Specializing in Classical Christian Education for Grades K-6

Virtue of the week is Obedience, and the verse that goes with it is Romans 13:1. Obedience is one of the four virtues in our honor code, alongside Courage, Respect, and Diligence. Here's the tricky part about teaching obedience to a room full of six year olds... it's awfully easy to make it sound like "do what you're told." That is not what we're after. We want them to see that authority isn't invented by whoever happens to be biggest. It's given. And everyone holding it answers to the One who handed it over. #CalvaryChristianAcademy

First day photo, finally! Took me the whole long weekend to recover from week one 🙂 Year two at Calvary Christian Academy kicked off August 31st. New shoes, sharp pencils, and a few nervous faces at 9:00 that had turned brave by lunch. Here's the whole school on day one. The Lord has been awfully good to this little school. Thank you to every family walking it out with us. #CalvaryChristianAcademy #CCAReno #ClassicalChristianEducation #ChristianSchool #RenoSchools #SparksSchools

Homeschooling has a lot going for it. Doing it alone at your own kitchen table is not one of them. Calvary Chapel Study Hall starts Monday, August 31. Grades 7 to 12, Monday through Thursday, 9 to 2. Bring your own coursework, get it done on campus, with other students in the room. Link in bio. #homeschool #homeschoolreno #renonv #northernnevada #homeschoolhighschool #renohomeschool

Teachers spend a good chunk of their own paychecks making their classrooms feel like home for your kids. We would love to change that a little this year. We just posted an Amazon wish list full of everyday classroom needs, the kind of things that quietly make a huge difference on a Tuesday in October. Link is in the comments, go take a look. However you are able to help, our teachers will feel it. Thank you for being part of this with us.

I could watch our kids do handwriting all day. (BTW these were our Kinders writing cursive) Turns out there's real brain science behind it. Write a word by hand and a child's brain lights up all over. Type that same word and most of that just... doesn't happen. Same kid, same word, and something completely different is going on upstairs. That's a big reason we teach the way we do at Calvary Christian Academy. Pencils, paper, and slowing down long enough to actually think. Low tech, and it works. Curious what classical Christian education looks like up close? Come see us. Study's in the comments if you want to learn more about writing vs typing. (Van der Weel and Van der Meer, 2024.)

Five weeks until I can wield this power again. It has been a quiet summer. No lining up, no "here we go", and worst of all... no whistle. But come August 31... the whistle is back!!! Somebody warn the kids. Five weeks until the first day, CCA.

Parents are frustrated. Teachers are frustrated. iReady is under scrutiny for allegedly harvesting and selling student data. And this week, the contract got extended for another year anyway. Read that one more time. A program accused of profiting off our children's information just got renewed, over the objections of the families and teachers who have to live with it. If you are a parent feeling unheard right now, you are not imagining it. And you are not alone. Our primary grade kids are spending more and more of their school day on screens, feeding data into platforms most parents have never read the fine print on. Phonics, handwriting, real books, mental math, recess, PE, and field trips are getting squeezed by testing windows and device time. Our kids already know how to use a tablet. What they are missing is everything else. Calvary Christian Academy is a technology free campus for kindergarten through sixth grade. No iReady. No data harvesting platforms. No screens in the classroom at all. Not because we are afraid of devices. Because we know what young children actually need. They need phonics. They need to write in cursive and in print, with a pencil, on paper. They need to read real books with real pages. They need to memorize their math facts and learn why those facts are true. They also need recess. They need PE. They need field trips and outdoor play and time to be kids. They need teachers who know their names, not algorithms that profile them. That is what a school day at CCA looks like. Every day. If you have been waiting for a different way to educate your child, come see ours. Schedule a tour at ccareno.org. Financial aid and scholarships are available as God provides.

Save the date. 🗓️ Friday, May 29 at 6:00 PM, our students take the stage at the CCRS Cafe for A Celebration of Learning. Every class, Kindergarten through Sixth, will share a piece of what they have studied, recited, and grown in this year. Cookies and juice to follow in the lobby. Bring the family, bring a friend, bring anyone who has ever wondered what classical Christian education actually looks like. . . . #CalvaryChristianAcademy #CCAReno #ClassicalChristianEducation #CelebrationOfLearning #ChristianSchool #ClassicalEducation #RenoSchools #SparksSchools #HomeschoolAlternative

We promise we didn't get lost in the woods🐻🐻 CCA has been busy out in the field, including a recent adventure to Animal Ark where our students studied wildlife, asked excellent questions, and only occasionally tried to befriend the bears. Getting out of the classroom is a big part of how we learn at CCA, and days like this remind us why. 🐻 #CalvaryChristianAcademy #CCAReno #ClassicalChristianEducation #AnimalArk #RenoSchools

The best way to know if a school is the right fit for your family is to visit. Walk the halls, meet the teachers, sit in on a class, and ask every question on your heart. A school that's confident in its mission will welcome your curiosity. Calvary Christian Academy is a classical Christian school serving Kindergarten through 6th grade in Reno, Nevada. We'd love to show you what we're building. Schedule a tour or learn more: Laura Castillo, Enrollment Coordinator 775-333-6271 info@ccareno.org ccareno.org Enrollment for 2026/2027 is open. Financial Aid Available As God Provides. #CalvaryChristianAcademy #ClassicalChristianSchool #RenoNevada #NowEnrolling #ChristianKindergarten #ScheduleATour

She is not even 5. And she writes in cursive. Our Kindergarteners learn cursive from day one, and watching them take off with it never gets old. This girl filled that whole whiteboard and could not be more proud of herself. Honestly, neither can we. This is what classical education looks like in the early years. Meeting kids right where they are and giving them more than they ever expected to be able to do. #CalvaryChristianAcademy #RenoNevada #ChristianSchool #ClassicalEducation #Kindergarten #ClassicalChristian #FaithAndLearning

Thing #5: People and Community You Can Trust Choosing a school is also choosing a community. The teachers standing in front of your child every day should be men and women who love the Lord, love children, and feel genuinely called to teach. Young children are especially perceptive. They pick up on whether the adults around them are walking out what they teach. And the families your child grows up alongside will shape them in ways that go far beyond academics. Look for a school where the families share a Christ centered mission and where the culture reflects the values you're building at home. A question worth asking: Can I meet the teachers? What kind of families make up this school? Full guide: ccareno.org/what-to-look-for-christian-elementary-school #ChristianCommunity #ChristianSchool #ClassicalEducation #RenoNevada #SchoolCommunity #CalvaryChristianAcademy

Thing #4: Small Enough to Know Your Child, Invested Enough to Partner with You In a large classroom, it's easy for a child to fade into the background. Kids who aren't the loudest or the most disruptive can go an entire year without being truly seen. They learn to blend in, stay quiet, and not cause waves. But that's not thriving. Every child deserves to be noticed, encouraged, and drawn out, not just the ones who demand attention. Small class sizes make this possible. And beyond class size, the right school will see itself as an extension of your family, not a replacement for it. A question worth asking: What is the student to teacher ratio, and how does the school partner with parents? Full guide: ccareno.org/what-to-look-for-christian-elementary-school #SmallClassSize #ChristianSchool #KnownAndLoved #ClassicalEducation #RenoNevada #ParentPartnership

Thing 3: Virtue Formation with Real Structure Every school says they care about character. But classical Christian education aims for something deeper: the cultivation of virtue. Character programs often focus on behavior management, teaching kids to follow rules and avoid consequences. Virtue formation is about shaping who your child is becoming from the inside out, training their heart to love what is good, true, and beautiful. Look for a school with a clear framework for this, where virtues like courage, respect, obedience, and diligence are part of the daily vocabulary between teachers and students. A question worth asking: What virtues does the school emphasize, and how are they reinforced in the classroom and at home? Full guide: ccareno.org/what-to-look-for-christian-elementary-school #VirtueFormation #ChristianEducation #ClassicalChristian #CharacterMatters #RenoNevada #ChristianSchool