Last week I wrote a column about my son's stuff getting stolen at school.

In the column, I whined about what I perceive as a general moral decline among a certain segment of our population.

"Kids lie, cheat and steal without guilt. For them, getting away with something is perceived as an accomplishment," I wrote.

I suggested that the removal of the Bible from the classroom may have had something to do with it. I accused media and government of trivializing religion. I accused the young thieves of having a lack of "conscience training."

And I asked the rhetorical question, "Where will they get that very valuable training?" A rhetorical question is one that is asked with no answer expected.

I admit it. I didn't expect an answer, but I got one.

On Monday I got a call from a guy named John Urschalitz.

I sort of knew this guy. He and his family - from Illinois - rented a summer home next door to my house a couple times.

So he starts out with "You may not remember me, but..." Well, I did remember him. (I couldn't forget. His borrowed outboard motor blew up and I directed him to a mechanic.)

Anyway, he tells me he's living at Chapman Lake now. He really liked this area and moved his family here. He's in regional sales so he didn't have to switch jobs.

He told me he read last week's column and wanted to show me around a school that does provide "that very valuable training" I wrote about.

You see, his two teen-age daughters attend Lakeland Christian Academy. The girls were always in public schools before moving here.

Urschalitz decided to make the change to a Christian school after hearing about it from a woman who works at his bank. Her son was an LCA student.

He says it's been a real blessing. In fact, he has become one of LCA's biggest boosters. He's on the board and he loves to talk about the benefits of Christian education.

So he took me on a tour.

The first word to come to mind is modest. The school is modest. We checked out the administrative offices. No mahagony desks. No plush carpet.

We checked out the classrooms, the cafeteria, the computer lab, the science lab, the chapel. Most everything is well-worn. This is not to say it's not functional. Just well-worn.

The school has 90 students in grades seven through 12. The senior class this year has 10 students.

LCA turns out excellent students. Administrator Karen Bowling says last year, for example, 100 percent of the senior class went on to college. The year before that, all but one student went to college.

Last year 100 percent of the graduates received some type of academic scholarship. The year before that, one student received a near full-ride scholarship to Notre Dame University.

The school also has had its share of National Merit Commended Scholars over the years.

"That's almost always the way it is," Bowling said.

Prospective students are screened, but the school will take students who have been suspended or expelled from other schools. LCA also accepts students who are learning disabled in one way or another.

And along with all the "book learnin' " comes a heavy dose of moral teaching - straight from the Bible. And the school requires families of their students to have an active church life.

In a couple cases, previously unchurched families have found a new way of life because their children went to LCA.

And you know, they don't have a theft problem at LCA. Or a drug problem. Or a teen pregnancy problem.

Sure, there are only 90 kids there. But of those 90 kids, I'd bet 89 or 90 will be the kind of person you'd like to hire. Or the kind of person you'd like to have your son or daughter hang out with.

The only funding LCA gets is tuition and gifts. Tuition is around $3,000 a year. (The average annual state expenditure per public school student in Indiana is $5,452, according to the Indiana Department of Education. The average state expenditure in Warsaw schools is $4,218. That's not the entire cost per student, just the state expenditure.)

LCA's mission statement says the school exists to "provide a biblically centered educational environment so its students may be equipped to become Christ-honoring members of their families, churches and communities."

Right now, LCA is looking to expand that mission with some new facilities. I hope they get it done.

Seeing LCA up close was an enlightening experience for me.

I think LCA does a good job of educating students academically and - perhaps more importantly - spiritually. [[In-content Ad]]