When John and Tammi Camilleri began thinking about where Jamie would attend kindergarten, they knew they were making a decision about much more than school.
Like many parents, they explored their options. They considered public and private schools, homeschooling, and other possibilities in the community. But through all of their research and prayer, John and Tammi kept coming back to what mattered most to their family: they wanted Jesus to remain at the center of the foundation they were building for their children.
“Our main focus was to ensure our values and ideals centered around Jesus would be highlighted alongside the education our children would receive,” Tammi shared. “We have strong convictions that Jesus would be the pillar we build our foundation on, which includes our children’s education.”
After much prayer, they chose Vacaville Christian School, and Jamie began kindergarten in the fall of 2014.
More than a decade later, the Camilleris have had the opportunity to see where that first decision led. Jamie continued at VCS through high school and graduated with the Class of 2026. Her younger brother, Jonah, followed in her footsteps and is now a seventh grader.
Through each stage, the Camilleris have been grateful for the teachers and staff who have come alongside their family. Tammi can name teacher after teacher who has played a meaningful role in Jamie and Jonah’s lives over the years, and those relationships have become an important part of their family’s VCS story.
“The collaboration we have forged with the amazing teachers and staff has been vital in building the foundation for our children.”
For Tammi, that partnership has meant knowing there are people at school who care about her children and are willing to communicate with their family through both the good moments and the more challenging ones. Over the years, she has especially valued the way teachers and staff have kept their family informed, listened when concerns arose, and worked together with them.
But the heart of the Camilleri family’s decision has always come back to faith.
“Jesus is the foundation our family has built and will continue to build our lives on,” Tammi said. “This is the primary reason we selected VCS and have continued to choose VCS every year for our children.”
That consistency between home and school is something John and Tammi have valued deeply. Their hope has never simply been that Jamie and Jonah would receive a strong education. They want the qualities that shape their children’s character as they grow to reflect the heart of Jesus and for both of them to seek God’s direction for their lives.
With Jamie now a VCS graduate and Jonah continuing his own journey through middle school, Tammi has the perspective of a mom who can look back on more than a decade of raising children within the VCS community. For families who may be standing where she and John once stood, weighing options and wondering how much the choice of a school really matters, her answer comes from years of experience.
“Our children are the most valuable gift God has blessed us with. How we forge their foundation is absolutely essential.”
For the Camilleris, choosing VCS has been an investment in that foundation: faith reinforced at home and at school, teachers who have walked alongside their children, and a community that has become part of their family’s story.
What began with prayer over one little girl starting kindergarten has now carried their family through Jamie’s high school graduation and into Jonah’s middle school years. And through all the changes that come as children grow, the reason John and Tammi first chose VCS remains the same: a desire to keep Jesus at the center and surround their children with people who will help point them toward Him.
