New Hope Christian Academy has been providing students with a Christ-centered education for over 20 years.
Head of Schools (the private school version of school superintendent) Jamie King has led the New Hope Statesmen for seven years. Students are exposed to the school mission through announcements, conversations, and posters in every classroom, and is the greeting heard when calling the school: We are here to disciple, educate, and commission our students to go into the world determined to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ.
New Hope is licensed as a chartered non-public school. “Families can apply for the EdChoice Traditional and EdChoice Expansion Scholarships, and a number of our students use those scholarships,” said King. “It’s provided an incredible opportunity for both our families and New Hope.”
New Hope has seen higher enrollments in recent years, and records a 100% graduation rate. “We have seen a steady increase in K-12 over the last several years, and the EdChoice scholarships certainly contribute to that,” said King. “Our K-12 enrollment is at about 200, and our preschool / Early Learning Center (ELC) varies between 70-100.”
King leads a staff of an elementary principal, middle/high principal, and Preschool/ELC director, 25 teachers, and support staff such as tutors and intervention specialists.
The New Hope enrollment process for new families begins in March for the next school year. “They go through an application process (record reviews and admissions testing) and we make those enrollment decisions between March and May,” explained King. “But families may move and so there is no official close date, but rather it depends on our class size as to whether we have spots available during the school year.”
The New Hope staff works hard to stay current with curriculum, and has concentrated on the writing curriculum during the last few years. “We have worked with Cedarville University on this, assessing our current instructional strategies and assessment,” continued King. “Everything we do is based on State standards, and we add additional standards to incorporate the biblical worldview.”
New Hope also partners academically with Ohio Christian University (OCU). “We typically have several of their college students do their student teaching here. We also use the College Credit Plus program for our high school students, and we have had OCU staff come on campus to teach here and our students take courses online,” said King.
The Pickaway County Educational Service Center also works with New Hope, assisting the staff with rubrics, benchmarks, and instructional strategy.
New Hope incorporates technology into instruction.
“We use Google classroom, Chromebooks, and iPads, but I think the best and strongest resource is the classroom teacher. We want our students interacting with the teacher and in small groups,” said King. “We have an impressive robotics class here. From K — 12, they are exposed to that, and it is pretty exciting for our students.”
Athletics plays an important part of the school’s emphasis on character development. As a member of the Ohio Christian Schools Athletic Association, New Hope offers basketball, soccer, volleyball, cross country, tennis, and started a baseball team for the first time this year.
“Historically we have been very successful with our boys basketball, and the boys varsity basketball team won the State league tournament this year.”
NEW HOPE VISIONNew Hope Christian Academy will be a community of believers who glorify Jesus Christ through actively spiritual growth, academic excellence fully integrated with a biblical worldview, and an enriching student life experience.
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