Valor Christian Academy

Religious school in Redondo Beach, California, United States

Valor Christian Academy is a private transitional kindergarten through middle grades Christian school in Redondo Beach, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was previously known as Coast Christian School but received its current name in September 2012.^[1] It was affiliated with the Assemblies of God.^[2]

History

Pastor Wilbur Wacker and Calvary Church of the Coastlands established the school in 1977.^[3]

As of 1992^[update] it was named Coast Christian Schools (CCS), served grades Kindergarten through 12, and had two campuses in Redondo Beach,^[2] both leased from the Redondo Beach City School District,^[4] and the school also maintained a campus in Harbor City.^[5] By 1999 it had six campuses, with five in Redondo Beach and one in Torrance.^[6]

Circa 2012 Ambassador High School, a Christian high school, was supposed to begin using the Valor Christian campus but there were issues with the Redondo Beach city council, which postponed the decision on whether the school was permitted to open there.^[7]

Operations

As of 1992 all teachers must be Christians but they were not required to have educational credentials from the State of California.^[4]

As of 1999 these were the campuses (all except for one were in Redondo Beach):^[6]

Prospect Campus - Two years through PreKindergarten
Inglewood Campus - Infant through PreKindergarten
Elementary Campus - Kindergarten through Grade 5
Middle School Campus - Grades 6 through 8
Accelerated Learning Center in Redondo Beach - Grades 6-12
Accelerated Learning Center in Torrance - Grades 9-12

Demographics

As of the 1991–1992 school year it had 390 students. Of its elementary students, 77% were Anglo White, 10% were Black, 8% were Asian, and 5% were Latino; and of the secondary students, 35% were Black, 30% were Anglo, 20% were Latino, and 15% were Asian.^[2] Many of the minority students lived in Hawthorne, Inglewood, and other areas, and would have otherwise attended public schools. Jean Merl of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the secondary campus was "well-integrated" and that it "appears free of the racial tensions that have split some of the nearby public high schools."^[5]

References

^ Kajikawa, Gavin. "Our Partnership With Valor Christian Academy." Lighthouse Community Church. March 19, 2013. Retrieved on July 9, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Merl, Jean. "COLUMN ONE : Are Private Schools Better? : More parents are enrolling children in expensive academic institutions. Classes are smaller, but most students do not score much higher on standardized tests than pupils in public programs." Los Angeles Times. March 29, 1992. p. 5. Retrieved on July 9, 2016.
^ "About Coast Christian Schools." Coast Christian Schools. November 9, 1999. Retrieved on July 9, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Merl, Jean. "COLUMN ONE : Are Private Schools Better? : More parents are enrolling children in expensive academic institutions. Classes are smaller, but most students do not score much higher on standardized tests than pupils in public programs." Los Angeles Times. March 29, 1992. p. 3. Retrieved on July 9, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Merl, Jean. "COLUMN ONE : Are Private Schools Better? : More parents are enrolling children in expensive academic institutions. Classes are smaller, but most students do not score much higher on standardized tests than pupils in public programs." Los Angeles Times. March 29, 1992. p. 4. Retrieved on July 9, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Where Are We Located?" Coast Christian Schools. November 9, 1999. Retrieved on July 9, 2016.
^ Morino, Douglas. "Redondo Beach delays decision on new private Christian school." Whittier Daily News. July 18, 2012. Retrieved on July 9, 2016.