History
A CLASSICAL, CHRISTIAN SCHOOL IN WILLIAMSBURG, VA
Providence Classical School is a classical, Christian school that opened its doors to students in 2001 after two years of careful planning and deliberation. The vision of bringing this school from dream to reality has been an incredible and fulfilling process. In the late spring of 1999, two classical education teachers, a mother of classically educated children, a local pastor and former educator, and a public school Latin teacher decided to convene monthly to discuss their vision to bring the first classical, Christian school to Williamsburg. For one year, they did research about the classical education model, gathered information from well-known classical Christian schools, and read extensively about teaching methods and education theory.
By the summer of 2000, the group began developing the founding statements, articles of incorporation and by-laws. With these critical tasks completed, the group decided that the time was right to bring the PCS concept public and gauge community interest for a school of this type. The group, which chose the name “Providence” to signify its fortuitous coming together, held a Community Interest Forum in March, 2001. Based on the level of interest shown at that event, they decided to push ahead with an aggressive schedule for opening a school in the fall of 2001.
After a lengthy search, the group reached an agreement to rent space at the Williamsburg Christian Church on John Tyler Lane. This location served the school well in its first year, but proved to be too small to contain the growth of the student body, which doubled between the first and second years. During the summer of 2002, PCS located a suitable building on Palace Lane in Williamsburg. School staff and families undertook a complete renovation of the building during that summer and opened the new school in September with a celebration including local dignitaries and representatives from local churches.
Enrollment at the school increased substantially in the years to follow. As PCS grew to offer Kindergarten through eighth grades, it filled the Palace Lane building to capacity. During the years of 2006-2008, the PCS Facilities Committee undertook the task of searching out a building suitable for the next phase of the school’s growth. In the spring of 2009, they located a series of buildings that would double the classroom capacity and provide separate spaces for the growing Grammar and Dialectic schools. The new campus is in the Greensprings Center, centrally located in Williamsburg off John Tyler Highway. PCS added its Rhetoric School in the fall of 2010 and graduated its first senior class in 2013, completing the full grammar, dialectic and rhetoric phases of the Trivium. And most recently, Junior Kindergarten was added to the Grammar school in 2020.
PCS has benefited from the grace of God, much prayer, a supportive community, and the talents of the many families and staff who have brought amazing skills and resources to the growing school.