Go Christian Academy | First Baptist Church Douglasville

“And He took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me…’ Mark 9:36-37 (ESV)

Our Philosophy

Go Christian Academy is a ministry of First Baptist Church Douglasville, and is open to all children on a non-discriminatory basis. Our program is child centered and Bible based, using a wide variety of developmentally appropriate experiences for every child. At Go Christian Academy we want to offer parents a school for their children that is safe, affordable, built on academics, and spiritual learning, all centered on Jesus’ love. It is our desire to welcome each student as Jesus taught in this verse. “He took a child and put Him in the midst of them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me..’ Mark 9:36-37 (ESV)

We believe in the value and uniqueness of each child we serve. We endeavor to lead each student to a deep, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The church, the school, and parents maintain necessary and equal purposes.

The staff at Go Christian Academy recognizes the importance of developmental stages in the education of the whole child. We believe that we should promote an atmosphere conducive to achieving developmental readiness and promoting academic, cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and spiritual goals.

A classroom environment which encourages, demonstrates and rewards positive participation is important to the child. Also, an environment which extends the opportunity to each child to develop skills in critical thinking, problem solving, creative and divergent thinking, and language skills is the foundation of a quality educational program. To fulfill the concept of educating the whole child, we hold the tenets of providing artistic and cultural experiences to further the development of the child.

Our Mission

Our mission at GCA is to provide a program in a warm, loving Christ centered environment which promotes emotional, intellectual, physical, social and spiritual growth. We accomplish this by establishing a strong, educational, social, and spiritual foundation for every child through:

Sharing God's love.
Supporting parents and guardians in their God-given responsibility to nurture and train their children.
Equipping learners with age appropriate academics and tools that are necessary to realize their God-given potential-spiritually, academically, socially, emotionally, ethically, and physically.
Enrolling learners from a diverse population-economically, socially, and educationally- who can be successful while accomplishing a challenging curriculum.
Developing social skills and Godly character in learners, which enables them to meet the challenges that life brings.

At Go Christian Academy our goal is to give the each child an education which is appropriate to this stage of development, one that will be immediately be satisfying to students, and one that will help them build good foundations for the years ahead. We try through practice to help develop strong individual thinking skills. We are interested in discovering the traits and abilities of each child and in helping each child make the most of their potential.

General Admission Policy

Go Christian Academy is open to all children on a non-discriminatory basis of race, color, nationality or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, or any school-administered programs. Registration for members of First Baptist, children presently enrolled and children who have had siblings enrolled in the past begins the first of February, and opens to the public the 3rd week in February. Applications are accepted on a first come first serve basis.Applications must be accompanied by a registration fee. Registration fees are non-refundable. There is a one-time activity fee due with 1st month’s tuition. Activity fees cover all programs, “inhouse” and off campus field trips (for Kindergarten and elementary students). The activity fee is according to what age/class a student is in.

Our Curriculum

The curriculum used by Go Christian Academy is WEE Learn for our ones – three-year-old classes. WEE Learn is produced by LifeWay Christian Resources. The WEE Learn Curriculum is designed to offer learning activities which are directed toward language, reading readiness, math, and social skills. This program is designed to help Pre-Kindergarteners develop as Jesus did – physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially (Luke 2:52).

Along with the WEE Learn curriculum we also use the ABEKA curriculum for writing and phonics, and Hands on Math for our Pre-K 4 classes. We use the full ABEKA curriculum in our Kindergarten and the 1st grade classes including the Bible curriculum, and the ABEKA and Bob Jones University Christian curriculum for the 1st grade.

The ABEKA and Bob Jones curriculum provides all subjects; math, science, social studies, language arts, writing, reading, phonics, and art. Both curriculums cover all Georgia Standards and have been approved by the Georgia Accreditation.

The Bible curriculum teaches the stories from the beginning of the Bible starting with Genesis and the creation and goes all the way through the New Testament teaching the life of Jesus and the life of Paul by learning scripture verses, with scripture questions and answers, and prayer.

Additionally, we offer Music and Movement and playground or gym time for our Ones – Kindergarten classes. Pre-K 4, Kindergarten and the elementary students also receive Music, Spanish, Technology, Art and Physical Education. All specials are taught on their age and grade requirements.

Our Elementary students, Kindergarten and up will have access to their own laptop in the classroom and will be used for research and testing. They will visit the church library and be able to check out books weekly. Our church library is updated with age appropriate books and promotes young readers to develop the love of reading. Go Christian Academy will also offer the nationally recognized Accelerated Reader program for Kindergarten and 1stgrade.

Throughout the year we have “in-house” Field trips where different programs and events will be shared with the students in all classes. For example, Curious Moon Puppets, Barn Yard Animals, and Atlanta Zoo, along with an array of programs, parties, and other events.

Our Kindergarten and 1st grade will also attend two off-campus field trips a year that will fall in line with their units of study.

Uniforms

At Go Christian Academy all Elementary students Kindergarten and up will be required to wear a basic uniform. We believe this will help with positive student behavior, academic performance, and overall success. Not only do uniforms eliminate a distraction for students, they allow teachers to focus on academics as well.

We believe at Go Christian Academy that the Preschool and Elementary school years are the beginning of a student’s foundation for learning and that is where the love of learning begins. With that, it is our goal as educators to make sure that each student develops that love of learning and is well balanced academically, socially, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

The uniforms required are very basic:

Red, Navy and White shirt, crew neck or golf style with 3 buttons. Boys can wear Navy or Khaki shorts or pants.
Girls can wear Navy or Khaki shorts, pants, skorts, and jumpers. Tights may be worn under skorts or jumpers, navy, white or cream in color.
Closed toed shoes are preferred especially on P.E. days. No flip flops at any time should be worn.
Dressed down days will be announced by the Teacher in each class and it is by their desecration for dress down days.

Our Specials

At GCA we offer many other activities for our students

Music and Movement Class

A music and movement class will be provided for all GCA students once a week, Preschool and Elementary students. The elements of music, rhythm, melody, harmony, form, style, and expression will be introduced through age appropriate performing, moving, creating, and listening. All types of music will be used including folk, classical, patriotic, and Christian.

Spanish (Preschool 3, Pre –K 4 and all Elementary students)

This class offers an introduction to Spanish using games, songs, and other activities. All elementary students will use the Bob Jones University curriculum for their Spanish class. This class will take an innovative and engaging approach to helping students not only learn about Spanish, but Students will learn basic Spanish, listen to the gospel in Spanish, and study Spanish speaking countries around the world.

Technology (Pre – K 4 and up)

At Go Christian Academy we are pleased to offer a Technology class once a week for our Pre – K 4’s and all Elementary students. In this class they are able to learn appropriate learning games, and to navigate on the Promethean board. All elementary students will have access to lap tops during their technology class. These students will be learning Key boarding, how to navigate, and do research on computers as well as fun learning games.

Art (Pre-K 4 and Elementary age students)

We are excited to add two new specials to our curriculum at Go Christian Academy, a structured art class is one of the new specials class. We will use the ABEKA curriculum for our art classes. The art class will use a wide variety of art activities from making a sponge painting to crafting a Hawaiian lei, students will love the 37 projects in this age-appropriate art program for Pre K -4 students and up. They will develop their manipulative skills through coloring, painting, tracing, drawing, cutting, and gluing with a variety of materials. Whether it’s making a George Washington hat in February or an Easter cross in March, the monthly themes give them projects to enjoy and proudly display. The projects are correlated with academics, Bible teaching, and the seasons.

Physical Education (Pre-K 4 and Elementary age students)

Another specials class we have added is a structured P.E. class for Pre-K 4’s and the Elementary students. Students will attend P.E. once a week where this class will provide students with a variety of physical activities that teach skills and promote lifelong active lifestyles!

It is our prayer that you will come along side us, and let us partner with you in helping build those foundations for your child.