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For nearly twenty years, the Peoria Christian Theater Department has served as a meaningful and fruitful ministry within the halls of Peoria Christian School. It has been a place where students cultivate their God-given talents, learn to act, sing, dance, collaborate, and communicate, and develop life skills that carry far beyond the stage: discipline, problem-solving, teamwork, time management, resilience, and prayerful dependence on the Lord.

Most importantly, the theater department has taught students to pursue excellence as an act of worship, to glorify God not only on the stage, but in every rehearsal, every relationship, and every circumstance.

Recently, PCS leadership has made decisions that appear to significantly restructure the existing drama program and reduce key elements of the model that have sustained it. These decisions have caused deep concern among many parents, students, alumni, volunteers, and supporters who have seen firsthand the program's spiritual, artistic, academic, and community value.

We recognize the responsibility of school leadership to evaluate programs, steward resources wisely, and ensure alignment with Peoria Christian School's mission. However, we are concerned that these changes appear to have been made without sufficient conversation with the current drama leadership, the families most directly affected, or the broader community that has supported this program for almost two decades.

With fuller dialogue, we believe leadership would have found that many of the concerns raised are already being addressed within the department's current structure, while other concerns could be addressed through refinement rather than restructuring.

On the question of balance

It has been suggested that the theater department lacks balance. We respectfully disagree.

The PCS drama program has long sought to balance student growth, artistic excellence, family participation, academic responsibility, and spiritual formation. Rehearsal schedules have historically been arranged with careful attention to student athletics, practices, games, family commitments, and academic demands. Student athletes have been welcomed and accommodated. Academic integrity has been emphasized, and students have been encouraged to prioritize schoolwork when necessary.

If there is concern that opportunities, resources, or program maturity are not yet equally developed across elementary, middle, and high school levels, it should be articulated accurately. But it is a developmental and resourcing question, not evidence that the existing high school program is imbalanced or excessive. The high school theater program has been built over nearly twenty years through sustained leadership, trust, volunteer investment, community relationships, and institutional memory. We agree that younger students deserve a clearer and better-supported path into the fine arts. Middle school growth is a worthy goal. But the way to achieve that goal is to build bridges from the mature high school program, not to remove the leadership, relationships, and institutional knowledge that make such growth possible. A better path would be to retain the proven high school leadership structure, appoint a middle school development lead or coordinator as needed, create a fine arts advisory group, and build a phased elementary-to-high school pathway over time.

If the goal is to create a more coherent schoolwide fine arts pathway, we support it. Our concern is that the current proposal appears to accomplish that goal by weakening the most mature and fruitful part of the program rather than using it as the foundation for broader growth.

A flourishing high school program should be viewed as an asset for the whole school, not as a liability. It can serve as a model, a source of mentorship, and a foundation for gradually introducing younger students to theater in age-appropriate ways. If PCS desires a more fully developed fine arts pathway from elementary through high school, the answer is increased support, clearer structure, and intentional collaboration, not the weakening of the very program that has made such a pathway possible.

Far from being imbalanced, the drama program has provided a rare opportunity for students from many different corners of the school to participate in a shared mission. From early exposure in elementary school, to developing confidence in middle school, to pursuing greater depth and excellence in high school, the theater department has the potential to become one of the strongest examples of whole-school discipleship and artistic formation at PCS.

If there are operational concerns related to scheduling, workload, communication, budget transparency, facility use, or volunteer coordination, those concerns should be addressed directly through clearer systems and shared expectations. They do not require diminishing the program’s scope or removing the leadership that has made it effective.

Imbalance is not corrected by weakening what is working in the hope of remedying what is still developing. A successful program should be expanded, supported, and wisely stewarded so that its strengths can bless the whole school.

On the scale and excellence of productions

It has also been suggested that productions should be simplified and that long-standing partnerships, including the fourteen-year collaboration with the Peoria POPS Orchestra, should be discontinued.

We believe this would be a serious loss.

The excellence of PCS theater has not been the result of excess, but of sacrificial service. Set designers, musicians, technical volunteers, directors, parents, and community members have given professional-level skills at a fraction of their value because they believe in the students, the school, and the mission of Christian education. These relationships have been built and fostered by the current theater leadership and may be difficult to maintain if key staff and long-standing partners are removed from the model.

Excellence does not mean every production must be large. It means that each production is pursued faithfully, skillfully, and appropriately for its purpose. A healthy program can include both large-scale productions and smaller developmental opportunities without treating one as a threat to the other.

The quality of the productions has become one of the most visible examples of what can happen when Christian community, student talent, volunteer service, and godly excellence come together. Many families, alumni, volunteers, and community members have consistently affirmed that PCS theater stands among the strongest school theater programs in the greater Peoria area.

On academics

It has been implied that larger productions may harm student academic performance. We share the desire for students to flourish academically. However, it would be a mistake to treat the success of the drama program itself as the cause of academic struggle.

We would not expect a successful athletic program to be reduced simply because some students needed to better manage their responsibilities. Instead, students would be encouraged to rise to the occasion, and the adults around them would help them grow in maturity, discipline, and stewardship.

The same principle should apply here. Theater, when rightly led, does not undermine academic formation. It strengthens it by teaching responsibility, perseverance, humility, preparation, and accountability.

We are not asking that theater be placed above other programs. We are asking that a demonstrably fruitful program be stewarded with the same seriousness PCS would give to any successful academic, athletic, or ministry initiative.

On variety and staffing

PCS leadership has expressed a desire for a wider variety of productions, including musicals, school plays, student-directed productions, small ensemble productions, readers' theater, dramatic productions, and comedies.

We do not oppose variety. In fact, many of us would welcome a thriving fine arts vision that expands opportunities for students.

However, that vision cannot be responsibly achieved by reducing the leadership and support required to sustain it. More productions require more leadership, not less. A program cannot be expanded in scope while simultaneously reducing the staff and experienced personnel necessary to carry it out well.

If leadership is concerned about long-term sustainability, succession planning, or broader distribution of responsibility, those are legitimate matters for discussion. But succession is best built alongside trusted existing leadership, not by disrupting the very relationships and systems that future leaders will need to inherit.

We are concerned that the proposed structure would place unrealistic expectations on a single drama director and an assistant, creating conditions for program decline and burnout.

On spiritual mission

It has been suggested that the drama department is not sufficiently aligned with PCS's spiritual mission and vision. This is perhaps the most painful concern for many of us, because it does not reflect the experience of many students, parents, alumni, and volunteers.

The spiritual lives of the students and adults involved in PCS theater have always been central to the program. Students have been taught to pray, to serve, to surrender their gifts to Christ, and to understand excellence as worship. Many students can testify personally to the spiritual formation they experienced through this department.

The program has not merely produced shows. It has discipled students.

Our central concern

The most significant concern is the decision to restructure the department in a way that appears to remove Debbie Schaffner from her long-standing leadership role and, as a result, end the current service of key contributors, including Lindsay Wier and Larry Ebersole.

Whatever terminology is used, the practical effect appears to be the removal of the existing leadership model that built and sustained the program.

We believe this would be a serious mistake.

This is not merely about one individual, though leadership matters deeply. It is about preserving the relationships, systems, volunteer trust, artistic standards, and spiritual culture developed under the current leadership.

The concern is not a change in the abstract. The concern is a change that appears to remove proven leadership, reduce experienced support, disrupt long-standing partnerships, and lower the ceiling on what the department can provide.

The current theater program should not be treated as a problem to be solved. It is a flourishing ministry to be stewarded, strengthened, and preserved. The proposed changes do not appear to advance the caliber, culture, or spiritual fruit already present in the program. Rather, they risk diminishing the creativity, collaboration, excellence, trust, and legacy that have been built over many years.

We therefore ask PCS leadership and the Board to reconsider this decision.

We ask for the preservation of the current middle- and high-school drama model while any future improvements are discussed transparently with current leadership and affected families.

We ask that Debbie Schaffner be restored to her role as High School Drama Director and invited into meaningful conversations with leadership regarding the overall program's future direction before structural changes are finalized.

We ask that the relationship with the Peoria POPS Orchestra be preserved.

We ask that PCS establish a clearly designated fine arts fund to support the program's ongoing health and growth, with appropriate transparency and accountability to engage the supportive community.

We ask that the leader of the drama program have an appropriate voice in budgeting, fundraising, donor communication, and the long-term planning of fine arts at PCS.

We ask that a board-level liaison be appointed to provide direct communication, support, and appropriate oversight for the fine arts program, ensuring it remains connected to the school's broader leadership and governance.

These requests are not made in hostility. They are made out of love for Peoria Christian School, gratitude for what God has done through this department, and concern for the future of fine arts at PCS.

If you remember finding unity on the stage at PCS, we ask for your signature.

If you remember the richness of these productions and the joy of seeing God’s providence bring them together, we ask you to add your name.

If your participation in the drama program benefited you academically, spiritually, personally, or professionally, we ask for your signature.

If you believe the culture of this department is worthy of preservation, we ask you to add your name.

If you believe the vision of PCS theater should continue for future students, families, and alumni, we ask for your signature.

We also ask that you respectfully contact PCS leadership and board members to express your concern and request reconsideration. Below is a template that expresses the same sentiment as the petition above. Feel free to personalize as appropriate.

Angie Lyons — alyons@peoriachristian.org

Tom Dahlin — tdahlin@peoriachristian.org

Jay Walton — jaywalton@peoriachristian.org

Joel Lovell — jlovell@peoriachristian.org

Brad DeJong — bdejong@peoriachristian.org

Will Waibel — wwaibel@peoriachristian.org

Blake Barnard — bbarnard@peoriachristian.org

Joe Hauter — jhauter@peoriachristian.org

Jordan Embree — jembree@peoriachristian.org

______________________________

Dear [NAME],

I am writing as an [alumnus/parent/student/supporter] of Peoria Christian School to express serious concern about the recent decisions regarding the PCS theater department and to respectfully ask that those decisions be reconsidered.

I write this as someone who desires the school's long-term strength and faithfulness. I do not wish to tear down PCS. I want to see it flourish. For that reason, I feel compelled to respectfully ask leadership not to move forward with changes that many parents, students, alumni, and supporters believe will significantly weaken one of the school’s most fruitful ministries.

For nearly twenty years, the theater department has served students with excellence, discipline, prayer, community, and spiritual purpose. It has helped students grow not only as performers but also as young men and women learning responsibility, humility, teamwork, perseverance, and the worshipful use of their God-given gifts.

The current program has earned the trust of families, students, alumni, volunteers, and community members. It has also become one of the clearest public examples of artistic excellence within a Christian framework at PCS.

For that reason, the decision to restructure the department, remove the existing leadership model, and discontinue long-standing elements of the program is deeply troubling.

I understand that leadership is responsible for evaluating programs and making decisions for the good of the school. However, these changes do not appear to build on the strength of what already exists. They appear to diminish a program that is already flourishing. They also appear to have been made without sufficient open dialogue with those who have carried, built, and supported this ministry over many years.

I respectfully ask PCS leadership and the Board to pause, reconsider, and pursue a better path forward.

Specifically, I ask that PCS preserve the current middle school and high school drama model, restore Debbie Schaffner to her role as High School Drama Director, and invite her into meaningful conversation regarding the long-term direction of the theater department and fine arts at PCS.

I ask that the relationship with the Peoria POPS Orchestra be continued.

I ask that the leader of the drama program have an appropriate voice in budgeting, fundraising, donor communication, and the long-term planning of fine arts at PCS.

Finally, I ask that a board-level liaison be appointed to provide direct communication, support, and oversight for fine arts at PCS.

These requests are not unreasonable. They are aimed at preserving what is already bearing fruit.

I also want to be clear that these decisions affect confidence in the school's broader vision and governance. Many who love PCS and have supported it financially, relationally, and publicly may find it difficult to continue offering that support with the same confidence if a successful and missionally faithful program is reduced rather than strengthened.

I urge you to reconsider before avoidable damage is done to trust, morale, alumni support, and the future of fine arts at Peoria Christian School.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,

[YOUR NAME]

____________________