Upper School

At Prestonwood Christian Academy, the Student Leadership Institute's mission is to assist young people in the development of their leadership philosophy and skills by exposing them to a biblically-based, practical, multifaceted year-long program.

Students are trained in the biblical model and definition of leadership with a core emphasis on three operating principles. This model focuses on individual and institutional commitments to becoming selfless and other-centered. Students are challenged to become more like Christ as they strive for a higher level of leadership training. Click here to learn more about SLi!

One of the most distinctive elements of Prestonwood Christian Academy is the school’s intentional focus on developing a biblical worldview. Biblical Worldview Institute was created to give students, faculty and parents the opportunity to think critically about Christianity around the world!

Check out our Biblical Worldview Institute page to learn about this year's conference and watch speakers from past years!

Future Problem Solving at PCA provides a venue for students who qualify for honors or AP English to utilize their skills they have acquired to compete in a competitive setting that includes the best and brightest students from public schools in the state of Texas. Students utilize reading strategies as they review non-fiction material necessary for researching FPS topics annually. Some examples of topics covered previously in FPS are: nanotechnology, immigration, climate threats/change, orphaned children, sensory overload, cyber conflict, child labor and more. The students who advance to international competition compete against the best from other states and countries also involved in the FPS program. Learn more about PCA's FPS Program here!

PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The student, with the help of the instructor, engages in reflective interaction with the crucial questions raised in the selected texts. Courses are cycled every four years and selected texts are chosen from the following thinkers:

Year #1
• Fall: Homer and Virgil
• Spring: Plato and Aristotle

Year #2
• Fall: Lucretius and Marcus Aurelius
• Spring: Augustine and Aquinas

Year #3
• Fall: Dante and Milton
• Spring: Descartes and Locke

Year #4
• Fall: Hobbes and Rousseau
• Spring: Nietzsche and Dostoyevsky

Each weekly 45-minute class centers on reading the required material and engaging in lively discussion.

Participation Requirements

Middle School (Grades 5-8)

• Have and maintain “A”s in core classes: History, Math, Science, and English (5th through 8th)

Upper School (Grades 9-12)

• Have and maintain a 3.5 GPA
• Participate in the Student Leadership Institute (requires acceptance)
• Participate in the Distinguished Achievement Program

New to PCA:

• Score in the 90th percentile in both Total Reading and Total Mathematics on admissions test
• Participate in the Student Leadership Institute (requires acceptance)
• Participate in the Distinguished Achievement Program

Students in grades 5-6:

Attend monthly meetings (six total) with the LSP staff
Read through books like Children Demand A Verdict by Josh McDowell, The Case for Faith for Kids, or The Case for Christ for Kids
Pay a non-refundable processing fee of $75 (billed through the Business Office)

Student in grades 7-8:

Attend weekly meetings with LSP staff
Read through and write book reviews on books such as More Than A Carpenter by Josh McDowell, and Know Why You Believe by Paul Little
Pay a non-refundable processing fee of $75 (billed through the Business Office)

Students in grades 9-12 must meet the following requirements to graduate with Lions Scholar honors:

Attend weekly meetings with the Lions Scholar director
Choose a specified FOCUS track (i.e., Politics/Law/Economics, Theology/Philosophy, Science/Math, Literature/Fine Arts, etc.)
Write a FOCUS paper during Freshman, Sophomore and Junior years
Write a Senior thesis
Attend two summer study programs: academic in nature and at least a week long (does not include test prep or church trips)
Participate in Student Leadership Institute
Participate in the Distinguished Achievement Program
Read through two books and write book reviews, or complete exercises from such books as Plato’s Dialogues, Descartes’ Meditations and W.L. Craig’s Hard Questions, Real Answers (books determined each year)
Must have participated in the Lions Scholar Program both junior and senior years and receive a minimum grade of “B”
LSP for Upper School students counts as an honors credit class which is averaged into the students GPA.
Pay a non-refundable processing fee of $125 (billed through the Business Office)
Must have a 3.5 GPA or higher at graduation.

For more information on PCA's STEM Program click here

Participation Requirements

Twelfth grade students meet with various professionals in our community including, top attorneys, interior designers, chefs, doctors and politicians in order to learn more about the professional world beyond PCA. Each year we partner with the guidance office in order to ensure we have a representation of the job interests of each Senior class. Students are given time time to ask questions and learn more about possible fields of interest before declaring a major in college.

Team Global Issues Problem Solving Competition

This elective program is designed for those students who desire to be challenged at a higher level through competition. Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI) is an international competitive program where gifted and high-achieving students compete in teams of three or four after researching topics that have implications for the future and are of global concern. Students utilize reading strategies while reviewing non-fiction material necessary for researching the FPSPI topics for the year. The topics are always interdisciplinary, but reading and language arts skills dominate the content of the program. The program develops creative thinking, research skills, critical and analytical thinking skills, communication skills (oral/written), problem solving strategies, as well as increases awareness of and interest in the future.

As part of the FPSPI team competition, students are required to research a given topic prior to competition, then in a two-hour time period, they are given a future scene or scenario based on the topic that contains a problem for them to address. Teams must generate and write 16 challenges, choose one to solve, develop 16 solutions, write five criteria questions in which to evaluate their best solution, then write a persuasive essay selling the team’s best solution. The work from each team is then forwarded to the state office for evaluation. Winners each year are then invited to compete at the state bowl in Austin, Texas. Winners at the state level advance to international competition. Some examples of the topics covered in FPSPI over the past few years are: nanotechnology, immigration, climate threats/change, orphaned children, sensory overload, cyber conflict, child labor, and genetic engineering. Participating in FPS takes commitment and dedication. The problem solving skills necessary to perform in FPSPI are skills corporations and businesses of all kinds would desire from an employee.

Scenario Writing

In conjunction with the Future Problem Solving Program International curriculum, students compose futuristic short stories (1,500 words or less) related to one of the current year's topics. Stories are first submitted for in school competition, and then several in each age division are selected to advance to the state competition. The first, second, and third place winner in each affiliate (state) program is invited to the FPSPI International writing competition. The first place state winner and all international finalists are invited to the International Conference to compete in an on-site writing competition.

Mock Trial is a national competition founded by the Dallas Bar Association. Students receive a civil or criminal court case written by attorneys then analyze and prepare arguments for both sides of the problem.

Auditions for team spots are held in the spring semester each year.

Student Benefits
• Public Speaking
• Analytical Reading and Processing
• Legal Argument Construction
• Understanding of the Legal System

Learn more about PCA's Mock Trial Team here!

TAPPS Academic Competition offers students the opportunity to compete and excel in the subjects where they demonstrate strength, or find enjoyment in learning. Prestonwood Christian Academy students compete against each other and students from other schools in subject-specific tests in math, science, Spanish, social studies and English. The objective for PCA students is to earn a sense of individual achievement and an even greater victory in giving glory to God through their talents.