The Diamond in the Rough by John Olsh

In 2020, my wife Leslie and I were watching the Carroll County School Board meeting to decide whether they were going to reopen the schools or continue the online curriculum. The end of the 2019-20 school year was extremely challenging for our family. Neither Leslie’s nor my job allowed us to work from home. I was still in the military and working on the Maryland COVID Task Force. We were barely able to help Zack complete first grade. So, when the Board voted to keep the kids at home to start the 2020-21 school year, I hit the internet. Zack’s best friend Grafton had already been accepted at CLS, so I decided to check out the CLS webpage. I had never heard of the school but the more I read about it, the more I liked it. I submitted an application for Zack that night. We initially made the wait list but within a couple of days we got a call and Zack was invited for an assessment. Zack was accepted, and our journey began.

Flash forward three years. Our experience at CLS has been nothing short of exceptional. At CLS, Zack was able to flourish with small class sizes, a nurturing staff that was genuinely connected to each student, and rigorous academics. At CLS, the teachers and staff fully understand his strengths, his needs, and his uniqueness! We are grateful for the ways they have helped him flourish.

One of the things Zack really likes at CLS is Wednesday chapel. He really likes it when Pastor David Schafer, the Pastor from our church (St. Benjamin’s Lutheran Church), leads the chapel service. Pastor Schafer usually asks Zack and Grafton to be part of whatever he has set up. Pastor Schafer does a great job including the boys and Zack is always excited to be part of the program.

We are extremely thankful God led us to CLS. Whenever anyone asks me about the school, I tell them that it was our diamond in the rough.