Crook County Christian School welcomes Sue Gillham and Stephanie Smith to Advisory Team
As we head into the new & very busy year with significant growth and with eyes on ACSI accreditation candidacy, we are pleased to announce the additions of Sue (Uptain) Gillham and Stephanie Smith as members of our advisory team. Both are seasoned educators and administrators with extensive experience, valuable insight, and we are indebted to them for all their support that helped us replant Crook County Christian School in September 2022. Both have been indispensable advisors to us the past couple of years, we’re happy to formally recognize them as part of our Advisory Team.
About Sue (Uptain) Gillham
Sue Gillham has the unique distinction of being the founder and principal of Crook County Christian School and served here from 1994-2013. It is a great honor and joy to have our founder as part of our ongoing advisory team. When the decision was made to reopen Crook County Christian School in 2022, we immediately sought out Sue’s advice, leaned upon her counsel, and spoke with her extensively about the original mission and vision of CCCS. We strongly desired to return to the historical vision and excellence that defined CCCS for over 20 years under her tenure and until our closing in 2015. As we continue laying the groundwork for the future, our fidelity to the original vision and commitment to excellence drives confidence as we break new ground and do things we’ve never done before. It’s an honor to be able to have Sue as part of that experience and as a key advisor in that process!
Sue is also a natural fit as we enter accreditation candidacy with ACSI, having served on several ACSI accreditation teams for multiple Christian schools. Sue has over 30 years of education experience, and currently serves as the Director for Sutherlin Valley Online Academy.
About Stephanie Smith
Stephanie Smith and Green Valley Christian School have also been indispensable in the relaunching of Crook County Christian School. For the past two years, they have provided key advice, shared valuable resources and insight, and we have leaned heavily on their experience from the beginning to lay a foundation for our school and for developing a program and environment in which our students and staff thrive! Their dedication to excellence has been influential to our own team, and we took a team trip in 2023 with our entire staff to visit their school and classrooms. We have been deeply impacted by their support, and we are thrilled to formally recognize their value the continue to bring to our team as advisors, colleagues and friends!
Stephanie serves as the Principal for Green Valley Christian School’s junior and senior high school program in Henderson, NV, one of the top Christian schools in our Western region. They have a proven track record of excellence, and have won multiple “Best of Las Vegas” awards for private schools because of their effective programs, strong academics, faithful discipleship and excellent student outcomes. Stephanie has over 25+ years of experience in education, and is a seasoned administrator.
About Our Advisory Team
Our Crook County Christian School Advisory Team is comprised of seasoned educators and administrators that provide their experience, advice and expertise to our admin team and school board as needed. They serve exclusively in an advisory capacity and do not have any decision making authority. We have built solid relationships with this team, and we have relied heavily upon their advice since Day 1 of replanting in 2022. We may expand the Advisory Team, as needed, with educators and advisors whose skills and expertise compliment our mission, vision, and values.
