Brandon Lantz had clocked in nearly 20 years in education before serendipitously connecting with Dillon Community Church’s Senior Pastor, Jim Howard, to launch a new private school this school year.

Lantz spent a bulk of his career in public education systems throughout the East Coast both as a Spanish and math teacher before making his way to Summit County, where he took note of the lack of Christian schooling options. 

He reached out to Howard just as Dillon Community Church was looking to fill its newly renovated basement. The Dillon Community Church had been contemplating filling it with a school for the last several years and now found someone to help bring the idea to fruition.

Howard said the church’s intention of introducing this alternative education option to families wasn’t to compete with the public school system. He said it was to bring something into the classrooms public school’s can’t in Colorado: theology class.

“The secondary reason after that is some of the parents are concerned about (Summit School District’s) test scores,” Howard said while clarifying that this concern was shared by community members and not something he’s personally concerned about.

For its inaugural year, the Summit Christian School has eight students. Currently the school serves grades 4-6, but Lantz hopes to add more grades in the future and said the school has the capacity for around 45 students. 

For now, the school runs on a four-day week using a trimester model with a summer vacation that aligns with the public school systems. 

When it came to formulating a curriculum, he said he used Charlotte Mason’s methodology as a blueprint. Mason was an educator during the turn of the twentieth century in England and advocated for more liberal education practices focused on a holistic style of teaching intended to instill a love of learning in children.

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Lantz said his philosophy of supporting social and emotional growth and recognizing the individuality and specific needs of each child is something he and the church wanted to incorporate in Summit Christian School. He also appreciated Mason’s cohort-approach when it came to grouping kids into classes. 

“Kids don’t fit into cookie-cutter boxes. … Just because you’re 12 years old and you’re in this grade doesn’t mean that you’re not maybe a little bit more advanced in this topic or maybe needing a little bit more support in the other topic,” he said, highlighting the individualized approach to learning his school takes. 

Students work with a reading specialist once a week to get individual support. 

Aside from drawing from the Charlotte Mason Institute to concoct a curriculum, he also takes aspects from other institutions, like Stanford University. 

The school does conduct standardized testing and plans to yearly. Instead of using Colorado’s standardized testing, it uses a nationally recognized standardized test called the “Iowa Test.”

Lantz organizes class schedules so students are taking lessons on subjects like math, literature and theology in the morning and subjects like art, music and sewing in the afternoon. 

Sarah Christy, who helped form the Heart of the Rockies Children’s Choir, is the school’s music teacher and her classes include lessons on music theory and folk dancing. 

Lantz said, when the weather is nice, he likes to utilize the outdoors in learning as much as possible. 

Tuition per pupil costs around $10,000 and there’s opportunity for tuition assistance up to $3,000, he said. He added the school is currently taking applications.

The Summit Christian School is its own nonprofit and, while affiliated with the church, it is not the same entity. It is funded by the church and grants from private donors.

Lantz hopes to expand the staff, and those interested can contact him at blantz@summitchristian.net. 

The Summit Christian School meets in the Dillon Community Church at 371 East La Bonte St. in Dillon. To learn more visit Summitchristian.net.