William

Bennett, one of the nation's leading cultural and

political thinkers, will address 1,200 supporters of

Landmark Christian School Thursday at the school's 11th

annual banquet.

Bennett is

author of 12 books including "The Book of

Virtues."

According

to Landmark headmaster Kevin Harkey, the goal of

Celebration Banquet 2000 is to "celebrate what God

has done here and to affirm our Landmark family and

staff. It's a tremendous time to introduce Landmark to

people in the community," Harkey said.

In 11 short

years, Landmark has grown from a body of 170 students,

meeting in classrooms housed in a Fayetteville warehouse,

to a thriving 772-student institution on the old campus

of Campbell High School in Fairburn. "We were

blessed with a nice foundation grant and that has been a

huge plus, putting us way ahead of the curve for

facilities," Harkey said of the school's 12-acre

campus.

The main

building was constructed in 1929, Harkey said, and

subsequent additions have been designed by 14 different

architects. "The building has character and

personality," he said, noting the large windows and

high ceilings absent in today's modern facilities.

The school

enrolls children for 4-year-old kindergarten through 12th

grade and offers a full complement of athletic and fine

arts programs. "Every year we get creative with our

space," Harkey said, but it's obvious the success of

the school has forced growing pains.

Landmarks'

board has been offered a 94-acre tract on Farr Road in

Tyrone as a gift, contingent upon its being rezoned to a

category allowing schools. To date, no action has been

taken by the Tyrone Planning Commission on a rezoning.

"We

have no plans to leave Fairburn," Harkey said.

"I believe it was a God thing that directed us here.

Now we're looking to seek his leadership again," he

said in reference to the pending offer. "We're going

to take our time; see how it all fits."

It is the

school's goal to expand its elementary program from one

class per grade to two, upgrade and equip the science and

computer labs, and add more athletic facilities. The

school has a stadium and track but would like its own

softball and baseball fields plus facilities for

swimming, tennis and soccer. In addition to physical

amenities, it is the school's goal to establish a

three-fold endowment program to support an expanding

financial aid program, enhance faculty salaries and

benefits and maintain existing facilities.

Landmark's

mission is simple and focused; to provide a

"Christ-centered education which seeks to honor God

through the pursuit of excellence in nurturing the

spiritual, academic and social growth of students to

equip them to become servant leaders in the communities

and in the world."

"We're

called to help train servant leaders," Harkey

reaffirmed. He explained that this is accomplished by

providing opportunities for leadership and a rigorous

academic program, enhanced by fine arts and athletics.

Landmark is

a nondenominational Christian school with 170 different

churches represented. Diversity starts at the board level

and flows down through the faculty and students.

"It's a real strength for our school," Harkey

said.

"We're

Evangelical Orthodox Christian," he explained in

reference to its theological leanings. The Bible is the

focus of classroom teaching and Christian faith and

values are an integral part of all subject areas,

according to Harkey.

Despite its

academic strengths, Harkey said students come to Landmark

for more. The school intends its students to "take

ownership of the school's mission."

Students

are regularly involved in their own church programs and,

through Landmark, are partners with an inner-city school,

tutor local students and work for Habitat for Humanity

and perform mission work in Central America. As a result,

discipline problems are mostly limited to gum chewing

incidents and flapping shirt tails, he said.

Harkey gave

an example of the close ties between Landmark's students

and parents: "When our cheerleaders won third place

in the state competition and were waiting for the

results, they all went to talk with their parents,"

he said. "We stress the importance of parents in

education and we see ourselves as a support ministry for

the home."

For

information about Landmark or the Celebration Banquet

2000, phone the school at 770-306-0647.