Robert Guillaume, of Knightstown, is pictured alongside his desk at the Anderson Preparatory Academy just before he retired in 2015. He and Brandon Lavy, the pastor at Greenfield Church of Christ, share a vision for opening a private school in Hancock County called Pathway Christian Academy.
HANCOCK COUNTY — A Greenfield pastor and a retired educator are gauging interest in starting a new private Christian school in Hancock County.
Robert Guillaume, who lives in Knightstown, founded the Anderson Preparatory Academy charter school in Anderson in 2008.
He and Brandon Lavy, the pastor at Greenfield Church of Christ, share a vision for opening a private school in Hancock County called Pathway Christian Academy.
“Based on feedback we’ve gotten, the potential is a reality,” said Guillaume, who said roughly 200 people have responded positively to the idea through public forums and social media.
“We found there are quite a number of families in the surrounding area, in Greenfield and even outside Hancock County, who have responded saying they would be very interested if something like this would come up,” he said. “We have begun just slowly stepping forward, going one step at a time.”
He and Lavy started exploring the possibility at the start of this year.
Having founded a school before, Guillaume said he’s undaunted by the thought of starting a new school to serve local students.
“I have been down this road before,” he said.
Guillaume served as CEO of the Anderson Preparatory Academy until retiring in 2015, but said the school’s mission and vision has changed since its founding.
The school started out serving students in grades 6-8, but now serves 850 students in grades K-12.
Guillaume said his main goal was to create a school which would focus on installing values like trust, honesty and respect.
The school required uniforms, which he said helped instill those values.
“Everyone is doing the same thing. Everyone is on the same page. No one is getting bullied for not wearing $100 tennis shoes,” he said.
Guillaume said that based on feedback he and Lavy have received, there’s a sizable interest in an alternative to public schools.
“The homeschool industry is exploding right now. A lot of homeschool families are going that route because there’s not an alternative choice. Unless you live closer to Indianapolis private schools Heritage Christian or Lutheran High School, it’s public school or home school,” he said.
“Over one million families have left public education in the last few years, not just because of COVID. They are tired of the scenario public education has fallen into, with a lack of civility and respect.”
Guillaume said his ideal school would promote both high academic standards and strong values. All that’s missing right now is the funding.
He added he would opt to start a private school, not a charter school as he did in Anderson.
“With a charter school, you have access to state money and can hit the ground running, financially,” he said. With a private school like we’re attempting to do, those funds aren’t there,” he said.
He and Lavy are now seeking donors and sponsors to make their vision a reality.
They’re open to having the school located anywhere in Hancock County, although a central location like Greenfield would be preferred.
“We’re still in an infant stage. I can’t say we’re toddling but we’re still crawling forward. There are still question marks in front of us,” said Guillaume, who was so motivated by the mission that he’s willing to come out of retirement to see it to fruition.
“I just felt like God wasn’t done with me yet,” he said.
For more information, visit the Pathway Christian Academy page on Facebook.
