About Immanuel Christian School

A K–12 private Christian school in Northern Virginia

For more than 50 years, Immanuel Christian School has been a steady presence in Northern Virginia — a place where faith, learning, and relationships hold lasting value in a fast-changing world. Families come here because our teachers pay attention to what makes each child unique, guiding them to excel academically, think critically, and care for others in our community and around the world. Parents find meaningful ways to serve through Parents in Partnership, while helping their children discover and prepare for who God created them to be.

ICS is a place where roots run deep, and faith grows stronger with each generation. For families who long for a biblical foundation and a holistic approach to education, it simply feels like home.

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A Private Christian Education
You Can Trust

Parents want assurance that their child’s education is both spiritually grounded and academically strong. At Immanuel Christian School, that confidence comes from a long history of excellence and accountability.

ICS is fully accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and Cognia, meeting the highest standards for curriculum, instruction, and student growth.
Financial practices are guided by ECFA certification, which reflects integrity and transparency in stewardship.
Plus, our membership in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association & the Virginia Christian Athletic Conference connects students to a vibrant network of competition and character-building athletic experiences.

The school operates under a board of directors that provides wise oversight and ensures our mission remains firmly centered on Christ. As a ministry of Immanuel Bible Church, ICS shares a heritage of biblical teaching and community care that continues to shape our culture today.

COME SEE What Learning Looks Like Here

Our Kindergarten, Lower School, and Middle School are situated on the grounds of Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield. The campus is just off I-395 near the Capital Beltway (I-495), making it easily accessible from Alexandria, Annandale, and Arlington. The High School campus is located just a few miles away in Alexandria, close to major commuter routes yet nestled in a calm and welcoming neighborhood setting. Families across Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. area appreciate the convenience of our campuses and our Christ-focused culture.

We’d love to show you how students learn and live out their faith in this unique setting. Schedule a tour to experience our classrooms and community in person.

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Meet the ICS Leadership Team

It is a privilege to partner

with families who understand the importance of joining a community grounded in truth and committed to shepherding children to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and discipling them to embrace their God-given purpose.

— Dr. Nathan Stevens, Head of School

Immanuel Christian School cares greatly for each student

and desires to see them grow. It is a privilege to work at a school where students are pointed to Christ while learning in every subject area.

— Dr. Dale Pinkley, Assistant Head of School for Student Formation & Culture

I believe learning is one of God’s most beautiful and miraculous gifts

and Christian education provides an opportunity to pursue what is true, good and beautiful. It is a joy to help students find their God-given purpose through captivating and intentional learning experiences.

— Ms. Ruth Dowdell, Director of Teaching & Learning

We are passionate about the education of a whole child

– head, heart and habits – understanding that each student that comes through our doors is made in the image of God, created to know and love him.

— Mrs. Jennilee Miller, K-8 Principal

My greatest joy is in using the gospel to encourage

the hearts and minds of students and their families. Whether inspiring faculty, discipling students, or connecting with families to invest in our vision, I thrive on aligning people around our shared mission.

— Ms. Rachel Reno, High School Principal

What makes ICS extraordinary is the strength of its community.

I’m grateful to help connect families to a place where children can grow, thrive, and belong while partnering together to inspire purposeful lives rooted in truth.

— Mrs. Jennifer Baxter, Director of Strategic Communications & Community Relations

Our children thrived during their formative years in the spiritually mature

and academically excellent environment of Immanuel Christian School. Stewarding school resources is a way I can use my accounting skills to further God’s redemptive purpose in this world.

— Mrs. Mandy Croushore, Director of Finance

See Our Values in Action

Immanuel Christian School partners with families to inspire students for purposeful lives of learning, godliness, and service.

The Bible has given the primary responsibility of raising children to parents. We believe ICS is privileged to enter into partnership with families in this worthy calling.

Faith: Believing the Truth

We want our students to believe the truth by hearing and doing what is true. We want them to know the truth not only with their mind, but to embrace it with their heart, and live it out with their hands in service to others.

Knowledge: Knowing the Truth

God is the author of all that is true, and the pursuit of knowledge begins with reverence for Him. Without that spiritual dimension, education is stunted and cannot fulfill its ultimate purpose of bringing us into a fuller knowledge of God, His world, and His word. Students are taught to value knowledge and to know and verify the truth.

Thinking: Using the Truth

Truth is unchanging in the midst of a rapidly changing world, with consequences for life and eternity. We do not simply teach our students what to think, but how to think. This helps them learn to use the truth carefully and strategically in critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving.

Communication: Sharing the Truth

There is no greater purpose for truth than to share it with others. The truth that changes us and our students should be passed on to a world in need of the truth. We teach our students to share the truth effectively and creatively, developing written, verbal, and visual communication skills that will challenge and inspire others for lives of meaning and purpose.

Literacy

With ever-expanding technologies, reading, writing, and communicating now take place in many formats with many audiences. Students must develop the skills to communicate clearly and effectively in all formats while learning to interpret messages with wisdom and discernment.
Hebrews 5:14

Grit

Determination, strength of character, and resolve enable students to stay focused on achieving long-term goals. With grit, students stay committed in the face of adversity.
II Peter 1:5-8

Social Intelligence

Social intelligence matters because God designed humans to live in relationship with Him and with others. Through godly mentors and guided experiential learning, students develop habits of discernment and grace that help them to navigate complex social and emotional situations with Christlike character.
Galatians 5:22-23

Gratitude

The essential life skill of valuing and appreciating people, opportunities, and blessings in life is not easily accomplished because it does not come naturally. Practicing the discipline of gratitude shapes character and leads to maturity in Christ.
Colossians 2:7

Citizenship

As those who will one day be decision-makers, students learn the biblical heritage of our nation and develop the civic responsibility that is critical to become the godly leaders and culture-shapers of America’s future.
Titus 2:7-8

Optimism

Students are not defined by success or failure, but through their identity as believers in Christ. They will develop the fortitude to deal with the hardships of life and press on because of the hope that is in their Savior.
Lamentations 3:21-23

Self-Restraint

Self-restraint is more than just saying no to the bad; it also includes postponing the good, knowing that God has something better. Learning to surrender the desire for what is unnecessary or excessive and choosing God’s timely provision is a sign of Christian maturity.
Titus 2:11-13

Zeal

ICS students live as participants rather than spectators, engaged in constructive relationships, intellectual curiosity, problem solving, and passion for service. They discover how to invest their personal talents and skills in real-life opportunities for passionate and purposeful living.
Romans 12:11

Empathy

Empathy characterized the attitude and actions of our Savior, who put the needs of others above his own. Growing in Christlikeness is growing in empathy, seeing, and responding to the needs of those that
Romans 12:15

The Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God and is the infallible rule for Christian faith, doctrine, and practice.
There is one true and living God, and that He has revealed Himself to men in three personal distinctions of deity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
There exists a real personality who is the author of sin and god of this age, called Satan.

God created the heavens and earth and all life by direct act, and not by undirected evolutionary process.
Each person is born with a fallen nature and as a result becomes a willful sinner.
The only salvation from sin is through redemption by personal faith in Jesus Christ.

Salvation is by grace alone, and not by works, and that the saved are eternally secure in Christ.
The Church is a New Testament institution and is Christ’s “Body” for service in this world and His Bride in eternity.
The two ordinances of the church are baptism and the Lord’s supper.

There is an essential and everlasting difference between people who are saved and those who are lost.
Christ will, prior to the tribulation, catch away His church and return to rule during the millennium.
All persons will be resurrected to eternal reward or eternal punishment.
The Holy Spirit indwells the believer at the moment of salvation, baptizing the new believer into the Body of Christ and that baptism in the Holy Spirit occurs at that time.

As a ministry of Immanuel Bible Church, we uphold the IBC Statement of Faith. We are proud to have over 90 local churches represented in our student body, faculty, and staff; we recognize there are differences among biblically-faithful Christians and seek to focus on what unites us as believers as we teach, guide, and mentor students.

50 Years of Learning, Godliness, & Service

1976
Immanuel Christian School is established

The members of Immanuel Bible Church voted to begin a school. Immanuel Christian School opened on Braddock Road, serving students in kindergarten through third grade.

1981
New campus, accreditation

Immanuel Bible Church purchased the current property on the corner of Backlick & Braddock Roads, and the school became certified by Association of Christian Schools International.

1990s
Significant growth

The building was expanded with an educational wing that included more classrooms and a library, and our longest-serving Head of School, Mr. Stephen Danish, began leading ICS in 1992. The number of enrolled students, as well as the number of classrooms in each grade, grew dramatically during this period.

2000s
Doers of the Word, not just hearers

Under the leadership of Mr. Danish, ICS developed the Character-in-Action Curriculum, embedding service within the program, guiding and teaching students to live out their faith with their actions.

2019
High School program begins

In 2019, we began our high school, extending our K-8 school to a K-12 college preparatory program. What began as a step of faith with several families has grown into a vibrant high school with 200 students in grades 9-12.

Present Day
Celebrating 50 years of God’s faithfulness

Today we have the privilege of educating over 600 students from across Northern Virginia at 2 beautiful campuses inside the Beltway. God has been so faithful over the last 50 years and we can’t wait to see what He does next!

Now that you know more about our school, we’d love the chance to get to know your family better. Please feel free to contact our Admissions Team at (703) 941-1220 or via email at admissions@icsva.org.