We are very excited to announce that Parkside Christian Academy is moving to the high school level for school year 2010-2011.  We are doing this not only to continue the vision of the school to empower students to follow after our motto and make the extra-ordinary ordinary in their lives, but also to continue to prepare them for college and beyond. 

Parkside has been a strong fixture in Boston schooling for over 30 years, and has prepared hundreds of students for private, public and exam schools over that time.  Six years ago, when their children first arrived at Parkside, Michael and Crystal Dixon partnered with the leadership of the school in order to make it even more vibrant and excellent.  Since that time, many more positive changes have taken place. 

·         Academic rigor and exposure to different types of Math and Science and Technology have taken off, and the school has received grants based on our work in Science. 

·         Seven students have become Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth scholars and two became regional award winners. 

·         The after school and sports programs have been invigorated, and we have developed a summer enrichment program. 

As a Christian school, our focus is not merely on academic excellence but also on God’s desire to have students reach the high places to which He is calling them.  In the 2008-2009 school year, the Lord opened up the door for Michael and Crystal to reach one of their high places and assume the leadership of Parkside, fulfilling a vision the Lord had given them 20 years earlier.  Since taking over leadership, they have continued making changes in alignment with the research Dr. Dixon has conducted, which he developed while teaching AP Physics and Calculus to inner city students.  Michael has scored Advanced Placement (AP) tests, received a national AP Teacher of the Year award, and worked with College Board’s AP conference planning team.  He has been a teacher, assistant chaplain and administrator at elite private schools and in suburban school districts.  Michael has also served as an assistant professor at Gordon College, helping to prepare teachers to teach middle and secondary level classes.  This range of experiences gives us a fairly unmatched perspective on what works, what is needed, and how to integrate faith and learning at the highest level.

Once the goals of school had been initiated, we felt it was time to redesign the middle school and expand to the high school level to complete the vision of utilizing our expertise at the secondary level.  To understand our vision, one should understand our curricular framework.  The curriculum is challenging with a focus on Preparation for AP courses by introducing high level work early while making sure the basics are reinforced. It focuses in Mastery of skills, not merely age/grade promotion.  The curriculum is integrated so subjects complement each other.  This can be seen in the fact that students take courses in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), not just separate science and math.  They take Humanities instead of English and Social Studies in grades 1-4, Middle School (MS), and High School (HS) levels 1, 2, and 3. These occur in the morning for the middle school and will for the high school as well.  Students remain with their own grade/age level for all other classes so they are able to remain socially connected to their peers.  After high school 3, students will have individual elective courses to choose from, including AP courses.  Students can enter into the HS level once mastery is reached, which can be as early as 5th grade.  This gives students time to master topics, as well as the opportunity to move ahead at their own pace.  We expect all of our students to take AP courses, go on mission trips, participate in sports, service, and public speaking.