Unbeknownst to these two women, they, alongside many other faithful Christians, were pioneers in what has today become known as the Christian Classical schooling movement.  In a unique and specialized way, the Imago school has sought to adhere to the following tenets:

• To provide a nurturing Christian atmosphere where biblical truth is taught as an integral part of all subjects.

• To provide an excellent education that measurably exceeds that available in other schools as evidenced by standardized tests and high school placements.

• To offer an affordable education to diverse Christian families who live in the western suburbs of Boston, including those working in full-time ministry and serving in our military.

Today, the Imago school operates a Pre-Kindergarten through Tenth Grade program.

Students who leave the Imago School consistently perform with distinction in the surrounding high schools.  As a result, we are today seeing the children of our early students coming to receive an Imago education.

Dear Alumni, Friends, Families, and Supporters,

Our God can do a lot in 40 years, and the history of Imago is no exception to that rule. In 1981, when Miss Ward and Miss Dey opened the school with three rented classrooms, one hired teacher (Miss “A”), and 13 students, they stepped into an unknown land that God had led them to with a project on their hearts and minds. They had a vision for a kind of school that didn’t fit into the categories that most folks readily understood. To some the project seemed too “Christian,” holding the Bible as God’s authoritative word and the foundation for all academic pursuits. To them a “rigorous” and “credible” academic school needed the theories and methods of secular education. To others the project seemed too “worldly,” in that it was too interested in arts, music, history, philosophy, grammar, and science for their own sake and as goods in themselves. To these folks a good Christian school ought only be concerned with “matters of the soul” and salvation in Christ. But to Miss Ward and Miss Dey, a truly Christian school would be one that saw the whole mature person, made in God’s image, rational, moral, physical as the aim and goal. This meant a whole-hearted commitment to nurturing the mind, the heart, and the will in the light of God’s will for mankind revealed in the Bible and in His creation. This was no ordinary Christian or Private school they had in mind.

But there were some that saw the vision and joined in, families and churches who saw what they saw. Over the next decades their work grew and developed out of this tiny beginning, flowing from the unique, persistent, and, most importantly, faithful lives of its two founders. The school took on a character that made it difficult to describe but was striking to behold. The halls were either still and quiet in concentration, or overflowing with mirth and merriment. The students were respectful and obedient but also looked adults in the eye and responded thoughtfully and articulately, not cowed or afraid. Traditions of spectacular feasts and festivals, plays and concerts, research papers and presentations developed and took on a lore and life of their own. Songs, hymns, and anthems grew into a repertoire that hundreds of grown men and women still catch themselves humming to this day. In other words, The Imago School was formed and called into being by God. And if you are reading this, your life has probably been shaped and blessed by it.

When Miss Dey and Miss Ward began to approach retirement there was a growing concern though. The Israelites on the borders of Canaan likely had a similar concern when Moses and Aaron passed on the torch. How could it carry on without them? Was the mission not too tied to their unique and particular characters to exist without them? The witness of the Bible and of the past four years has shown that this was not necessarily the case. It was never only about them. They were the beginning and the driving force for decades, but hundreds of like minded families, teachers, and board members caught the bug too and each one brought their own gifts and life to the work, took hold of and built onto different aspects of this idea of a school where God’s image was on display in His people. And it exists today because God wants it to, has called teachers and leaders who see and desire what He wants, and continues to bring parents who see and desire the same for their children. The school is thriving, new families are coming, and the work continues.

So give thanks with us as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Imago School. See what the Lord has done. And as we mark this year please recommit to pray for the school, pray that the Lord would continue to bring teachers, board members, and families that each uniquely demonstrate His character in their love of truth, beauty, and goodness. And consider how you can contribute to the continuation of this work. For the first year in recent memory, we are happy to be able to say that the school has already raised all of the necessary funds to complete our operations for this school year and now ask for next year and beyond. It is our goal to raise all of the necessary financial aid, before the end of the school year, for the many families who rely on it to attend Imago. This amounts to around $160,000 offered each year. We are also praying earnestly that the Lord would provide us with the means to significantly improve our facility situation. Please join us in that prayer.

But, most importantly, we invite you to rejoice in the work that God has done, to entrust the school, its teachers, board, students and families into His care, and to look with expectation and hope for what He has in store for Imago going forward.

Gratefully Yours,
The Board of Directors
The Imago School