Shannon Kelly | Special for Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy
In a city boasting multiple private schools, including Liberty University, Liberty Christian Academy, Temple Christian, and others, Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy (DTD) stands hidden and unassuming in a corner of Lynchburg, Virginia. However, what happens at this small, modest school is unlike anything that occurs in most other schools. DTD is a mission school dedicated to carrying on the legacy of conscientious objector, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, and Lynchburg native, Desmond T. Doss: the mission to “save one more.”
Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy – formerly Lynchburg Seventh-day Adventist Academy – was attended by Desmond Doss himself as a boy. It is a traditional Church school in almost every respect, except that DTD goes the extra mile for its students. Every student at Desmond Doss has a story, some of them less than easy. Though many students sail smoothly along, others struggle with learning disabilities or behavioral problems that left them falling through the cracks in other schools. Some come from rough home situations; still others come from families struggling financially. Yet in this school, they all can find safety and grace, regardless of their histories.
Heather Kirk, her husband, and their several children have experienced this blessing first-hand. Prior to DTD, some of Heather’s children were struggling academically, falling behind in school. After hearing about this mission school, the family decided to enroll one of their kids there. Their child did so remarkably well that they desired for the rest of their children to attend. Then came a devastating blow. In 2014, Heather was suddenly stricken with a severe illness that quickly left her unable to work at her job that had provided over half her family’s income. Private school is not cheap for one child, let alone several. With a heavy heart, she informed principal Steve Doss that she would have to leave the place that had blessed her family because they could no longer afford it.
“He said, we’re not letting you take the kids out of the school,” Heather says with a tone of grateful awe. “He said, ‘No, these kids need to be here.’” The financial situation still seemed impossible, but the school was unwilling to give up. With hard work and many prayers, partial scholarships were raised for the Kirk students, and with this assistance, the Kirk children are able to remain where they thrive. “That is the love and the mentality of the people there,” she continues. “And they’ve just always had that heartbeat, you know? What can we do to reach these kids, to reach one more kid that wasn’t getting reached before, to make a difference in that child’s life? They have impacted our family in such an amazing way that I can’t begin to express.”
Jane Brooks struggled for years to find a school situation that would be right for her son, who has Asperger syndrome. “His main issue is that he’s really shy, so he’s always reluctant to ask for help,” Jane explains. This shyness made it hard to thrive at the larger school he used to attend. With one teacher for over twenty children, the one-on-one attention that Jane’s son needed was lacking, causing him to fall behind. “My son started talking about, ‘It’s hard… I can’t…’” Jane decided to take matters into her own hands: “I decided to homeschool.” Though her son thrived academically in the private environment, Jane worried that he was missing out socially. Hoping to resolve this issue, her son was enrolled in public school with an individual education plan. Though her son now had social interaction he had been lacking, his academics began backsliding because his education plan failed to serve his academic needs. Realizing this, it was back to homeschooling. Jane felt discouraged, wondering how she could fulfill her child’s academic and social needs at once. There had to be a way!
One day, Jane found herself speaking with a former DTD teacher who recommended that she call Steve Doss and give Desmond T. Doss a try. Jane decided that anything was worth a shot, and she began speaking with Doss. “He was saying phrases like, ‘We care about the kids; we treat the kids as our own; we meet them where they are and bring them where they need to be,’” Jane recalled. She also recalled her skepticism regarding those pretty promises. “This school really knows what to say, but there’s no way that any of this could be true,” she thought. Despite her doubts, she scheduled a visit to the school at the principal’s urging. That visit changed the life of both Jane and her son. While Jane met with Doss, her son spent time with Doss’s daughter, who showed him around the school and began forging a friendship. “I was just amazed that this school was touting the things that they were saying,” Jane said. “And when we got back in the car, my son said, ‘That’s where I want to go.’ He’s never, ever said that before.” Jane enrolled her son in the school, where he has been flourishing academically and socially for the past three years. Thanks to a small teacher-student ratio and the attentiveness of his educators, he receives the one-on-one attention he needs to do his best.
“It’s just great,” Jane says. “I can’t say enough about it.”
The staff at Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy remain dedicated in their mission as they continue to impact the lives of children and parents, moving forward with the continual prayer: “Help me save one more.”
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