Miami Valley Christian Academy is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

Christian school A Christian school is a Parochial school, religious school run on Christianity, Christian principles or by a Christian organization. These schools often include religious education and worship in their curriculum. They may also have a distinct Ch ...

located on the east side of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Newtown, Ohio Newtown is a village in southeastern Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, near Cincinnati. The population was 2,702 at the 2020 census. Newtown was settled in 1792 and incorporated as a village in 1901. History Multiple Native American mounds ...

, United States. MVCA educates children aged Preschool to 12th grade. The curriculum provides college preparatory academic instruction from a

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

worldview. Fine arts, athletics, and other co-curriculars complement their core subjects.

History

In February 1994, the Elders of Faith Christian Fellowship

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

(FCFC) and

Pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

Edgar Bonniwell of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

asked Mary Lou and Edward Wambach, to research the requirements for beginning a

. The Wambachs visited the

Ohio State Board of Education Ohio ( ) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the west, and Michigan to the northwest. O ...

and a number of Christian schools within a 150-mile radius of Cincinnati. Their research was aided by the

Association of Christian Schools International The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), founded in 1978, is an international organization of evangelical Christian schools. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It offers tiers of oversight, from school accredit ...

(ACSI), Christian school administrators and a number of local parents. After concluding their efforts, they were asked by the FCFC Elders to develop a plan to establish a Christian school in the Newtown school building which was then owned by the church. In October 1994, the first meeting of the school

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

was held. A preliminary plan for a school was adopted. The ten founding members of the committee became the

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

Miami Valley The Miami Valley is the land area surrounding the Great Miami River in southwest Ohio, USA, and includes the Little Miami, Mad, and Stillwater rivers as well. Geographically, it includes Dayton, Springfield, Middletown, Hamilton, and other c ...

Christian Academy. They were as follows: Edward N. and Mary Lou Wambach, Dr. Henry E. and Marilyn Wedig, John and Ellen Maloy, James and Jennifer Simunek, and Paul and Phyllis Zender. The goal was to open a

, independently incorporated,

Christian school. Primarily to provide an

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

in a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

environment. The plan was to begin classes at Miami Valley Christian Academy (MVCA) beginning August 1996. Robert S. Marriott, an attorney and

worked with Graydon, Head and Ritchey, to prepare the Ohio State Incorporation papers and acquire the

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

recognition of tax exemption. The MVCA

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

and Code of Regulations were prepared by the board of trustees with help from the

(ACSI), Ed Reck of World Harvest Christian School and Bud Schindler of Dayton Christian Schools. In November 1995, Mr. Andrew Lowe, a public school principal became the

headmaster A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

of MVCA. He worked to develop the curriculum, hire teachers, write manuals, and he applied for a State Charter. He played an instrumental role in the development of MVCA. Alongside this, the board of trustees and many others worked to clean, paint, and decorate the school in preparation for the opening day. MVCA was established on August 21, 1996. It educated five kindergartners and six

first grade First grade (also 1st Grade or Grade 1) is the first year of formal or compulsory education. It is the first year of elementary school, and the first school year after kindergarten. Children in first grade are usually 6–7 years old. Examples ...

rs. Several teachers, such as Mrs. Kathy Morris and Mrs. LaRae Bircher taught without

remuneration Remuneration is the pay or other financial compensation provided in exchange for an employee's ''services performed'' (not to be confused with giving (away), or donating, or the act of providing to). Remuneration is one component of reward managem ...

. From fall 2004 to 2005 a new

middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

and

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

were erected on the Miami Valley Christian Academy campus. On October 24, 2019, the school received enough

funding Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm use ...

to begin

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, turf-cutting, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such cer ...

on a new all-weather sports fields along the campus. In 2020, the construction on the field was completed and available for official games to be played on.

References

{{authority control Christian schools in Ohio High schools in Hamilton County, Ohio Nondenominational Christian schools in the United States Private high schools in Ohio Private middle schools in Ohio Private elementary schools in Ohio