Ms. April Pillsbury-Lloyd, is the new principal at C.F. Richards Christian School. She has a master’s degree in education and 28 years of teaching experience in small schools, especially in the southern United States. She is a product of Adventist education as she attended K-12 Adventist schools in the U.S. and an Adventist college in England. She currently resides in Fishersville, Va (Augusta County) with her husband. She enjoys arts and crafts like crocheting, painting, and papercrafts. She also enjoys sailing and scuba diving. If she had a pet, it would probably be a cat. She would like to obtain a doctorate degree in the future. She says, “I’m living my dream here at C.F. Richards and look forward to seeing where God will lead me in the future!”

Q&A With April: Everything You Need to Know About CF Richards Christian School

• What advantages does Adventist education have over public school, and why would it be worth the investment?
  One advantage is smaller class sizes that give us the ability to offer more focused attention to each student, customizing learning. Another advantage is we can build strong, lasting relationships. I like being able to interact with my students both at school and church. Also, we can have Jesus as part of our day, any day, all day, every day!
• How much experience do the teachers have at CF Richards?
  Our combined teaching staff represents over 75 years of teaching experience. 80% of this combined experience is from Adventist teaching environments and 20% from public school experience. 
• Is there standardized testing here, such as the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL’s) used in public schools?
  Our students do not take Virginia SOL’s. Instead, the test we apply at C.F. Richards is the Measure of Academic Performance (MAP) test provided by the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), which is a not-for-profit organization committed to helping school districts throughout the nation improve learning for all students. These tests are given to private and public-school children all over the country.
• CF Richards has small class sizes. In your opinion, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
  I personally prefer to have between 9-12 students in my classroom, 12 is ideal. This supports the feeling of family and makes it easy to work together. My goal for 2025-2026 enrollment is for all three classrooms to have 12 students, grades 1-8.
• What opportunities do kids of different grade levels have to interact?
  Our morning care 8:00-8:30am provides opportunities for children of all grade levels to talk and play together. Preschool through 2nd graders have lunch and recess together; 3rd-8th graders have lunch and recess together; as well as PE, music, and art.
• You have multi-grade plus multi-subject teachers here. How do you deal with this challenge?
  It’s just what I do! I personally attended a one-teacher school, so, to me, this is all a very normal thing.
• How often do you go on field trips and/or host special programs?
  This being my first year here, I am looking forward to expanding our field trips over the years ahead. We have two school vans available for student field trips. As far as special programs, we have the annual Fall Festival, Christmas Program, Spring Social Studies Fair. There is school-wide Chapel every Friday, and we offer a variety of clubs on Fridays as well. In addition, adult/youth groups use our gym regularly for basketball and volleyball.
• Are there volunteer opportunities available for parents?
  Yes! We have several work bees throughout the year where we need help. Other opportunities are preparing hot lunches, reading aids, recess supervision, and room parents. As we do more field trips, we will need more chaperones. Yes, there are ample opportunities here for volunteers at C.F. Richards!
• How is a Seventh-day Adventist school different from other area Christian schools?
  Honestly, I’ve only attended and only taught in Adventist schools, but from what I have heard about other schools, there are some schools that restrict enrollment based on church attendance or beliefs, whereas we do not have such restrictions. As long as parents know that we’re Christians, we’re happy for them to send their kids and be whoever they are here at C.F. Richards Christian School.
• Does the school get involved with the local community?
  With consideration for the safety of our students, we participate in the Staunton Christmas Parade and contribute to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network with food collections. This year we are doing a cereal box challenge. We will set up a domino arrangement with boxes collected, which will be a fun activity for the kids.
• Your motto is “Loving God/Serving Others.” How does your school live out its motto?
  As teachers, we hold the mindset that we are serving the community through our teaching, and we look for ways to encourage the students to serve others in school, in their families, and in the communities in which they interact.
• CF Richards offers a preschool program. Can you tell me a little about that?
  C.F. Richards indeed does have a preschool program. We accept 3 and 4-year-olds for full-time and part-time (2 or 3 days a week), which offers flexibility for families. When you compare our preschool tuition rates with other Christian schools in the area, keep in mind that the preschool tuition listed on our webpage is based on a full year, for a full day, five days a week. Tuition is adjusted accordingly for part-time enrollment.
• What is your annual tuition?
  Annual tuition is currently $5,500 for K-8, and $4,725 for Pre-K. Our tuition may be increasing 5% this year. There is also a $360 registration fee each year in addition to tuition that is discounted in some situations.
• How does your tuition compare with other Staunton Christian schools?
  We are subsidized and partly funded by partnering Seventh-day Adventist churches in Staunton, Waynesboro, and Buena Vista, because they believe Christian education is important. So, we are able to keep our tuition rates affordable for local families. I believe overall, we offer a great value for an excellent Christian education experience.
• How do you deal with student lunches?
  Students bring their own lunches to school. We have three or four microwaves available for student use in our lunchroom where students eat. Students may purchase pizza (ordered from a local restaurant) on Fridays and prepared hot lunches on Tuesdays, as much as possible.
• How does your school schedule accommodate the schedules of busy, working parents?
  School starts at 8:30am but kids can be dropped off at 8:00am. We also have after-care available as needed upon request.
• How do your test scores compare with the national average?
  Testing is just one piece of the puzzle, and, for me, how students do on tests indicates whether my teaching is effective. When I look at the September tests, I can see the areas kids are struggling with and set my focus on that. So, I use testing more to direct my teaching than I do for evaluation. Test scores just show how the student was doing on one particular day. So, we really do not focus on test scores. We try to make sure that the children are improving, but standardized tests are not our main concern. In general, our children improve at least as much as we expect and frequently more than expected.
• Do you have to be an Adventist to attend?
  No. In fact the ratio here this year is approximately 50% Adventist/50% Non-Adventist.
• How can I apply for my child’s enrollment?
  Please see the Admissions Section on our website.
• Where can I find out more information about Adventist Education?
  https://adventisteducation.org/
  https://www.pcsda.org/
  https://cfrichards.org/contact-us/
• How can I arrange a visit to your school?
  Please contact the school at 540-886-4984, or e-mail the school at mailto:cfr@cfrichards.org