Meet the Diehl Family

If home is where the heart is, the Diehl family’s heart is at Fredericksburg Christian School.

Doug, Sheila and their five children – Lawra, Jacob, Katelyn, Jason and Rebecca – have spent the last 15 years making FCS a part of their family, their home and the school will now always hold a special place in their hearts. “Parents want a good education for their child … they’re looking for a quality education,” said Sheila. “But underneath all of that, FCS is a family. It really is a family. That’s the extra bonus.”

The Diehl’s youngest daughter, Rebecca, just graduated from FCS and will follow the family tradition by heading to Liberty University in the fall, but when their children were young, Sheila took every opportunity to participate in school activities.

“I love the fact that I can walk into the school and I can watch my child’s class,” said Sheila. “Parents are very involved in the school, they’re hands on.”

Over the years, Sheila has volunteered in the library, served as a room mother and accompanied her children on a variety of field trips from the General Assembly to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

But, perhaps her most notable contribution is her cooking. Sheila has a knack for making food for large crowds and she always makes her food from scratch. One of her favorites is bringing homemade fudge to school for Christmas parties.

“That’s why we’re married,” joked Doug. “She’s a great cook.”

Freshly-baked cookies were always a given when the Diehl kids got off the bus and the neighborhood children also enjoyed Sheila’s cookies when they offered to have their driveway serve as a bus stop.

The Diehls even shared their animals during school lessons by bringing in their chickens and sheep when their children were reading Charlotte’s Web in the classroom.

Today, the Diehl children are grown up and either attending college or working at jobs, but Doug and Sheila will always remember how FCS included the parents in the school community.

“In their mission, they’re partnering with parents to educate their children,” said Doug. “We always felt like the teachers, the administration and the parents are all on the same team.”