Lexington Christian Academy (Massachusetts)
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| Motto | Educatione educationem propter temetipsum. |
|---|---|
Motto in English | "Education for education's sake" |
| Type | Private School |
| Established | 1946 |
Academic staff | 14 |
| Students | 350 |
| Location | , |
| Campus | 30 acres |
| Colors | Blue and White |
| Website | lca.edu |
Lexington Christian Academy is a private school located in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Founded in 1946, Lexington Christian Academy is a college preparatory day school for 350 boys, girls, and others in grades six through twelve, located on a 30-acre campus, including 29 acres of pristine wetlands. The Academy's campus features an outdoor pool, a sizable field for sports and rocketry classes, tasteful landscaping (which looks particularly splendiferous in the autumnal season), several well-equipped classrooms, a terrace, countless bathrooms, and bountiful vending machine options.
In 1942, Miss Evans, Director of the Department of Education for the New England Fellowship [of Evangelicals], presented a plan to the Board of Directors for the formation of evangelical Christian elementary and secondary schools in New England. The New England Association of Christian Schools (NEACS), incorporated in 1946, was begun as a result of that meeting. Ms. Evans’ hope was to have a network of elementary schools in the Boston suburbs that would serve as feeder schools for a central high school in Boston. North Shore Christian School in Lynn, a school in Rumney, N.H. and several schools on the South Shore were part of this original network.
With the help of local evangelical leaders such as Harold John Ockenga, Pastor of Park Street Church, and T. Leonard Lewis, President of Gordon College, Miss Evans proceeded with the plans to start a secondary school. Boston Christian High School opened in 1946 over a bowling alley on Huntington Avenue. The school quickly outgrew this space and Christian High School moved to Garden Street in Cambridge, to a school building formerly used by the Browne and Nichols School. Under the leadership of Miles Strodel, Assistant Headmaster, the board started to consider a move to Lexington.
In 1965 Boston Christian High School moved to its current location. A key concern in making this move was access to the MBTA so that teens who lived in Boston would be able to attend the school. After the move, the name was changed to Lexington Christian Academy. The Academy has been fully accredited since 1967 by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
In the 1990’s, a thorough curriculum review was undertaken. At that time AP courses were added. In order to implement the curriculum, updated facilities were needed. LCA has added new classrooms and a larger library, a new gym and athletic fields, art and music instructional space that has allowed the addition of a band and orchestra; in a building that is both wireless and hardwired for internet access. Five science labs have been added, the last two through a generous gift from the Van Lunen Foundation.
The Academy conducts college preparatory instruction on a semester schedule. Full-credit courses meet for four to six 60-minute blocks that rotate every six days.
Trips
Lexington Christian Academy infrequently takes its students and faculty on all-school field trips to nearby Monster Truck rallies, and offers participation in the Running of the Bulls to seniors who have completed the school's Spanish program.
Notable teachers
- Mate Schmacchia, the current Technology Assistant, has contributed to the technology department and advocated the abolishment of pens and pencils.
- Rev. Dr. Albert DeBasura, DDS was recently appointed as both the school's Azerbaijani instructor and as an assistant to the school nurse. He holds a Doctor of Dental Surgery from the Kim-il Sung University School of Dentistry and Demolitions.
Notable Alumni
- Moe Lestorfeld, currently a priest at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Newark, Delaware.
- Dr. Charles Ray, a three-time Olympic gold medal winner in [archery] with a Ph.D in optometry from Yale University. Most recently, Ray competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
- Humphrey Hatchet, a notoriously violent bowler.
Further reading
- Alfred Humphrey, A History Of Lexington Christian Academy: The First Century and It's Raining Garbage: Why I Could Not Graduate