Legacy Christian Academy Celebrates 25 Years of Christ-centered Education in Frisco
by Lisa Dawson
Twenty-five years ago, Frisco was a very different city. In fact, it wasn’t really a city at all. It was a burgeoning medium-sized town with pockets of residential neighborhoods and a population of less than 40,000 people. Yet even in its earliest stages, Frisco was attracting national attention as an ideal place for families to live and gained a reputation for its great schools.
One of those schools, Legacy Christian Academy, was just a dream that was poised to become a reality in 1999 when a handful of local families felt God’s calling to build a school where children could thrive academically and grow spiritually, and families could find community together. Those families included Ricky and Tracy Bush, Jack and Jennifer Frye, Chris and Becky Johnson, Jody Capehart, and others. This year marks the school’s 25th anniversary as a private Christian Pre-K, elementary, middle, and high school. With an elite academic program built on a foundation of faith-based learning, the school also has a noteworthy athletic program, where teams have won multiple state championships in golf, cross country, basketball, softball, soccer, and cheer.
In November 1998, Pastor Wayne Braudrick of Frisco Bible Church reached out to Capehart, who at the time was serving as head of school at another location. “Pastor Wayne lived with us when he went to seminary, and we served on the pastoral staff together at Grace Bible Church. He knew my heart and what kind of schools the Lord leads me to create,” says Capehart. “I prayed about it and felt the Lord’s hand of blessing upon me going forward to create this school for Frisco Bible Church,” says Capehart.
Capehart recounts how Preston Road was only two lanes at the time. She says roads had to be paved specifically to access the school. “Needless to say, things have dramatically changed in Frisco. It was a joy to see Frisco change from the time we started the school until three years later when we purchased property to build a full campus on Legacy Drive. In fact, we called our first campus the ‘cows and corn’ school because all you could see when you looked out the windows were cows and corn.”
Less than a year and a half after their initial meeting, Legacy Christian Academy opened in August 1999 with 135 K-9 students in Frisco Bible Church. In 2002, the school board purchased land for a new home for the school on Legacy Drive, which expanded the school significantly. It also provided room for a sports complex to house football, baseball, softball, and track teams.
While most Frisco residents would assume Legacy Christian Academy was named after Legacy Drive, Capehart says the road came nearly three years after the school was built. “When the Lord put it on my heart to call the school ‘Legacy Christian Academy,’ I said to everyone that our ‘legacy’ is to teach and train our students to each ‘leave a legacy’ wherever God calls them to serve in His Kingdom,” she explains. “I asked the city if they knew which road would be on the west side of our campus. They did not know at the time and said they would call me back. Three weeks later, I received a call and was told the road was an extension of Legacy Drive. Only our great God, in His sovereignty, could place Legacy Christian Academy on Legacy Drive.”
Chris and Becky Johnson’s four children attended Legacy Christian Academy and were involved in the school’s music and athletic programs. They say after moving to Frisco in 1995 and Chris becoming an elder at Frisco Bible Church, they saw the need for a Christian school. “While the Frisco schools were and are well-acclaimed, we felt that a foundation of education with a distinctly Christian worldview was the best option for our children. At the time, there was no such school in Frisco, and we were transporting our children to and from Richardson every school day,” says Johnson.
Becky served as the admissions director for Legacy from 2001-2005 and says she played an active role in those early years, visiting with prospective families, sharing the vision and goals of the school, and hearing the dreams parents had for their children. Chris served as a founding board member and also taught some trade classes through the years. “We attend Legacy banquets, athletic events, and graduations from time to time. It is always incredibly rewarding and encouraging to see the students, to see how they interact, respond to hardship or disappointment, and set bold, definitive life goals that will make a difference in the world. It has been both spiritually rewarding and fulfilling to have participated at the grassroots of Legacy.”
During the last two and half decades, Frisco has continued to grow and become one of the top independent school districts in the nation, and Legacy Christian Academy has kept pace. In the early 2000s, the school added a sports complex, a fieldhouse, and additional classrooms. In the mid-2000s, the school added its west wing to accommodate more students, a prayer chapel, stadium seating, a press box, a new gymnasium, and turfed its football field. Most recently, in August 2022, the school opened a new pre-K three and four facility by purchasing the 26,000-square-foot building on Lebanon Road, previously belonging to Starwood Montessori School.
Head of School Kevin Mosley says the physical expansion has only been part of the growth trajectory at Legacy Christian Academy. He says there have been several programs added to increase students’ academic experience and prepare them for life after college. “We were the first Christian school in the state of Texas to implement a Spanish immersion program, and about 25% of our students are enrolled in the program,” he says. “We start in pre-K, so by second grade, we have students fluent in Spanish.”
The school has also developed a program that allows students to prepare for careers in industries such as medicine, engineering and technology, business, and art and humanities. Mosley explains, “Our program, which we call professional schools, helps prepare students for life after college and God’s calling for them. We bring in a variety of professionals in to speak to our students so they can begin to engage and network with people in their profession. It’s part of the school’s purpose to create strong leaders with biblical convictions.”
Halle Hinton graduated from Legacy Christian Academy in 2020 and participated in the professional school’s program. Hinton, who recently graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in biomedical sciences, says her goals of becoming a veterinarian were nurtured in high school. “During the program, I shadowed an equine veterinarian, and it was really fun,” says Hinton. “It gave me a lot of insight into what life would look like after college and helped me see myself in that role.” Hinton, who is marrying her fiancé Jonah Petty, who also graduated from Legacy Christian Academy and graduated from Texas A&M, plans to return to College Station this fall to continue veterinary school.
Landry Farley, a senior at the school, is on the golf team and part of the professional school program’s business track. She says so far, she has taken classes in business concepts and will be taking business applications classes this upcoming academic year, in addition to completing a capstone project. “As part of the program, you can choose an internship in a field of your choice. I am hoping to get an in-person job this year in human resources, a field I’m interested in because I’m a people-person,” she says. Farley is hoping to attend Auburn University or Stephen F. Austin after graduation and plans to major in communications.
Mosely says that even though the school has evolved, the core beliefs of the administration, teachers, and students haven’t changed. “The heart of who we are hasn’t changed, and the mission of the leaders who built our school hasn’t changed since 1999,” he says. “Our mission is integrated into everything we do: to create strong leaders with biblical convictions. We want to give our students the skills and intelligence they need for college and beyond.”
Thinking ahead to the next twenty-five years, he says the school is looking for ways to continue growth to accommodate more students and families committed to Christian faith-based learning. “We want to bloom where we’re planted, but we don’t have additional land. We’re asking God what doors He wants us to open.”
For students like Farley, Legacy Christian Academy has been a constant presence in their lives since their earliest memories. Farley says she remembers loving Legacy Christian Academy as far back as pre-school, and to this day, her family is close with her preschool teacher. “The school has always been there for me through everything,” she says. “And something I can always count on.” As the editor of the school’s yearbook since her freshman year, Farley says she has a special title planned for the yearbook. “Just one word,” she says, “Home.”
Lisa Dawson is a freelance writer living in Frisco.
