About Middle School Education
At Desert Christian Academy, we desire to partner with you in training your teenage student. We recognize that the adolescent years are a time of great transition for you and your child. Up until now, your child’s education has been directed by one teacher who kept strong accountability for each student.
Now that your child is entering young adulthood, a whole new world of freedom awaits him/her. The more stringent checks and balances of an elementary education with memo books and mandatory parent-teacher conferences become less prevalent. Your child will now have multiple teachers and will be forced to take an active role in the direction of his/her own education. However, parents are able to access grades and attendance records for their student(s) through “ParentsWeb”, an online password protected database.
Along with the educational adjustments your child will make, he/she will also face great challenges in social development. This can perhaps be the greatest fear for parents of teenage students. Will my child stay out of trouble and away from drugs, tobacco and alcohol? Will he/she keep good friends that will have a positive impact on his/her life? Perhaps these are questions that run through your mind when you consider your child’s transition into secondary school.
Teenagers today are under tremendous stresses and they face trying obstacles that help develop the type of adults they will become. Now, more than ever, secondary school students are in need of caring and capable role models that will help nurture and direct them in their development of independence and individuality.
Middle School Academics
The middle school curriculum at Desert Christian Academy is intended to be rigorous to prepare students for success in our college preparatory program at Desert Christian Academy. We offer 6 core subjects including: Bible, English, History, Mathematics, Physical Education, and Science. Beginning in seventh grade we offer a selection of elective bases classes through our FLEX program.
Academic Preparation for High School
Although most high schools offer the study of physical science to their freshman students, we offer it to our eighth grade students only. All of our high school sciences are lab sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physiology, Physics, etc.). In order to prepare our 8th grade students for high school level science courses, we have them study physical science in Science 8.
Likewise, our mathematics curriculum is designed to help middle school students make an easy transition to high school math courses. Our 7th grade students are placed on 1 of 2 “math tracks”, according to their mathematical ability. Pre-Algebra in 6th grade and Algebra 1 in 7th and 8th grade. Students performing at an advanced level are placed on track 2 and are offered Pre-Algebra in 7th grade and Algebra I in 8th grade. Middle school students on track 2 receive high school credit for passing Algebra I during their 8th grade year.
