Educational Program
Hillcrest Christian Academy offers a superior academic foundation in the context of a loving Christian environment. All subject matter is taught from a Christian perspective within an atmosphere of Christian love and understanding. The educational program at Hillcrest Christian Academy provides the skills, attitudes, and knowledge needed to enable each student to serve as a citizen of God’s kingdom.
The Four Core Pillars of Education
Biblical Formation
Academic Excellence
Athletic Development
Leadership Skills
Tenants of Educational Success at Hillcrest Christian Academy
- Biblical principles orient every aspect of education.
- A true partnership between families and school
- A family atmosphere. Your student is not just another name, they are family.
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Small class sizes. We strive to maintain class sizes
with an optimal student-teacher ratio. - A variety of instructional formats
- A school environment structured to enhance teaching and learning.
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A curriculum rooted in tradition yet infused with innovative
principles from current educational research. - An educational program that includes the total development of the child: spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically, and socially.
Curriculum
Two-year old classes
Frog Street Toddler curriculum is implemented in our two-year-old classrooms. Frog Street Toddler curriculum offers learning experiences and materials to support toddler development and learning. Your child will learn about sharing, taking turns, and being kind to each other. The teachers use Zoo-phonics to introduce your child to letters and their sounds. The teachers work on speech/language, cognitive, motor, music, and rhyming skills using the book of the month.
Three-year-old-classes
Frog Street Threes curriculum is implemented in our three-year-old- classrooms. Frog Street Threes curriculum enhances literacy development by offering a formal introduction to the alphabet. Your child will be introduced to reciting and recognizing letters of the alphabet, counting, color, and shape recognition. Also, social skills such as sharing, taking turns, and table manners are taught. The children will use the lessons taught with Zoo-phonics to help them to start blending sounds to make words.
Pre-Kindergarten
Letter/Sound recognition and reading skills will be foremost on our list of skills. Pre-Kindergarten will also offer lessons in Math, Science, Social studies, and Art. Social development and interaction with other children will be taught. All Pre-Kindergarten teachers have degrees in education. The teachers are very familiar with the Texas guidelines for Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten. They study the Kindergarten TEKS, so they can address all the skills needed to be successful in Kindergarten. They study the Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines, so they will know what each child needs to be exposed to in Pre-Kindergarten.
Conscious Discipline
Conscious Discipline integrates classroom management with social-emotional learning. It teaches children the skills and strategies they need to recognize and manage their emotions and manage themselves in the company of others while connecting with their peers. Each classroom will have a “calm down” corner to help self-regulate themselves and use strategies such as calming activities and deep breathing techniques. The teacher’s role is to keep children safe and the children’s job is to help the teacher keep them safe by following classroom rules such as walking feet, listening ears, and helping hands. More information on Conscious Discipline methodology can be found at www.consciousdiscipline.com
What is Texas Rising Star?
Texas Rising Star is the state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System. Programs that are Texas Rising Star certified are considered programs that have a commitment to quality care and improvement that exceeds the state’s minimum licensing standards. The Texas Rising Star program offers three levels of quality certification (Two-Star, Three-Star, and Four-Star) to encourage childcare and early learning programs to attain progressively higher levels of quality. Learning Hands Preschool has maintained a four-star rating since 2018.
