CELA

I cannot begin to express the positive impact CELA has had on our son's lives. One of the many features of CELA is their chapel buddy program. Simply, it allows an older student to take a younger student and be apart of their week at school. Our son and his chapel buddy had a fantastic connection (they still do). When does a 14 year old and a 6 year old able to not only entertain each other but give the importance of true friendship, love and inclusion? As a father, I was proud to say I saw it first hand in many ways. Here is but 1 photo that sums it up so well.

We have found a great fit at CELA. CELA provides our middle school son the environment to continue his love for learning while providing opportunities to grow academically, personally and in his faith. The smaller class size allows one on one interaction with teachers in a small family like environment. Our middle school daughter has found CELA to be a refreshing restart. Her classmates have made her feel welcome right from the start, as if she was with them from the beginning. Finally, we have been blessed by the teachers and the staff at CELA. We manage a nut allergy and the entire staff has been supportive and they work with us to keep our child safe.

Currently, the youngest of our four children is in the 5K program at CELA, and she had the privilege of attending for her 4K year as well. Our three older children also attend CELA (and love it), but they attended 4K and 5K through a variety of public and private school settings; and, although our experience in those environments was good, the experience at CELA is truly unique. CELA’s youngest learners are challenged in a fun, age-appropriate way and develop as individuals in their academics and leadership abilities. The growth we have seen in our youngest daughter’s academics as well as in her confidence of who God has created her to be has been exciting to witness.

My son's experience at CELA has been quite positive. I have read some of the other reviews, and while I agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, some of the things said were a bit unChristian-like.

I can only rate the middle school and its teachers since this is my youngest - but overall this was a good move for him. Coming from a public middle school, CELA is breath of fresh air. The teachers care, the other students are respectful and the administrators are always there to greet students and parents with a smile. Yes, there were some growing pains the first year, but this is a new school that was literally built from the ground up I think the administration has done a wonderful job of planning and preparing the teachers in advance and have addressed issues quickly as they arise.

I know that some parents were disillusioned by the change in the Christian curriculum early on - they switched to a values based program versus strict Bible based - but we have found that teaching Christian values backed by the Bible has worked well for our son. The most important thing is that the students are respectful of the teachers (and their fellow students) so that learning can occur.

Our main reason for switching was the lack of challenge and discipline at his former school. The CELA middle school teachers have presented a much higher level of learning and work hard to ensure that every child is working to his/her potential. I won't name teachers specifically, but there are several EXCELLENT teachers here that actually excited to teach! CELA has challenged my son and I believe he will be well prepared for a rigorous high school education.

If you are looking for a Christian values based education that provides academic challenge and encourages leadership this might be a good option.

Our children have had an amazing year at CELA! They have thrived in academics, leadership and their confidence levels have increased dramatically. I have been very impressed with the teachers, the curriculum and atmosphere this year. My children have developed great cohesiveness with their classes, and they look forward to going to school each morning. The head of school has done a phenomenal job and has an outstanding reputation. I would highly recommend CELA.