In the beginning...

In 1936, three Mennonite churches collaborated to organize Beacon Bible School for post-high school instruction in Bible and related subjects. At the same time, the Kingwood Bible Church in West Salem had operated the Salem Bible Institute for about a year or so and through God’s provision, these two entities formed to create Salem Academy. When 76 students, a principal and eight teachers arrived for the first day of classes in 1945, no one knew what an impact the school would have on generations throughout the mid-Willamette Valley.

Salem Academy began as an independent, non-denominational Christian school. This was the first Christian school in the area and the founders were determined to provide a high-quality alternative to other educational opportunities. They wanted to provide a place where students could learn about the world in which they live from the perspective of God, who created and sustains it.

Salem Academy emphasizes educational excellence while seeking to build character and values within the life of each student. The founder’s vision was to produce graduates with a strong sense of right and wrong and the courage to stand with integrity in a world that seems to have lost its standards.

After more than 3,500 graduates, those values still hold true today.

Over sixty years later the school strives to fulfill, with distinction, its role as a Christian Lighthouse in Education. It currently is housed on three campuses: Childcare, Preschool and Kindergarten through Grade 5 are located at the West Elementary Campus; Childcare, Preschool and Kindergarten through Grade 5 at the East Elementary Campus; Childcare, Preschool and Grades 6 through 12 at the Main Campus located on Lancaster Drive.