We enrolled our daughter in CCA 8 years ago. She has walked the Pre Grammar and Grammar school halls, and now Logic school, soon to be in Rhetoric next year! I wouldn’t have her anywhere else. We primarily came to CCA because of the Christian education and small class sizes. Now we choose to stay at CCA for much more than that. We’ve grown to appreciate the benefits of classical education, and as she has gotten older, we have also grown to enjoy the many extracurricular activities the school offers. These weren’t things we thought much about when she was five years old. Now we are grateful for them!!

We are getting a stellar education in a well-rounded, balanced environment with school musicals, pep rallies, and football games! I have to say, though, what I’m most grateful for when I drop her off each morning, is that I know she is walking into a place filled with the most spectacular teachers who love her and her classmates as if they were their own. The teachers make CCA what it is! They nurture our kids’ minds and souls. What more could a parent ask for than your kids to spend their days with people who love them and teach them about the Lord. To me, there is nothing more important than that. They help our kids build character and equip them with armor to go into this crazy world with Jesus at the center of their lives!

I’ll never forget when our daughter came home a few years ago, heartbroken because of difficult friend situations at school. It wasn’t the first, and it won’t be the last, but I remember her saying (not in these exact words)….“Mama, it’s ok. I know Jesus wants me to be nice to everyone no matter what. I need to forgive and understand when people hurt us; it might be because they are hurting too.” Yes, she’s heard this many times at church, and we’ve talked about this very topic many times at home. Still, I happen to know that a teacher spent almost an entire class talking about how important it is to love each other and treat each other well when my daughter and others were struggling. Kids need reminders! We all do!!! I’m grateful our kids get those little nudges and reminders daily, not just on Sundays! As parents, we can talk to our kids repeatedly about things, but when they can go to a place every day and hear about how to get through struggles in a way that they know would make Jesus proud, it reinforces what we are trying to do at home and church. We can’t have enough reinforcements in this life!!!!

I can give more examples than I can count of teachers investing time and love into our kids like this. I was at school a few weeks ago and had a lovely talk with a teacher who filled my spirit and soul with the most encouraging words about my fears of life after my daughter graduates and what life looks like once she leaves the nest. She encouraged me and reminded me that the Lord has seasons….each one different but beautiful in its own way. We talked for almost an hour, and I was so grateful the Lord put her in my path that day and that she is in my daughter’s path every day!! Get to know your kids’ teachers. They will impress you. You will see how much teachers love your kids and your family too!

No teacher, school, parent, or kid is perfect, but being a part of a Christian community that values, encourages, supports, gives grace, and loves each other through imperfections and the tough times (like COVID) is a big beautiful blessing!!! Wow, I’m grateful to be apart of the CCA family. We are a  family loving and supporting each other through the good and the bad.

Thank you, CCA, for the greatest 8 1/2 years of my daughter’s life, and ours too.

We are grateful!!!!