Miami Valley Christian Academy is a private, non-denominational

Christian school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some count ...

located on the east side of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Newtown, Ohio Newtown is a village in southeastern Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, near Cincinnati. The population was 2,702 at the 2020 census. Newtown was settled in 1792 and incorporated as a village in 1901. History Multiple Native American mounds ...

, United States. MVCA educates children aged Preschool - 12th Grade. The curriculum provides college preparatory academic instruction from a Biblical worldview. Fine arts, athletics, and other co-curriculars complement their core subjects.

History

In February 1994, the Elders of Faith Christian Fellowship

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

(FCFC) and

Pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

Edgar Bonniwell of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

asked Mary Lou and Edward Wambach, to research the requirements for beginning a

. The Wambachs visited the

Ohio State Board of Education Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and a number of Christian schools within a 150-mile radius of Cincinnati. Their research was aided by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), Christian school administrators and a number of local parents. After concluding their efforts, they were asked by the FCFC Elders to develop a plan to establish a Christian school in the Newtown school building which was then owned by the church. In October 1994, the first meeting of the school

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

was held. A preliminary plan for a school was adopted. The ten founding members of the committee became the Board of Trustees of

Miami Valley The Miami Valley is the land area surrounding the Great Miami River in southwest Ohio, USA, and includes the Little Miami, Mad, and Stillwater rivers as well. Geographically, it includes Dayton, Springfield, Middletown, Hamilton, and other ...

Christian Academy. They were as follows: Edward N. and Mary Lou Wambach, Dr. Henry E. and Marilyn Wedig, John and Ellen Maloy, James and Jennifer Simunek, and Paul and Phyllis Zender. The goal was to open a private, independently incorporated, non-denominational Christian school. Primarily to provide an

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

in a Christian environment. The plan was to begin classes at Miami Valley Christian Academy (MVCA) beginning August 1996. Robert S. Marriott, an attorney and Christian worked with Graydon, Head and Ritchey, to prepare the Ohio State Incorporation papers and acquire the 501(c)(3) recognition of tax exemption. The MVCA

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

and Code of Regulations were prepared by the board of trustees with help from the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), Ed Reck of World Harvest Christian School and Bud Schindler of Dayton Christian Schools. In November 1995, Mr. Andrew Lowe, a public school principal became the

headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

of MVCA. He worked to develop the curriculum, hire teachers, write manuals, and he applied for a State Charter. He played an instrumental role in the development of MVCA. Alongside this, the board of trustees and many others worked to clean, paint, and decorate the school in preparation for the opening day. MVCA was established on August 21, 1996. It educated five kindergartners and six

first grade First grade (also called Grade One, called ''Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by ...

rs. Several teachers, such as Mrs. Kathy Morris and Mrs. LaRae Bircher taught without

remuneration Remuneration is the pay or other financial compensation provided in exchange for an employee's ''services performed'' (not to be confused with giving (away), or donating, or the act of providing to). A number of complementary benefits in addition ...

. From fall 2004 to 2005 a new middle and

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

were erected on the Miami Valley Christian Academy campus. On October 24, 2019, the school received enough

funding Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm use ...

to begin

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are ...

on a new all-weather sports fields along the campus. In 2020, the construction on the field was completed and available for official games to be played on.

References

{{authority control Christian schools in Ohio High schools in Hamilton County, Ohio Nondenominational Christian schools in the United States Private high schools in Ohio Private middle schools in Ohio Private elementary schools in Ohio