School System Update

PCA North, which opened 2014, has expanded to serve PK-3 through 11th Grade. The campus is located inside Prestonwood Baptist Church’s north campus in Prosper and has more than 400 students between a Lower School, Middle School and Upper School. PCA North’s first graduating class will be in 2023.

Lower School: PCA North Lower School serves a learning community of PreK-fourth grade students where all academic content is taught through a Biblical worldview. Students are encouraged and actively engaged in learning that is developmentally appropriate and challenging, preparing them for future academic successes. Assessment tools such as MAP demonstrate growth in reading and math while informing instruction. Teachers work to meet the needs of all students in innovative and engaging ways that allow for collaboration and multidisciplinary learning opportunities. Each week students worship in Chapel, where Biblical truths are taught and reinforced in the classroom. Enrichment opportunities through specialized classes such as music, Spanish, art and physical education are part of the learning offerings. We also have a vibrant library where students go for weekly checkout of literature. Technology resources assist student learning across the curriculum as a one-to-one iPad campus.

Middle/Upper School: Students in grades 5-11 attending classes at PCA North Middle School and Upper School campuses continue to strive for academic excellence while being firmly grounded in Biblical truth. In the Junior class, students accepted the challenge of Advanced Placement courses, as well as Dual Credit offerings, extending rigor as they approach college-entrance testing and applications – excitedly preparing to be the first graduating class in May of 2023. Upper School students continue to reach milestones of growth, modeling the PCA Portrait of a Graduate of scholarship and rigor. Academic competitions from Future Problem Solving to Speech and Debate enrich the students’ academic strengths in creativity and collaboration. Middle School students continually grow in independence and rising levels of responsibility as they face the academic challenges provided by the enriching curriculum and the opportunity to participate in academic competitions, as well. Interval MAP assessments reveal persistent growth in Math and Reading, and students demonstrate their learning and development daily through interactive and engaging coursework.

Fine Arts: The PCA Norths Fine Arts department includes art, theatre and music programs for Middle and Upper School. In Art, students work in a variety of mediums such as ceramics, painting, mixed media, and wood carving. Students in 6th-12th grade will enter projects in the ACSI Art, Metroplex Art of Christian Schools and TAPPS competitions this year. The music program at North features choir and drumline programs, who showcased what they have learned this year with a Christmas concert. Both will have an end of year showcase and dessert show later this year. Students in 4th-6th grade can also audition to be part of Honor Choir, touring and performing locally. For its third annual spring musical, theatre students at North are looking forward to performing the musical Bye Bye Birdie in the spring. The theatre program continues to grow with twice the amount of students participating this year. In the classroom, Upper School Honors Theatre 3 showcased student directed scenes and Middle School theatre students showcased a One Act Play for the community. Upper School theatre students spent their summer and fall preparing for the TAPPS One Act Play competition. Coming off last year’s placement at the state level, this year’s One Act Play team placed third in district. Several students were recognized in the categories of All-Star Cast, All-Star Tech and honorable mention. North’s ITS Troupe saw two students advance to Nationals at the State Competition. Middle and Upper School students also compete in a variety of speech competitions with 14 students on the Speech and Debate team. A first-year competitor from Upper School recently placed 2nd in Poetry and a Middle School student has placed in finals twice this year in the category of Program of Oral Interpretation. Upper School Students will compete in the TAPPS speech competition later this year.

Athletics: The PCA North 6-man football team and volleyball team each qualified for the playoffs in their first varsity season. Currently, the Lions are also competing in varsity boys basketball and have a varsity cheerleading squad. PCA North is slated to have a varsity boys and girls track team this spring. They also have athletes competing in swimming and golf. In middle school, there are currently two boys and two girls basketball teams with a boys and girls track team on the horizon. There is also a Middle School cheerleading squad.

Forthcoming: PCA North continued its Forthcoming (it will be referred to as “Homecoming” after the Class of 2023 returns) traditions with a community parade and pep rally on the North Campus. They also announced a Forthcoming Court at the Friday night home football game.

To learn more about PCA North, read this article in Living Magazine.

Prestonwood Christian Academy - Twenty-Five Years of Establishing Students for Life
By: Mimi Knight

From its inception, Prestonwood Christian Academy (PCA) has had a clear mission: to assist Christian parents by helping equip students to embrace biblical truth, strive for academic excellence, and model Christ-like leadership to influence their culture, churches, and homes for Christ. What began as one school in Plano in 1997 has grown, as the Lord has blessed, into a school system which now includes six schools serving more than 2,000 students. Those schools include PCA Online which began in 2009 and PCA North in Prosper established in 2014. St. Timothy Christian Academy relocated to the PCA Plano location in 2018 and The King’s Academy opened in South Dallas in 2019 with God orchestrating every step along the way. This year, PCA added a hybrid school now available to kindergarten, first, second, fifth, and sixth-grade students at their Plano Campus with plans to serve kindergarten through seventh next year and add eighth grade in 2023-24.

The Hybrid Learning Model

Long before the COVID pandemic motivated many parents to reconsider the traditional model of schooling, PCA leadership was already contemplating what the future of Christian education might look like. Enter the new PCA Hybrid which sees students learning in a traditional classroom three days a week with two days of satellite learning at home (or another location that allows for continual learning to take place). “Hybrid learning offers flexibility for our families,” explained PCA Hybrid Principal Bill Wendl. “It’s a great solution for parents who wish to spend more time engaging with their children and their education. Hybrid students have access to the same services, curriculum, and activities as full-time students and receive the same Christ-centered, kingdom education. One primary focus of PCA Hybrid is developing students to become more self-directed and take additional responsibility for their learning. This is often referred to as student agency.”

Wendl says the hybrid model wasn’t necessarily in response to the COVID pandemic but that the past two years have certainly been a time of discovery for many parents. “Some parents discovered their child’s school couldn’t meet all their needs,” he said. “Others realized how much they enjoyed having more time with their children. Through the hybrid model, our families are afforded that additional time with their children as they oversee their lessons. But parents aren’t expected to recreate any curriculum. Students tackle the same curriculum as PCA’s five-day students and are working on content already presented to them by the teacher in the classroom.”

This has been a great model for students who participate in outside activities such as competitive dance, martial arts, or competitive soccer which requires them to be out late on school nights and for young parents who themselves grew up in a hectically paced world and would like to slow things down a bit for their own kids. “Hybrid students are getting the same Kingdom education as five-day students including participation in chapel, Spanish, music, art, band, and additional co-curricular activities and they enjoy lunch and recess with their five-day friends, on the days they’re here,” said Chief Vision Officer Dr. Clarence Williams. “Hybrid teachers are the same highly credentialed individuals held to the same high standard as all PCA faculty. But hybrid learning allows us to expand our offerings to fit more families’ needs.”

“There’s been a real awakening globally among parents who realize they only have one shot at raising their kids,” said PCA Superintendent Dr. Michael Goddard. “They want a highly morally-based education for their children and are looking at many options. Hybrid school is one of them. It’s really the best of both worlds and we feel it will be trending upward. “

Another way PCA Hybrid seeks to enhance their core program is through project-based or service-based programs. One beautiful example of this is their partnership with Engage Hope, a local non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to transforming lives and communities through the power of God’s love in Uganda, Mexico, and around the world. “Research shows one way students learn well is finding a need, researching solutions, then looking for ways to meet that need,” Wendl said. “One need we found was the need for a Christian education in third-world countries. We presented it to the students and asked, ‘What can we do?’ They decided to plant herbs and sell them to the community then use the profits to sponsor children through Engage Hope. They’ve adopted two children, providing them with one meal a day plus tuition for their entire academic careers. They’re also writing to the children they’re sponsoring, children of their own age, and are sometimes able to have Zoom calls with them.”

Through this project, the students are learning the science of botany as they chart the growth of their plants, money management as they calculate their net and gross income, writing as they journal about the process, entrepreneurship as they interact with the community, and kingdom lessons as they’re responsible for children accessing a Christian education.

“From the beginning we’ve sought to invest in our students and families,” said Dr. Goddard. “We know excellence—in anything—is only achievable through our Savior Jesus Christ. As we’ve sought to be a better reflection of Him, He’s grown our one school into six, now with the hybrid component added. This is the fastest growing area of the country, and we’re the fastest growing Christian school in the country. Parents are choosing to invest in their child’s kingdom education and we’re doing everything we can to meet that need. With increased enrollment comes increased staff and we’re working hand-in-hand with the church to see where we’re going to be and what we’re going to be as we grow. God is giving us the chance to service our community deeper. And we’re seeking to refine excellence in all we do.”

Click here to learn more about PCA Hybrid!

*Republished from Living Magazine, Jan. 2022

Prestonwood Christian Academy Online offers outstanding Kingdom education in an online, college preparatory environment in several ways. 

Fully online students enjoy the flexibility that our asynchronous instruction provides.  This affords them time to pursue athletic, artistic, and intellectual pursuits which don’t allow for traditional school attendance.  All this is accomplished while completing a high school graduation plan from a fully accredited online school within the Prestonwood Christian Academy System of Schools.

Shared students get the opportunity to take up to three classes on campus in our Prestonwood Christian Academy Upper School while fulfilling the majority of their course requirements through PCA Online.  Along with this students are invited to participate in select on-campus activities such as chapel, advisory groups, service days, retreats, Homecoming, school-sponsored dances, etc.  In this way, students can enjoy the flexibility of the online program while also experiencing the student life, and outstanding face-to-face instruction of PCA.

Students who do not attend PCA Online as their primary enrollment can also take advantage of PCA Online courses to pick up courses, or recover credit.  With the extensive course offerings available, students from outside the Prestonwood Christian Academy System of Schools can pursue courses which may not be available to them through their schools.

Great things are happening at PCA Online as we work to improve and expand the courses and opportunities available to students.  This year, PCA Online Shared Seniors were excited to participate in the PCA Senior Trip, and Minimester Service Trips for the first time.  God is doing great things at PCA Online.

• 2021 graduate, Katerina Wright, is competing on the tumbling and acrobatics team at Limestone University
  • She earned an athletic scholarship
• 2021 graduate, Madison Marsman, earned an individual total of $208,000 in scholarships for her academic and extracurricular achievements.
  • She is currently studying at TCU
• We are delighted to have the largest PCA Online senior class ever, with 17 students graduating with us this May
• PCA Online senior, McKenna Marvin, is a captain of the National Champion PCA Competitive Cheerleading squad
• PCA Online senior, Lilly Wilson, has earned the Presidential Scholarship at Abilene Christian University
• PCA Online freshman, Avery Knowlton, is the recipient of the 2022 Colin Caruthers Young Hunter Award, which is awarded by the Dallas Safari Club to an outstanding student who meets criteria for hunting and academic achievement, as well as community service and leadership
• PCA Online senior, Lilly Hartnell, has signed to play competitive ice hockey for Saint Anselm College

The relationship between Prestonwood Baptist Church, Prestonwood Christian Academy, and St. Timothy Christian Academy was born out of a desire to broaden the original hope of our founder, Dr. Paul Warren. God placed on his heart the dream to offer a redemptive, Christian education to students whose learning styles require a unique approach. At STCA under the direction of Head of School Lisa McNair, our objective is to bring academic success to students who may have experienced difficulties in traditional classroom settings. Our partnership provides STCA students inclusive experiences in which they can grow spiritually and socially, while interacting with peers.

While we do not have academic inclusion with PCA, we are included in many activities, such as All School Worship, pep rallies, library time, Homecoming and a Buddies program. Several of our students have participated in PCA’s band, theater and athletic programs.

Our Kindergarten through 5th graders are self-contained, while the older students receive departmentalized instruction. All students have Bible, technology instruction, Adapted PE and recess on a daily basis. Enrichment classes include art and music for the Lower School and a choice of several electives for the Upper School – music, art, American Sign Language, communication arts, work readiness and health.

STCA serves K-12 students with a wide variety of learning differences, accommodating more than 20 different diagnoses. Our 17-member staff of certified teachers, dyslexia and speech therapists and support personnel serve our current (but growing) population of 33 students. We employ an individualized, multi-sensory method of instruction, allowing students to advance at their own pace. STCA is currently in its 16th year, our fifth year at the PBC campus. Our graduates have taken many paths – college, transition programs, entering the workforce and starting families of their own.

We praise God in gratitude for the spirit of accommodation, the direction and guidance, and the excellence in which both PBC and PCA have come forward to fulfill the vision of the partnership and to offer enriching resources for our students.

To learn more, visit staplano.org.

The King's Academy in South Dallas is thriving with 68 students enrolled from Pre-K 3 through 3rd grade. For the first time in the history of our school, we have a waiting list to attend. TKA is operating out of Cornerstone Baptist Church under the leadership of Head of School Dr. Shailendra Thomas and esteemed Board of Directors.  

The children are experiencing measurable growth spiritually, academically and emotionally every single day. Our administrators, faculty and staff serve as Christlike role models of faith and service to our students. TKA students take part in educational programs including engaging instructional curriculum, biblical integration, positive social-emotional development, fine arts, health, fitness and nutrition and extracurricular activities, such as flag-football, basketball, soccer, piano and percussion.

We are so pleased to include our families in many events throughout the year in the life of our school. Students and families participate in Grandparents Day, Annual Christmas Program, Spring Musical and competitions.  

Please come see us at The King's Academy.  If you would like to learn more and how you can get involved with us please visit tkadallas.org and feel free to contact us at office@tkadallas.org.