My name is Tessa Kooiker and I teach 1st and 2nd grade Language Arts at CCS. I graduated from Dordt University with a BA in elementary education and a minor in teaching reading. 

My husband and I have four children. Being their mom is a joy and privilege. I enjoy spending time with family and friends. Our family likes to camp, hike, bike, snow ski, and work together on our hobby farm.

I love that teaching in a Christian school allows us to share the gospel with our students in so many ways. Each year, I am encouraged as my students, in turn, share the gospel with me. At CCS, we instruct God’s covenant children with the knowledge that “the world is Lord’s and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1.) We get to pray with and for our students and the people they care about. It’s exciting and weighty that as educators we get to be a part of our students’ growth, especially academically, spiritually and socially. Christian education gives students, as image bearers of our Father in Heaven, opportunities to explore His world and discover their gifts and calling, preparing them to be knowledgeable, discerning, and caring Christian individuals as they live their lives now and into the future. I’m honored to come alongside of parents and be a part of this growth in my students and I am thankful that I am not left alone in my efforts in this calling. God promises to give me the strength to carry out the work He lays before me.