Dr. Barrett Mosbacker
Briarwood Christian School Superintendent Dr. Barrett Mosbacker
Briarwood Christian School started in 1964 as a ministry of Briarwood Presbyterian Church. Over the course of 50 years, the school has grown from a couple of joint classes to two campuses with about 2,000 students. To get a better idea of how the school has developed, 280 Living sat down with Dr. Barrett Mosbacker, the superintendent of Briarwood Christian School.
How is Briarwood Christian School celebrating its 50th year?
We had a special 50th anniversary convocation service that included videos and special alumni who came back to both speak and provide some levels of entertainment. We have a history book being put together. We have a brand-new website themed on our 50th anniversary. We have a major event coming up this spring, don’t have the exact date to give quite yet, but that will be an effort to get a group of our parents together to talk about not only what’s happened in the past but also our vision for the future.
What are some of the greatest accomplishments that have changed Briarwood over the past 50 years?
Well, in no particular order here, initially the school would have started as an elementary program, so adding a junior high and high school would have been a major development for the school. That would have included the acquisition of the property that we currently sit on. Sometime after that would have been the starting of varsity athletics — football obviously is a major investment and a great contribution to what the school’s doing.
In 2004, we opened up two brand-new facilities on this campus, which included the new auditorium and the new high school gymnasium. About that same time, we purchased an additional 30 acres of land adjacent here, which is undeveloped. We are moving toward the development of that land, here, shortly. We are about to break ground, in January, on a new academic building with six new science labs, a new library, collaborative learning spaces, a new choir room, and we are also putting in new tennis courts.
What student programs have developed over those years?
The start of the Briarwood Student Missions program where we send staff, students and parents to Central America to operate medical clinics, to work with schools down there and things like that. That was a major milestone. Most recently, I would say the launch of our One-to-One iPad Program where all of our students on this campus, [grades] seven through 12, have iPads.
What are your goals for the future?
There are several. We continue to pursue excellence in what we are doing because everyone says that, but we are committed to that deeply. There are a couple things. The development of our master plan — a new master plan that we have that will include remodeling significantly our football stadium, our track areas, tennis court areas, super field area, a new cross-country course and a number of things concerning our master plan.
We are also implementing the beginning stages of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) kindergarten through the 12th grade, and that follows our technology integration program we have in place as well.
