The top priority of Cascade Christian Academy (CCA) in Wenatchee, Wash., is to build Christian faith and values into the school’s curriculum. “CCA offers students a unique education that emphasizes close relationships, strong academics and Christian service,” points out Gene Roemer, history teacher.
The more than 60 high school students have many opportunities for Christian fellowship and community service. In the fall, students and staff spend a weekend worshiping together on the coast, making new friendships and renewing old ones. Student-led service teams feed the hungry on street corners and in parks, paint walls and scrub mattresses in homeless shelters, and prepare meals for local fire and police departments.
Elementary students participate in Jump Rope for Heart to help raise money for the American Heart Association, raising $1,400 last year.
Mission trips provide further opportunities to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Students spent their spring vacation in Kenya building a church, providing medical care and teaching health classes. Trips to Mexico in 2002, to Russia in 2001 and to the Dominican Republic in 2000 have given students more opportunities to serve. “Sharing your faith and helping people is the most important part of Christianity,” says senior Desireé Danielson.
A caring, certified staff dedicated to academic excellence provides a strong college preparatory program. Besides classes in English, science, social studies, math, computers and Spanish, CCA has an active drama program and a full-scale music program. In the lower elementary grades, the Orff Schulwerk music method teaches the fundamentals of reading, playing and singing music. The band program begins in the fifth grade, and high school students have the option to participate in both band and choir.
A unique addition to the academy’s regular curriculum is the fall and spring weeklong field trips. In the fall, students camp and explore the ecosystems along the Oregon coast and learn more about Washington state history as they visit fascinating forts and interesting sites. They also explore careers and technology during Career Week in Portland and Seattle, which annually alternates with the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Ore. In the spring of alternating years, students and staff move their classrooms to the Walla Walla College marine biology station at Rosario for outdoor learning experiences.
Because CCA is located in the picturesque Wenatchee Valley where recreational opportunities abound, students can participate in skiing, ice skating, indoor rock climbing and gymnastics during the six winter sports days each year. In addition, the school’s physical education department offers an intramural and varsity after-school sports program.
At CCA, educational excellence is achieved by teaching students how to find fulfillment through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in the context of the mission and message of the Adventist church. CCA strives to guide students in their choice of Christian values, by affirming students’ uniqueness as God’s creation, by helping them realize their potential for a successful and productive life of service to others, and by providing them with a strong academic program.
High school students take CPR training during their spring outdoor school.
Cascade Christian Academy students participated in the construction of a church during a recent mission trip to Kenya.
