Education from a Biblical worldview
Medina Christian Academy continues to grow, eyeing a new campus
Every subject at Medina Christian Academy, not just Bible study class, incorporates a Christian worldview. Photo courtesy of MEDINA CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
When it comes to preparing kids for the rest of their lives, Medina Christian Academy Administrator Paige Donahoe and her staff believe strongly in what they call “the trifecta.”
“When you can have the family, the church and the school all on the same page, you’ve got the trifecta. When they’re all hearing the same thing and learning the spiritual truths together in those atmospheres, it’s the best foundation you can lay for a child,” said Donahoe, now in her ninth year at MCA. “That’s what I tell people.”
The past seven years have seen steady growth for MCA. There are about 240 students in preschool through ninth grade this year, up from 215 last year.
Paramount among all augmentations is the addition of high school, which makes MCA the only Christian high school in all of Medina County. This year’s freshman class is the “first” – high school was previously offered decades ago under a previous administration and originally had a different school name – and they’ll graduate in 2021.
There are also more athletic and extracurricular opportunities than ever, and multiple teams fielded per sport depending on age. A whopping 80 percent of the student body plays a sport, sings in the choir, plays in the band or orchestral ensemble or takes part in other activities.
Students and staff this school year will be involved in more community service projects than ever, working with a variety of local nonprofits including Medina Creative Housing, Cups Café, Feeding Medina County and more.
“The growth has been awesome,” Donahoe said. “We’re getting students younger now because their parents know they can eventually stay all the way through to graduation.”
Faithful advantages
Whether it’s math, science, history or English, MCA teachers integrate a Biblical worldview into all classes so students can learn to look at the world from God’s perspective. His topics and teachings aren’t confined to just Bible study classes.
“I’ll be coaching volleyball here in just a couple hours. We do prayers and we do devotions with the players,” Donahoe said on the second day of school Aug. 24. “We want them to know that everything we do, whether it’s our words or actions, inside the classroom or out, should glorify God.”
Donahoe says it’s all about teaching students Christian values. When making new hires – MCA added three new teachers this year alone – Donahoe said only teachers who are Christians are considered.
“The teachers are all certified by the state. They obviously won’t make as much money here as they would at a public school, but they do it as a ministry. They view it as a calling,” Donahoe said. “It makes for a great working environment.”
For two of MCA’s longest-tenured teachers – Librarian Aleatha Ziegler has been there 24 years and Art Teacher Shelva Johnson 25 years – it is indeed a calling.
“In this place, we get to share Jesus with them and that is so life changing,” Ziegler said. “It allows me to help students realize there’s something more outside themselves, outside their family and go to places that allows me to share what God has given me.”
For Johnson, the God-driven creativity she gets to foster in her classroom is a spiritual experience for her.
“It’s just the atmosphere of the Christians you get to work with,” Johnson said, “and just the fact that you get to share that with the kids, too, about your faith, and having the freedom to verbalize that whenever I teach.”
Another advantage at MCA is smaller class sizes. For kindergarten through third grade, there are two classrooms per grade. For fourth grade and up, there is one classroom per grade.
“We could have a large class of 30 to 32 students, but we break them up in those younger grades when they’re really mastering their skills, phonics, math, reading. They can get a lot of individual attention from the teachers,” Donahoe said.
‘Bursting at the seams’
There has been a school at First Baptist Church since 1981 and all of those years have been at its Medina Road location in Montville Township.
As of recently, conversations about expanding the school have become a reality.
“Our enrollment trend has been increasing each year” Donahoe said. “We’re kind of bursting at the seams already.”
MCA is focusing on raising funds to build a brand new facility, which could possibly open in the next two to three years. The goal, Donahoe said, is to initially construct a campus for middle and high school.
“We’re small, so it’s not going to be the size of CVCA (Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) or Walsh. We’re not at that point,” Donahoe said. “We want to be able to offer Christian high school education because there are no Christian high schools in Medina County. That’s really our goal, to be able to offer a Christian education from preschool all the way through 12th grade to those families looking for that option.”
The MCA community
Donahoe said she can usually identify whose parents are picking up their children just based on what vehicles are in the pick-up or drop-off line before and after school. It’s just that tight-knit of a community.
MCA is gearing up to host its “all-family school picnic,” which marks the beginning of every school year. From there, Donahoe said she likes to introduce new families to families who have been at MCA a while in order to help the newcomers feel comfortable.
“It’s really about relationships. You can do all kinds of events, but it’s about caring about people and taking care of their children and keeping them safe during the day,” Donahoe said. “If the parents can have that peace of mind, I think that makes for a positive relationship between the family and the school.”
One thing Donahoe stresses to families considering making the transition to MCA is that financial assistance is available.
“I don’t want them to think they won’t be able to afford a Christian education,” she said.
MCA is also a scholarship provider for the Ohio Department of Education’s EdChoice Scholarship Program, which provides students from underperforming public schools the opportunity to attend participating private schools, as well as families whose income falls at or below a certain level.
“We do have some students here who are on a scholarship from the state of Ohio,” Donahoe said.
Medina Christian Academy is located at 3646 Medina Road, Medina. More information can be found at www.medinachristian.org or by calling 330-725-3227.
“When you can have the family, the church and the school all on the same page, you’ve got the trifecta. When they’re all hearing the same thing and learning the spiritual truths together in those atmospheres, it’s the best foundation you can lay for a child,” said Donahoe, now in her ninth year at MCA. “That’s what I tell people.”
The past seven years have seen steady growth for MCA. There are about 240 students in preschool through ninth grade this year, up from 215 last year.
Paramount among all augmentations is the addition of high school, which makes MCA the only Christian high school in all of Medina County. This year’s freshman class is the “first” – high school was previously offered decades ago under a previous administration and originally had a different school name – and they’ll graduate in 2021.
There are also more athletic and extracurricular opportunities than ever, and multiple teams fielded per sport depending on age. A whopping 80 percent of the student body plays a sport, sings in the choir, plays in the band or orchestral ensemble or takes part in other activities.
Students and staff this school year will be involved in more community service projects than ever, working with a variety of local nonprofits including Medina Creative Housing, Cups Café, Feeding Medina County and more.
“The growth has been awesome,” Donahoe said. “We’re getting students younger now because their parents know they can eventually stay all the way through to graduation.”
Faithful advantages
Whether it’s math, science, history or English, MCA teachers integrate a Biblical worldview into all classes so students can learn to look at the world from God’s perspective. His topics and teachings aren’t confined to just Bible study classes.
“I’ll be coaching volleyball here in just a couple hours. We do prayers and we do devotions with the players,” Donahoe said on the second day of school Aug. 24. “We want them to know that everything we do, whether it’s our words or actions, inside the classroom or out, should glorify God.”
Donahoe says it’s all about teaching students Christian values. When making new hires – MCA added three new teachers this year alone – Donahoe said only teachers who are Christians are considered.
“The teachers are all certified by the state. They obviously won’t make as much money here as they would at a public school, but they do it as a ministry. They view it as a calling,” Donahoe said. “It makes for a great working environment.”
For two of MCA’s longest-tenured teachers – Librarian Aleatha Ziegler has been there 24 years and Art Teacher Shelva Johnson 25 years – it is indeed a calling.
“In this place, we get to share Jesus with them and that is so life changing,” Ziegler said. “It allows me to help students realize there’s something more outside themselves, outside their family and go to places that allows me to share what God has given me.”
For Johnson, the God-driven creativity she gets to foster in her classroom is a spiritual experience for her.
“It’s just the atmosphere of the Christians you get to work with,” Johnson said, “and just the fact that you get to share that with the kids, too, about your faith, and having the freedom to verbalize that whenever I teach.”
Another advantage at MCA is smaller class sizes. For kindergarten through third grade, there are two classrooms per grade. For fourth grade and up, there is one classroom per grade.
“We could have a large class of 30 to 32 students, but we break them up in those younger grades when they’re really mastering their skills, phonics, math, reading. They can get a lot of individual attention from the teachers,” Donahoe said.
‘Bursting at the seams’
There has been a school at First Baptist Church since 1981 and all of those years have been at its Medina Road location in Montville Township.
As of recently, conversations about expanding the school have become a reality.
“Our enrollment trend has been increasing each year” Donahoe said. “We’re kind of bursting at the seams already.”
MCA is focusing on raising funds to build a brand new facility, which could possibly open in the next two to three years. The goal, Donahoe said, is to initially construct a campus for middle and high school.
“We’re small, so it’s not going to be the size of CVCA (Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) or Walsh. We’re not at that point,” Donahoe said. “We want to be able to offer Christian high school education because there are no Christian high schools in Medina County. That’s really our goal, to be able to offer a Christian education from preschool all the way through 12th grade to those families looking for that option.”
The MCA community
Donahoe said she can usually identify whose parents are picking up their children just based on what vehicles are in the pick-up or drop-off line before and after school. It’s just that tight-knit of a community.
MCA is gearing up to host its “all-family school picnic,” which marks the beginning of every school year. From there, Donahoe said she likes to introduce new families to families who have been at MCA a while in order to help the newcomers feel comfortable.
“It’s really about relationships. You can do all kinds of events, but it’s about caring about people and taking care of their children and keeping them safe during the day,” Donahoe said. “If the parents can have that peace of mind, I think that makes for a positive relationship between the family and the school.”
One thing Donahoe stresses to families considering making the transition to MCA is that financial assistance is available.
“I don’t want them to think they won’t be able to afford a Christian education,” she said.
MCA is also a scholarship provider for the Ohio Department of Education’s EdChoice Scholarship Program, which provides students from underperforming public schools the opportunity to attend participating private schools, as well as families whose income falls at or below a certain level.
“We do have some students here who are on a scholarship from the state of Ohio,” Donahoe said.
Medina Christian Academy is located at 3646 Medina Road, Medina. More information can be found at www.medinachristian.org or by calling 330-725-3227.