Achieve Academic Success
The HCA faculty, staff, and administration works hard every day to provide an outstanding K-12 education. We are committed to providing students in each grade level with an excellent academic experience. With age-appropriate methodologies, our teachers build critical thinking skills, while also focusing on traditional core subjects. HCA administrators use regular evaluations, accreditation protocols, and yearly standardized test scores in a continual process of school improvement to give our families the finest school experience and the best preparation for the future. HCA maintains its accreditation through - MSA (regional), NACSAA (national), and AACS (national).
For a brief overview of our grade levels, browse the tabs below. For a detailed explanation, view our Grade Profile Booklet. To learn how HCA prepares you for college, read about our college guidance counseling.
HCA's preschool and Kindergarten program is committed to partnering with parents in shaping an extraordinary future for your child right from the start. The foundation is the most important part of any construction. This is especially true for young minds. The development of a child's brain begins before birth and continues through age five. HCA's preschool and Kindergarten program builds from the foundation at home and the continues in the classroom. HCA Pre-K and Kindergarten programs provide: a language rich environment, opportunities for academic development and well supervised social interaction.
We build on the solid foundation begun at home and solidified in the preK-K5 years. As an extension of the training at home, we partner with parents to teach character development and the skills necessary for academic, spiritual, social, and emotional maturation. The first through third grade years focus on developing literacy through teaching phonics, fluency, and comprehension. In these early grades, students develop their writing skills and begin exploring history and science, with a biblical worldview, in order to be equipped for the challenges of upper elementary and their future academic pursuits.
In our upper elementary classes, students have the opportunity to change classes twice daily as they enjoy all three teachers in the grade level. Each teacher prepares for one of the core subjects: English, reading and math, and then the students spend the rest of the day with their homeroom teacher studying science, history, spelling and Bible. Advanced math classes are available for 5th and 6th grade. Students enjoy many activities which apply what they have been learning in class: Immigration Day, Guam History Project, Wall Street Day, Dinosaur Dig, Earthquake models, and Greecian Wars are just a few events that make 4th-6th grade memorable!
As students prepare for high school, these years in middle school do not count towards the high school transcript, but they set the performance standard for how students will do in 9th grade and beyond. Our teaching staff encourages discipline, good study skills, and lots of great discussion. Students have 5 core classes each day: math (advanced sections available), history, science, English and Life Skills. P.E. is offered along with reading and music (7th grade) as a required block. A number of electives are available as students have the opportunity to try new activities or continue to develop skills. Some of the electives include: Middle School Band, Art, Speech, Advance Problem Solving, Choir, Beginning Ukulele and Computer.
With an excellent college prep curriculum, high school students at Harvest are well prepared for a successful college career. There are dozens of elective classes that include AP courses, foreign languages, visual and performing arts, computer programming, graphic design, coaching, and home science.
Teachers emphasize sound principles of critical thinking, precise writing, peer collaboration, and cross-curricular connections. HCA alumni graduate with a solid academic foundation that will prepare them for future success and give them an appreciation for life beyond the classroom. View our college guidance counseling page for more information.
Accreditation
HCA is accredited by the American Association of Christian School (AACS), Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSACESS), and the North American Christian School Accrediting Agency (NACSAA). MSACESS describes accreditation as the "affirmation that a school or other educational institution is providing the level of quality in its educational programs, services, activities, and/or resources expected by its community of stakeholders and endorsed by the education world."
Harvest has achieved the level of "Accredited with Distinction" which carries significant scholastic recognition.
Annual assessment
Harvest uses the Iowa Basic and CogAt as a standardized benchmark to measure instructional effectiveness and academic achievement of HCA students. This annual assessment measures the academic performance of our students in English language arts and math. The result from the Harvest student population reveals several key points:
- HCA builds a strong academic foundation in 1st through 3rd grade.
- The strong foundation prepares for accelerated academic results culminating in high school scores that are 30+% higher than the U.S. average.