Hope Christian Academy is a school for students with learning differences. Our students have the potential to succeed but are challenged academically. HCA offers small group instruction - remediation in reading writing, and arithmetic skills. Our curriculum is custom designed to meet the needs of each individual student, acknowledging their strengths, yet addressing their weaknesses.

​

Hope is founded on the principle that God has a design and purpose for every child. Our teachers strive to prepare students for a productive and rewarding life. We are located at Grace Christian School in West Columbia.

​

Our Strategy

​

We Meet

We meet with parents to hear the story of their child with learning differences. We ask them to share their student’s strengths, weaknesses, and frustrations. Parents are invited to observe direct instruction in our classes and talk to our teachers and students. The prospective student is encouraged to visit Hope and “sit in” for a morning or afternoon.

​

We Assess

After the student enrolls in Hope, we administer assessments in the areas of word decoding skills, reading comprehension skills, and basic math abilities. Furthermore, the student is invited to participate in an informal interview, where they can share their plans for the future and the areas in school he/she desires to improve.

​

We Plan

HCA’s teachers, along with the parents, design an Individual Educational Plan (IEP). Reading instruction is broken down into decoding (“word attack”) skills and comprehension. Lessons in writing skills are two-fold: English grammar and composition. Math instruction is determined by the age levels of the student. Young students are taught basic math skills, and older students are instructed in occupational math.

​

We Teach

Our small class size allows our teachers to ensure each student comprehends the material. Our methods are comprised of direct instruction, immediate feedback, modeling (or demonstrating) thought processes, and reteaching. When applicable we use multi-sensory approaches, such as 3-dimensional objects, role playing, art projects, and computer technology.

​

We Communicate

We communicate with parents on a weekly basis by e-mailing the plan for the upcoming week: academic lessons, related arts activities, job-site visits, or field trips. Regular communication means that parents know their child’s progress and their struggles. We have an open door policy, so parents and students stop by very often to share ideas and every day happenings!

​

We Pray

Most importantly, our faculty and staff pray. We pray for insight as to how to teach a new concept to our students. We pray for energy and concentration for the students. We pray that God will give each student the desire to reach his/her full potential. God is indeed doing amazing things through our creative teachers, wonderful students, and supportive parents.