Victory Christian Academy on St. Maarten Prepares for Third School Year

Aug. 19, 2008 - PRLog -- WEYMOUTH HILLS, ST. MAARTEN – “Miracles are happening at Victory Christian Academy one child at a time,” says school director Dianne Greenaway.

The school will begin its third official school year on Monday, September 1 and the director said it has been amazing to see the growth of the program and how many community-minded companies and individuals enabled them to get here.

“Despite all of the many challenges in the past year, our school average across all levels from kindergarten to high school was 97% when we closed for summer. That is a lot to be thankful for. Our program really works and it makes us proud when the parents are appreciative of the growth of their children that is noticeable immediately,” explained the director.

The school was one of the organizations which benefited from the poverty alleviation funding provided through USONA in 2006. When the money ran out in November of 2007, it became quite difficult to maintain salaries and other necessary expenses for the academy. The Oranje Fonds has also contributed funds to outfit the kindergarten classrooms.

“We always knew that we had a staff that was committed to us not just for a salary but because they believed in the vision of providing a personal and quality education to children regardless of their economic or racial background,” she added. “There were a few months when we could not pay salaries on time but our teachers and other staff remained faithful.”

Another major miracle was the establishment of a relationship with the Greater Atlanta Christian High School earlier this year. A team of 15 volunteered at the school during their Spring Break and also outfitted a library for the academy.

“It was the founder’s dream to see a library room where the children can just sit and enjoy a good book. We finally got that room this year. They provided us with classic novels that were necessary for our high school students to complete their literature lessons as well as reading books for every grade level.”

Director Greenaway said she would love to publicly acknowledge many of the companies who sponsor the monthly tuitions or contribute in other ways to the school but some choose to remain anonymous. She did want to express thanks to SecureTech International who from the school’s inception in January 2006 has provided free technology services, upgrades and troubleshooting, and Cost U Less which donates goods to feed students who come to school without proper meals.

Victory Christian Academy is located at the Victory Temple Church in Weymouth Hills and is run by its outreach foundation. The vision for the school remains to provide a personalized and quality education to children at all levels of learning and abilities.

“Our small class sizes, has been a major selling point. Many of today’s children suffer with hyper activity and have shorter attention spans. Having a teacher that can focus on what each child needs helps them to stay motivated to complete their work.

“Our curriculum allows us to design a program for each child no matter their strengths or weaknesses. It is entirely possible to have a student who can handle high school level mathematics but have grade four reading skills. With our workbook system, they can maintain their high school math class and take the reading classes to build their vocabulary and English level. No child needs to leave school unable to handle themselves in the real world.”

Spaces are still available for the kindergarten, elementary and high school programs. The school is also seeking sponsors to assist underprivileged children. Information can be downloaded at www.academy.trulycaribbean.net or by calling the school at 011-599-524-6521.

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Truly Caribbean Network is a non-profit organization with a mission to Change Lives and Create Possibilities for men and women. TCN hosts the annual Young Entrepreneurs Symposiums, Soualiga Film Festival and Truly Caribbean Woman Seminars.