a desire to ensure we are doing everything possible to maintain a vibrant Christian community at Evergreen. We are unapologetically a covenant model school. That means we only enroll students from Christian homes faithfully attending church. We do this, not to be exclusive, but because of our specific calling to raise up the next generation of Christian leaders. Having interviewed every new family, and a good many of the students, I can assure you that God has drawn many godly families to ECS. I actually had one student ask me about the Bible verse on the wall in our atrium (Isaiah 40:31). He wanted me to explain to him how we are integrating God’s Word into everything that we teach at the school. Why, you ask? Because he doesn’t want to be at a school that is Christian in name and appearance only. This is the kind of student we are seeing more of this year than ever before, which is why I am so excited about these 62 young women and men.
For our 47 new freshmen, the Class of 2030. You may be wondering what your parents signed you up for. Annotations. Student-led class discussions. A Christian Studies class that forces you to think deeply about your faith and how to defend it. This may be unlike anything you have previously experienced in school. Hang in there. It will get better. I can assure you that you are here because God wants you to be here. He would not have placed you here if he didn’t think it was exactly what you needed. This is the year to make your faith your own. Your parents, church, and school can guide you, but your relationship with God is ultimately personal. Take time to pray, read Scripture, ask questions, and grow in your faith for yourself. Don't just inherit your faith, but actively develop it. And make sure to give yourself grace. High school can be hard. You're going to make mistakes. Everyone does. Learn from them, seek God's forgiveness when needed, and keep moving forward instead of dwelling on failures.
For our 15 transfer students. Coming into a program built around the Essential Questions Project, you may feel like you’re a little behind the students that have been here since freshman year. Trust me, you are not. Just remember that God’s timing is perfect. He doesn’t make mistakes. He placed you here because you have something to add to our community. We can learn from the experiences you’ve had before ECS, and the faith God has been developing in you. Don’t be afraid to speak up and share. You are an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). Own it! And don’t be afraid to ask for help as soon as you need it. Your teachers, the Learning Center, and even your parents are all here to help you succeed.
For the Class of 2029, our sophomores. Sophomore year is often overlooked, but it can be one of the most important years of your high school career. The excitement and challenges of being a freshman are gone, and the major milestones of junior and senior year haven't arrived yet. It's the perfect time to build momentum. Focus on developing good habits, both academically and spiritually, and prioritizing character over popularity. This is the year that people are beginning to learn who you truly are. Are you known for kindness? Are you a friend to others? Do your actions match your beliefs? Maybe last year didn’t go quite as you had hoped. None of us are perfect. The great thing about being a Christian is that we can forget about what is behind us, and start reaching toward what is before us (Philippians 3: 13). Look at this year as a fresh start. Make this the year you step into maturity in your walk with God. Ground your identity in Christ, not what others think of you.
For the Class of 2028, our juniors. Evergreen’s focus is on leadership development. That doesn’t mean you become a leader after you leave high school. Now is your time to step up and lead. Seniors can be a mysterious thing to underclassmen, so they look to you. Don’t just be an example, but actively pour into these younger students. Get to know them, invite them to participate in events, and ask them about their faith. Be a mentor. Encourage them and share what you have learned. Make time for students who may be feeling overlooked. The influence that you have now is greater than you realize. Yes, this is the time to start thinking about your future and where God might be leading you to go to college, but the best way to determine God’s plan for your life is by serving him as you serve others. Junior year just always seems to be the year where students turn into young men and women, and we begin to see their potential coming to fruition. We’re already starting to see it after only a few weeks.
For the Class of 2027, our seniors. If you don’t know by now, we truly do love you all. The advice that I have shared for each previous group, I have already seen you incorporate as a way of life. We are proud to have you as the flagship of our school. As faculty and staff, our job is to guide and direct you. And yes, that sometimes means correcting you, but that doesn’t mean we don’t see God moving in your lives in truly amazing ways. I saw many of you when you were freshmen. Back then it was hard to imagine what you would become. It seems like each senior class sets a bar so high that it’s easy to wonder if the following class will be able to live up to it. I have no question that this group will rise to, and even surpass, the high standards of their predecessors. I know that each of you may be a little anxious about your senior thesis and oral defense. Don’t be. You’re ready for it. God has been preparing you for this moment. The one challenge I have for you is to use this as an opportunity to honestly ask yourself, “Will my faith continue when I leave this environment?” That is, after all, the goal of your senior capstone. We have taught you much about your faith. We have given you support. But soon you'll need to make decisions without teachers, chapel, or parents constantly guiding you. Don’t dread this moment. Embrace it as an opportunity to fully own what you believe. Declare, defend, and apply it, but most importantly, practice it. This is the year to develop the practice of your faith more deeply than ever before, because your senior thesis will not be the flag that you plant on the battlefields ahead of you. It will be your faith in Christ. “For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesian 3:14–19, ESV).
Now, let’s get to work sowing these seeds!
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesian 3:20–21, ESV).