SIDNEY — The 2018-19 school year at Christian Academy Schools has brought with it a major milestone here in the community. The current year represents 40 years of serving families in and around the Sidney community providing Christ- centered education along with high academic standards and training for our students to be well equipped leaders both locally and abroad.
“This school year also has marked the conclusion of 20 faithful years by outgoing school Superintendent Mary Smith. Oversight and development of the current campus at 2151 W. Russell Road along with successful completion of full accreditation to the ACSI Accrediting Agency have been just two of her accomplishments,” said new Head of School Richard Dray.
His report continues:
With Mrs. Smith’s departure from Christian Academy the current year has been and remains a year of transition to new leadership by myself. I have brought with me over 25 years of educational administrative experience at both the Christian School and College levels. Along with my transition has been the hiring of Pastor Steve Marcum as a classroom Bible teacher and Spiritual Life director’s role. Steve brings more than 15 years of experience to this position. Two other new hires include Amy Roth who brings 17 years of Spanish education experience to the classroom and Kendi Dray as an early childhood teacher with more than 17 years of experience to CAS.
While longevity and transition are at the front of key items this year at Christian Academy it has meant no less energy being placed on key aspects of the school experience for our students and families. This year has brought with it a slight increase in enrollment across the various K-12 grade levels. Dedicated and qualified staffing are working with our new STEM science lab as well as across the grade level board to keep student academics at or above state and national test and scoring levels. This along with educational trips to Washington D.C. and Columbus have helped students gain a better grasp of the inner workings of history and our government.
The summer of 2018 brought with it six weeks of a new summer school practice and school review program at no charge to families desiring to have their students involved. The current school year also is involving upgraded WIFI and technology for student and staff access. This effort is being led by recent staff hire E.J. Ball. Normal budget funds along with state funding are being utilized for these projects.
As a result of the School Board’s completion of the new five- year Strategic Plan local and U.S regional student community involvement has taken place in Sidney and Southwestern Ohio. Student music and senior trips to Nashville, Tennessee, and various urban areas in Ohio and Tennessee are on the agenda for spring of 2019.
Christian Academy also continues to focus on campus security. The campus was host to a full scale active shooter drill this past summer involving emergency personnel from Sidney and across the area. Staff and students from Christian Academy participated along with many volunteers from local schools to make the event as realistic as possible.
Looking ahead Christian Academy is also exploring the addition of a PK-4 program for the 2019-2020 school year. Surveys are being conducted to help make decisions related to this for the upcoming year. A decision will be made by the end of February 2019 as to outcome and direction for the possible program. With this current facility usage is being evaluated to help be better prepared for facilities for future students with equipping and training for a new generation of Christ-centered leaders.
