The History of Lighthouse Academy

In the summer of 1981 the Fredericksburg Region was introduced to it’s first montessori preschool. From its humble beginnings, located in the basement of a downtown church with 10 pre-school students, the Lighthouse Academy has grown year by year to meet the driving demand of the ever increasing community. The school moved three times and has now permanently landed on a 6-acre campus just outside of downtown Fredericksburg. With a current enrollment of 115 students, serving ages 2 through 8th grade and a high school program in it’s immediate future, the Lighthouse Academy has continued to serve the community with the best possible private education to date. Voted the Rappahannock Region’s Best Private School and the Best Private Preschool for 2009, the Lighthouse Academy has maintained a level of excellence that just keeps getting better and better.

In 1981 a local dentist and his wife started what was then called the Fredericksburg Montessori School. The school started off in the basement of a local downtown church and enrolled 10 students with one 800 square foot classroom. The school remained in the basement of the church until approximately 1986, enrolling only a small number of pre-school students. In 1987 the school was moved to 312 Sophia Street, still in downtown Fredericksburg with an enrollment of 12 students in a 1,200 square foot classroom. As the years continued the program became more developed and began to enroll kindergarten students as well.

In 1995 Stacie McClung accepted an Assistant Teacher position while awaiting her wedding with her now husband Scott McClung. During her first year, the 1995-1996 school year, Stacie fell in love with the children, the methodology and the program. In the summer of 1996 Stacie approached the current founder and inquired into the possibility of becoming a certified teacher. The founder responded with the opportunity to purchase the school. After much prayer and counsel, the McClungs agreed to take on the school as its new owners.

When the McClungs took over in the summer of 1996, the school had an average annual student enrollment of 12 students. At the start of the 1997-1998 school year the program had an enrollment of 30 students. The McClungs desired to expand the program as fast as the community needed it to grow. By the 1998-1999 school year the plans were in the making for a new location to handle the increased enrollment, which was now up to 55 students. During the summer of 1999 the school was full with a year waiting list. Construction delays and a horrible fire that destroyed most of the original educational materials and all of the furniture, the school’s grand opening was pushed back to January of 2000.

The new facility had 3 pre-school classrooms and enrolled up to 55 students with 3,500 square feet. Due to the demand increase the programs offered, we launched our first elementary program for the start of the 2000/2001 school year.

Also, during the summer of 2000 the McClungs made the decision to change the name of the school to the Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg. The decision was made for two reasons. The first reason being that it was most important to finally turn the school into a “Christ-centered” environment. The school began daily Bible studies, weekly worship and began to produce annual Spring Concerts that glorified God in the arts. The second reason was because the school was looking to the future. Understanding the desire of the families to add grade levels through high-school, a new name was needed to encapsulate the vision of bringing a fresh light to education and our community.

At the end of the 2000-2001 school year the school was full again with a year waiting list. A decision was made to expand the new location, by building out more rental space for the elementary program. In the summer of 2002 construction began on our expansion project, totaling 5,000 square feet, and finished on time for the 2002-2003 school year. For the next five years the school maintained full enrollment at 70 students.

In the summer of 2005 the McClungs were faced with yet another decision to make. Knowing that the school had been maxed out for the last three years and continuing to turn families away, the McClungs knew that another expansion had to be planned. After much prayer and counsel and petitioning the Lord for miracles, the decision was made! In the winter of 2005 the McClungs put a contract on a 6 acre parcel and began the year-long process of rezoning, architectural designing, county planning and VDOT planning. One of the many miracles that occurred was that the McClungs would be able to design and general contract the project themselves.

The actual construction project began on January 25th 2007 with a projected move in date of Saturday, July 28th, 2007. To the disbelief of all the contractors, we finished the project within six months and moved in on Saturday, July 28th, 2007. God made it all happen. We are now in our third year at our new location, 10713 Tidewater Trail, and love what God has done for us. We now have a 12,000 square feet building and a 2-acre play field, including a soccer field. We also have 1.5 acres at the front of the property waiting to be further developed. All in all, our history has been awesome, trying, very difficult at times, but always extremely rewarding.

We thank God for all of the families that have stood with us and labored with us to create a nurturing, spiritually uplifting and solid educational environment. We also thank God for what He has done for us and we will always welcome Him into our halls. Prayer works and God’s Love Never Fails!