From the Weber Family 

          My daughter, Danielle, and I have been with Grace Christian Academy for going on our 10th year.  My daughter loves being here; it is home to her in many ways.  It is a school where the staff members and other moms treat other children as if they were their own, with love, patience, kindness, and compassion!  I myself have been treated with much compassion as a single mother and am so grateful!  It is a school where the kids get a great education and the teachers and staff will help the kids wherever needed!  I love GCA because along with a great education, the teachers and staff teach and role model how to honor Jesus Christ in actions, words and deeds!  I also love that they are praying for our children.

Sincerely,

Karen Weber

From the Bolton Family

      My husband and I started looking for Preschools and decided that we definitely wanted a Christian based curriculum. We looked at several preschools but when we walked into Grace, we knew this was the place we wanted our son to be. The staff was so warm and friendly and you could feel the spirit. We planned to send Jordan there for just Preschool and Pre-kindergarten. However, after the first year we decided that if it was in our means, he would continue school there for kindergarten and beyond. Jordan is so happy at Grace and is such a witness to others because of his Christian education. He is often telling his friends about various bible stories and Jesus. He asks me why other schools don’t teach about Jesus. In Sunday School, he is often the one to help the teachers with the stories and can always remember what they learned about last Sunday because he has had the reinforcement not only at home, but at school, as well. I have and will continue to recommend Grace to others, because I feel that not only is my child receiving a great Christian education, but a great academic education, as well. Sitting on the curriculum committee at Grace, I see the dedication of the staff and teachers. They are reviewing test scores and looking at areas that need to be changed to improve instruction. Being in education, I find that this reflective teaching is so beneficial, not only to the staff, but to the students as well.

      Jordan’s class is like family. He shares what is happening in his friend’s lives and we often pray for some of the students and their families when there is a need. The staff is so supportive, no matter what kind of support your family may need. Grace is a great place to be.

From the Burnett Family

     Our 3 kids have been at GCA for 2 years and are currently in 6th grade, 3rd grade and KG.  From our very first visit we were impressed with the principal, teachers and administrative staff that we met.  Everyone has a genuine passion for God and love for kids that shows in their enthusiasm and their willingness to serve.  We were a little concerned on the first day of school with our kids being new in a class nucleus that had been together for several years.  We were very pleased to hear how the other students all embraced them and made them feel comfortable.  In fact at the first P/T conference, one of the teachers expressed surprise that our kids were new to the school, because of how well they had adjusted.  High quality Christian education requires a financial commitment, but we view this commitment not as a cost, but rather as an investment in our kids which will bear dividends for a lifetime.  We love Grace, and feel confident that - if you check them out - you and your kids will too!

From the Williams Family

     Our children, Jonathan and Caitlin, have both graduated from Grace Christian Academy. They attended GCA from Kindergarten through 8th grade. We choose GCA for several reasons. First, we attend Grace Church. Second, my brother had attended GCA; he was one of the founding students! And third, I had volunteered at GCA during college and then taught 5th grade there before Jonathan was born. We were very familiar and comfortable with GCA.      

     When Jonathan was in 3rd grade, we questioned ourselves about why we hadn’t “shopped around”. We had just gone with what was “known” to us. So, I visited other Christian schools to compare. On the surface, it was like comparing apples to apples. The other schools had the same curriculum. They were teaching Godly principles. The biggest difference I could see was that GCA was in a “school,” where as these other schools were located in the basement of a church or shared classroom space with the Sunday school program. GCA also had windows! Some of the classrooms in these other schools did not. I wanted my children to be able to see the outside-to see if it was snowing during the holiday season! (Big thing in our home!) How would they be able to do that in these other schools?

     But something else was different which made the biggest impact. By now we knew the hearts of the teachers at GCA. We knew that they genuinely loved and cared for our children. We knew what a great principal GCA had in Jan Degraaf. We didn’t know any of that about the teachers or principals at these other schools. Would we be willing to risk losing that? We decided we were not willing to risk that and we were now positive that we were, and had been in the best school for our children, all along!

     But, we almost made a huge mistake when Jonathan was in 8th grade and Caitlin was in 6th. We began thinking that since Jonathan was going to a public high school the following year, maybe it was time for Caitlin to be plugged in the public middle school. Jonathan already knew a lot of other students at the high school because of his year round swim team. Caitlin did not; so we thought it would be an easier transition to high school for her if we got her in the middle school in 7th grade. So we registered her that spring of her 6th grade year at the public middle school. She was nervous, but very excited for the change.

     Then, in May, came Jonathan’s 8th grade graduation. As we sat there listening to the hearts of Jan Degraaf and of those middle school teachers, it was as if we were stabbed in our hearts! What were we doing pulling Caitlin out of this! This is the culmination of all that we wanted for our children! How could we end something that was not yet finished for Caitlin? Then Caitlin came to us during the reception after the graduation ceremony and said, “This was her school! She didn’t want to leave it!” John and I, without hesitation, both agreed with her, we didn’t want her to leave it either! So, the very next day we removed our registration from the public middle school and re-registered her at GCA. We have never regretted that decision. Oh, Caitlin did bemoan the fact once or twice, because in 8th grade, uniforms became mandatory. She told us that God had made her an individual! I reminded her that God had made her a “naked” individual and that clothes had nothing to do with it! And God, in his ultimate faithfulness and love, revealed to Caitlin that GCA was exactly where she should be, right now, in these middle school years. And she took peace in that fact, and had a wonderful year because of it!

      Now, the day after Caitlin’s 8th grade graduation, we look back over the past eleven years. John and I are truly grateful for what GCA has poured into our children to help them become the wonderful young adults that they are today. We are sad that this is where it ends, but excited for what lies ahead. We are very glad that we stuck with GCA all the way through 8th grade with both Jonathan and Caitlin. Those middle school years are tumultuous and the foundation that was laid at GCA is rock solid. Jonathan has done very well at public school, attaining a 4.4 GPA last semester and, on many occasions over the past 2 years, having the conviction and courage to stand up for his morals and values. We have every expectation for Caitlin to do just as well! 

     What GCA has imparted to our children is priceless. The values and morals that GCA teachers and staff have modeled have reinforced what we were teaching at home and what they were learning at church. Jonathan and Caitlin have both been infused with a strong Christian worldview because of this three-fold application of the Word of God. GCA showed them that God was not just the God you find in church or just the God that their parents believed in. He was the God of every aspect of their lives, including Math, History and everything else about this world!

Thank you GCA! We all love you! 

John, Stacey, Jonathan and Caitlin Williams.