Mr. Bill Wise’s life is marked by faithfulness to musical education. As a first grader, Bill knew he wanted to be a teacher and by his 8th grade year, he knew music would be his focus. Since beginning at Lakeland Christian Academy in 1994 at the Wooster Road campus, Bill has prepared more than 120 concerts for both band and choir. Bill has also spent time teaching Bible, history, science and art through the years, along with managing the yearbooks for 25 years. Over this time, Bill has experienced many changes and he is excited about both the present and future of LCA.
After graduating from college and teaching for six years, Bill worked for Trinity United Methodist Church as the Christian Education Director. It was during this time that a family at the church encouraged him to apply for the open music teacher position at LCA. He did so, and balanced working full-time for the church and part-time for LCA for a few years. Bill married his wife, Cheryl, 26 years ago and had their reception on the Wooster Road campus soccer field, where 31 LCA students participated in various roles in the wedding party. They now have three adult children: Nathaniel, Cheryce, and Janae. As a family, they have trained three puppies for Leader Dogs for the Blind and are considering puppy number four. As the longest serving current staff member, Bill owes his years of service to simply loving what he does.
To his current students, he would encourage them to take advantage of all the opportunities offered, from academics to fine arts and athletics. He also urges them to not take for granted the relationships they can experience with fellow students and staff during their time at LCA. Finally, he hopes they are grateful for the spiritual aspect that is woven into every area of their education.
Over the past 28 years, Bill has transitioned through new buildings, new staff, new students, new locations, and new subjects, but in many ways, he feels the same mission of building relationships and investing in students. To a family considering Lakeland Christian Academy, he would say that it is a very exciting time at Lakeland due to the number of opportunities that are available to students. The word safety also comes to mind for him; not just physical safety, but also the mental and spiritual safety that comes with focusing on Christ before everything. Though he has served at LCA for many years, Bill is still seeing God work in unexpected ways in his life and renewing his excitement for what he does!
