When Loganville Christian Academy, LCA, opened its doors only 19 years ago, the goal was to create a school that was thoroughly academic and thoroughly Christian. The PreK-12 Academy opened in 1998 with an enrollment of 68 students and has seen significant growth through the years. Today, LCA is home is to more than 570 students from Gwinnett, Walton, and the surrounding counties.
In its first year, LCA received a 19-acred tract of land donation. The following year the school purchased the adjacent 27-acre tract, and last January they acquired an additional 15-acre tract of land that will allow for secondary access to the campus. The 61-acre campus currently offers more than 90,000 square feet of building space. Two weeks ago, school officials announced plans for the next building, fondly referred to as the Gatehouse.
Chief Financial Officer, Doug Monda, noted, “The Gatehouse will provide brand-new, state of the art, classroom and collaboration space for our Upper School students as well as a 1200 seat auditorium and Fine Arts wing to house our Band, Theater, and Choral programs.”
The addition of this new building will also allow LCA to place all of their Lower School students, PreK-5th, under the same roof.
Having all students on the same campus promotes a certain level of pride in being part of something that God is doing in our midst.
The mission of the school was and is to prepare students academically, spiritually, and socially for God’s call on their lives.
When asked about the way this mission is delivered, the school’s Administrator, Christy Monda, replied, At LCA we believe that all three aspects of our mission statement are critical to our success. Academically, we want to know that our students are receiving the best possible education. The leadership team remains abreast of research and trends in the educational landscape while holding fast to what we know to be tried and true. We want to leverage the good of technology while protecting our students from the pitfalls.
LCA was the first school in Walton County to provide a 1:1 Technology initiative and is one of only several schools in the state partnered with Project Lead the Way in offering STEM education for grades 2-12. High school dual-enrollment courses are offered on our campus, providing the opportunity for our high school students to earn up to 42-hours of college credit while still being taught from a Biblical worldview. Environment matters.
LCA fosters students spiritual growth by surrounding them with faculty and staff members who are born-again believers, providing Bible classes, chapel, and retreats. LCA’s high school students begin every school year by attending ALPHA camp, a three-day retreat led by our seniors but designed to engage all high school students in fellowship, teaching, and worship.
Socially, LCA’s students are being trained to be for one another to recognize that each of them is leaving a legacy with the students that come behind them. Students are encouraged to exhibit leadership within the student body. The goal is to have LCA’s older students recognize the platform they have been given with the younger students. Just this year, two seniors, Rylee Atwell and Kevin Allen, launched a new Grad to Grad mentoring program with one high school senior adopting one Kindergarten student.
Monda goes on to say, LCA is God’s story. He established the school in the community 19-years ago and we want to be faithful with what we’ve been given to steward. Today, LCA still recognizes that apart from Him it cant do anything.
Its not uncommon to hear a student, faculty or staff member say, “We Are LCA.” Its a reminder that LCA is made up of all teachers, parents, students, support staff, and the leadership team. Its a reminder that we are all of LCA’s staff are owners, not renters. Its a reminder that theres a standard of excellence in all that LCA does. Its a reminder that LCAs dependence is God. Its a reminder that every LCA student has been created on purpose and for a purpose. Its the joy of the LCA team to come alongside the student as well as his/her parents in helping them identify and prepare for that purpose.
To learn more about partnering with LCA, attending a preview day, scheduling a personal tour, visit lcalions.com.
