Grace Christian School in Sanford bolsters Lee County growth

This article was written for our sponsor, Grace Christian School in Sanford.

Lee County is growing. Ask anyone from the area and they're quick to name off several new residential developments, incoming industries and the growing downtown scene.

With such a strong local economy, Lee County communities like Sanford are beginning to keep pace with their larger counterparts in neighboring counties like Wake and Orange.

Over the past 12 months, Lee County — and Sanford in particular — has announced more than 1,300 jobs, total payrolls worth $75 million and investments totaling $785 million, according to the Sanford Area Growth Alliance.

In Mayor Chet Mann's opinion, the local schools — and more specifically, the private schooling options — have a lot to do with that.

"We've had just a huge tax base expansion and a lot of private investment from industry and commercial jobs, both coming out of a number of retail expansions here. And education is a big part of that," Mann said. "Specifically, Grace Christian School offers diversity in education that a lot of parents and investors are looking for. The impact for a good county is that diversity and choice of schools is really important now. As we have grown, the availability of schools like Grace Christian has made Sanford and Lee County more attractive as a place to live and raise a family."

Growth in Sanford has considerably taken off in the past decade, but Grace Christian School has been a staple in the community for 50 years; and as Lee County has grown, so has the school. The only accredited private school in the county, Grace Christian is rooted in quality education built on a Christian foundation.

While the school's foundation is Christian, admission is open to students from all backgrounds and religions. For Sanford resident and treasurer of the Sanford Area Growth Alliance, Charlie Welborn, the experience his own children had at Grace is the perfect example of just how valuable the school is to Lee County.

"I've seen tremendous growth, not just in numbers, but also the quality of the education. All four of my children attended Grace, from preschool through 12th grade. When we started, we never really envisioned that they would stay there for all that time, but we just continued to see a lot of changes and positive impacts during their time there," Welborn said. "We really enjoyed the environment, and it became a priority to us to keep them there. Over the years, the school has continued to recruit quality administrators and teachers, and people having access to quality schools makes Lee County an attractive place to work and live for these young professionals and technical talent."

It's true that Sanford has become a hot spot for young professionals in just the past few years. With new bases established by pharmaceutical company Pfizer, a gene therapy facility by Audentes Therapeutics, and an upcoming manufacturing plant from Bharat Forge, Sanford is well on its way to becoming yet another economic hotspot in central North Carolina.

Without improvements to quality of life in Lee County, this sort of economic growth wouldn't be possible. Since Grace Christian has been around for a considerable amount of time, the school has been able to get ahead of the curve.

"There's a direct correlation to the economic tax base expansion and the growth of the schools," Mann said. "The good news for Grace Christian is they have a great reputation. They have a tried and true product. They've stood the test of time. They have a Christian-value oriented school that delivers a quality education."

"It's hard to find a tier-two county that has had, in 12 months, $765 million in tax base expansion and 1,500 new jobs. And our education system, especially a private school like Grace, is playing a huge role in giving all these new residents and investments a choice," Mann continued. "It's become a great selling point to have them here and others that can support our way of life."

In the Lee County education system, Grace Christian is one part of a successful machine. Although Lee County is smaller than nearby Wake and Orange Counties, its high graduation rates and impressive scholarship dollars make it able to compete with other heavy hitters in the area.

In fact, in the past five years, Lee County's graduation rate has risen from 84 percent to 90 percent, putting it almost two full points above Wake County. At Grace Christian, the average graduation rate is estimated to be 100 percent, according to Niche, giving Lee County's overall rate a significant boost.

"When you look at our diversity and our community, and we're still able to deliver outstanding graduation rates, outstanding test scores, outstanding dollars in scholarships that our kids receive, you begin to say, 'They do an impressive job in a diverse community,'" Mann said. "Our diversity is what makes us great, and Grace Christian plays a part in that diversity because they provide a choice for folks that want something different, and over the years, we've seen just how well that works."

In addition to schools and new business opportunities moving into the area, Sanford has seen something of a renaissance over the past few years. Under the leadership of the city council and Mann, there have been multiple new developments, improvements to downtown and a boost to the quality of life.

For residents like Welborn, Sanford is on the rise — and this is just the beginning of the growth that is to come. Having private education options like Grace Christian School only helps in bolstering that growth.

"Sanford has a lot to offer, and it's attractive for people to live and work in this area — that's why you're seeing all of these developments over the last 12 months with new industry. Aside from that, we also have a lot of arts and cultural events and things going on, and we've had a significant amount of work done in our downtown," Welborn said . "Our leaders — our county commissioners, the city council men and women, and our mayor, Chet Mann — they're very forward-thinking. With new projects planned, I think the county, as well as Grace Christian, will continue to provide a lot of opportunities for kids and families in the area."

This article was written for our sponsor, Grace Christian School in Sanford.