The weather was not a factor in Mary Lou Capan’s return to Western Pennsylvania. The former head of Robinson Township Christian School, Mrs. Capan was warm and happy leading Summit Academy in Fort Myers, Fla. “It had a campus on Sanibel Island,” she said — the island being a resort getaway off the Gulf Coast. “I sure enjoyed visiting that campus.”

So what is she doing in Beaver Falls? “Following God’s leading,” said Mrs. Capan, in her second month as principal at Beaver County Christian School. “I wasn’t seeking the position, but the opportunity came to my doorstep and I knew it was right. It’s hard to explain.”

Part of the explanation, though, is Mrs. Capan’s long-term impression of the school from her perspective as a Christian educator.

“It has been, in my mind, a point of excellence through the years,” she said. “There have been nearly 600 graduates in 40 years, including college and university professors, rocket scientists, leaders in business, teachers … .”

“It’s a great gem in the Beaver Valley.”

She said other strong points about the school include the longevity of the staff and the strong intergenerational ties in its member families. She noted that families send their children to the school from as far away as New Castle and Zelienople.

Besides her five years at Summit and seven years at Robinson Christian, Mrs. Capan also had a position evaluating schools in Florida, giving her a broad base of experience to bring to the Beaver County school.

“I want to institute a culture of questioning,” she said. “I want the staff to constantly ask, ‘What are we doing excellently, and what could we do better?’ I asked them to bear with me, because I’m going to be asking lots of questions.”

Mrs. Capan and her husband, Mike, of 29 years, raised their two children in Robinson and did not sell their home while they lived for five years in Florida. He is an elevator mechanic and “is great with all the moving around,” she said. Mike and Mary Lou are long time members of the Providence Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Pittsburgh.

Mrs. Capan said she was committed to Christian education after seeing the benefits her own children gained from the Robinson Christian school and from her experience earning an administrative degree at Covenant College in Georgia.

“It was just transformational to me how you can integrate your faith with learning,” she said. “That’s my passion.”