Presbyterian Christian School began in the minds and hearts of several men at Bay Street Presbyterian Church in 1975 with the primary objective to educate elementary aged students through the lens of a biblical worldview. They began with 23 students in September of 1976. By Christmas of 1978, the enrollment had grown to approximately 55 students and space became a problem. At the invitation of Woodland Presbyterian Church, the school was moved into their newly built facility on Lincoln Road and became a joint venture of both churches.
As the school continued to grow, portable classrooms were brought in, and at one time were as many as 13. By the late 1980’s, a successful junior high was finally established, and thoughts turned to senior high. In 1994, PCS started adding one grade a year until PCS was K-12 in 1998 with 635 students. In May 1999, PCS graduated its first class of 11 students.
Due to this rapid and continued growth, the Board of Directors began the process of looking for a property to build a secondary campus to help relieve the crowded conditions on the Lincoln Road Campus. The school was given 23 acres of land by the Tatum family on Bonhomie Road to construct the secondary campus. In January of 2000, grades 7-12 moved into a new academic building on Bonhomie Road with 13 classrooms. Since 2000, the original building now contains 33 classrooms, five science labs, a graphics and photography lab, a fine arts studio, a robotics lab, and a library. Other tertiary buildings were added that included a Cafetorium, a gymnasium, and state-of-the-art athletic facilities.
In 2009, PCS and First Presbyterian Church agreed that it would be beneficial to Christian education in Hattiesburg if First Presbyterian Kindergarten became a part of PCS. The PCS preschool still operates on the First Presbyterian Church campus off of Hardy street.
After several years of study, the Board moved forward in purchasing 45 acres of property from the Tatum family adjacent to the Secondary Campus on the corner of Bonhomie Road and W.S.F. Tatum Drive. In the summer of 2012, the elementary campus was moved from Lincoln Road to its present location into a state-of-the-art 58,000 square foot facility that houses 27 classrooms, a library, a computer lab, a cafeteria, a Kindergarten Discovery Lab, a music room, an art room, a reading center, the elementary administration offices, and the PCS school administration offices.
The school serves a student body of just over 960 students in grades K3-12 and employs a faculty and staff of over 120. Although a lot of growth has occurred, PCS remains committed to the original goals of teaching sound academics in a Christian context and from a perspective that openly acknowledges God’s place as Creator and Sustainer of all reality. PCS continues to assist parents by providing a comprehensive college preparatory education distinguished by a Biblical Worldview to equip students with the moral integrity, intellectual capacity, and social conscience to impact the world for Christ.
Presbyterian Christian School is honored to be named one of the Top 50 Christian High Schools in America by thebestschools.org. The former headmaster, Dr. Allen Smithers, served the school in the headmaster position from July 2007-July 2021. Dr. Smithers continued forward in an interim capacity for some time until the PCS Board of Trustees hired our current Head of School, Mr. Jimmy Messer. We look forward to see all the Lord has planned for the season to come!
PCS is fully accredited by MAIS and Cognia