administrative staff
BRENDA RUSSELL
HEAD OF SCHOOL
Favorite Scripture
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
Brenda joined the CTCS family in 2014 and serves as our Head of School. She graces our halls with a spirit of encouragement and an amazing capacity of love. Brenda has a passion for nature and the great state of Texas. She enjoys taking day trips, and is currently attempting to visit all the historical forts within the state. She considers herself a connoisseur of hamburgers and visits local burger joints everywhere she travels; her favorite as of today is in Columbia, SC at Pawley’s Front Porch. Brenda has also dreamed of traveling with her family to Ireland and Scotland. She and her husband of 41 years (Bob) have three grown children (Tamara, Tyler, and Rance), a precious daughter-in-love (Kim), a son-in-love (Chris), one granddaughter (Harper Grace) and two grandsons (Ridge Levi and Cash Townes).
“Every morning I feel I need to pinch myself. I am overwhelmed with the blessing of knowing God has given me His mercy and grace and a new day to share His love with His children. Are you kidding? He chose me to work with His most precious creation – His children? What an honor and a great joy.”
Bill Diab
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Favorite Scripture
““For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
Luke 1:37
Nabil “Bill” Diab has been at CTCS for over five years, starting as a 5th grade teacher. Along with his duties as an Assistant Principal, Bill teaches 4th and 5th grade Bible and Social Studies.
Bill is married to Denise. Between them, they have six children and three grandchildren. Bill is originally from Lebanon and came to the United States thirty years ago. Lebanon is an amazing place for its beauty and its biblical connection throughout the Bible.
“I can’t express enough to you how blessed I am for the wonderful life I have received through our Lord and Savior. When I cried out for Him, He heard me. I’m always ready to share my testimony with you.”
Janet Blacklock
PRESCHOOL DIRECTOR
Favorite Scripture
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength.”
Philippians 4:13
Karen Luckett
DEAN OF STUDENTS
Favorite Scripture
“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Cor 4:16 – 18
Jeremy Calahan
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR/HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
Favorite Scripture
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1
He was blessed to play college football at Rice University, where he served as Team Captain. He went on to play professionally in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams.
Coach Calahan and his wife Hillary have been married for 14 years, and have two daughters, Landry (8) and Chloe (4), who attend CTCS. They are members of Temple Bible Church.
“Working in education, my job allows me to witness and glorify God daily. I am blessed and honored to have this wonderful pedestal to impart the love of Christ to young people.”
– Jeremy Calahan
Karla Braxton
College Counselor
Favorite Scripture
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Karla has been blessed to serve in Christian education for fifteen years. This is her second year as a member of the CTCS family, and she is excited to be working as the College Counselor with our impressive group of high school students. Karla’s greatest desire is that students will seek God’s will first and foremost in all of their college and career decisions. By doing that, students will fully discover the Lord’s incredible path for their lives. Karla and her husband Joe have been married for 27 years and have two amazing daughters, Evelyn (25) and Robin (20). Karla enjoys baking, spending time with her family, and exploring the beautiful scenery of the Central Texas landscape.
Sarah Sewell
Director of Student Life
Favorite Scripture
If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Romans 12:18
Sarah and her husband, Stephen, have been married for over 25 years and have three children. Jack, their oldest son, graduated from CTCS in 2018. Caroline, their daughter, graduated from CTCS in 2020. Sam, their youngest son, is currently a freshman at CTCS.
In 2004, Sarah and her husband, Stephen, enrolled their son Jack in the CTCS Pre-K 4 class. After a year of involvement in CTCS as a parent, in 2005 Sarah was asked to join the CTCS school board. Sarah served CTCS as a board member until 2014.
Bob Hopper
Chief Financial Officer
Favorite Scripture
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:6
Bob Hopper joined the CTCS family in 2018 as our CFO. He has worked as an accountant and financial manager for over 37 years, serving both in the private and public sectors. Bob has spent a total 26 years working for the State of Texas, 9 years with the University of Texas system and 17 years with several state agencies; most recently with the Railroad Commission. He has served in various positions throughout his career, including Chief Accounting Officer, Budget Manager, Business Manager and Director of Operations.
At CTCS, Bob is the Chief Financial Officer and has the responsibility for planning and running all the financial activities for CTCS; including business planning, budgeting, reporting of income, expenses, forecasting and overseeing all contributed and invested school funds.
Bob graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a BBA, with emphasis on accounting and marketing. Bob has been married to Linda for 40 years and has two grown children and one fabulous grandson.
School Board
Central Texas Christian School Board Governance Model
Central Texas Christian School is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, existing to provide Christian education. As such, the CTCS School Board operates using a non-profit form of governance rather than the form of governance used by public schools, which are political bodies subject to open meeting requirements. The Board follows principles of policy governance, whereby the Board sets broad policies within which the school is to operate, but does not interject itself into the operations of the school. No individual board member has any authority over school personnel or operations, nor does any individual board member have authority to speak for the school. The Board believes in the one-voice authority of the Head of School, who is accountable to the entire Board, not to any individual board member.
Board Meetings
Central Texas Christian School does not hold open meetings. The Board concerns itself with school policy and strategic planning rather than with daily operations. Therefore, curriculum, personnel and student policies are primarily determined by the Head of School with assistance from the administrative team and other staff members, subject to parameters set forth in Board policies.
Board Member Selection and Qualifications
The Board is self-perpetuating. All potential Board members must be nominated from within the Board, although names may be suggested for consideration by anyone. Members of the Board must be born-again believers and subscribe without reservation to the school’s Statement of Faith and Statement of Educational Philosophy. Members of the Board must be Christian role models in the school and community and members in good standing of a local evangelical church whose doctrine is consistent with the school’s Statement of Faith.
Please consider how you can invest your time and resources to support our students and the vision of CTCS