Columbus private school has new headmaster

A Columbus private school has a new headmaster.

Calvary Christian School announced Tuesday that Jim Koan is succeeding Ricky Smith as headmaster.

Smith announced in October he would become a state missionary in the Student Ministry Group and Faith Development Department or the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. He will stay at Calvary through the end of this month to help Koan with the transition, the school said in its news release.

Koan is the sixth headmaster in Calvary’s 41-year history. He has nearly 30 years of experience in Christian education, including a total of 23 as a headmaster at Shoals Christian School in Florence, Ala., Phoenix Christian Unified Schools in Phoenix, Ariz., Lansing Christian School in Lansing, Mich., and Washington Christian Academy in Silver Springs, Md.

"It is such an honor to join the amazing community of Calvary Christian School,” Koan said in the news release. “God has assembled a gifted and dedicated team of teachers and staff and positioned this school to have a huge impact on families in Columbus. What an exciting work ahead there is for us all at CCS.”

Also according to the news release, Koan and his wife, Carol, graduated from Bryan College (Dayton, Tenn.) in 1987. They have three children and one grandchild.

The Rev. Jeff Struecker, Calvary Christian School’s board president and lead pastor of Calvary Christian Baptist Church, told the school’s families in a letter why Koan is a “perfect fit.”

“Mr. Koan is a career educator with decades of experience serving in Christian schools,” he said. “More importantly, he is passionate about Kingdom education. He has consistently demonstrated that he is serious about keeping the school Christian first in everything they do. He has raised two adult children in Christian education and currently has a high school aged son, Jonathan, that will be enrolling at CCS.”

The board’s decision was unanimous, Struecker said.

“Our board recognized immediately that he is serious about the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” the pastor said. “He is active in sharing his faith. Although there were many reasons our board was interested in calling Mr. Koan to lead our school, what made him stand out from the rest of the qualified applicants for this position is his desire to see young men and women follow in the footsteps of King Jesus.”

Struecker declined the Ledger-Enquirer’s request to disclose the number of candidates who applied and were interviewed.

This story was originally published January 3, 2017 at 4:02 PM with the headline "Columbus private school has new headmaster."