Nicaragua Christian Academy Academic excellence with a Christian foundation

NCA International

Campus

History

History of NCA International

Nicaragua Christian Academy began as the result of three evangelical missionary families seeking an English-language Christian education for their own children. The school began as a cooperative homeschool program in 1991 with two teachers and seven students meeting in a house. In 1995, NCA purchased its own land and began the construction of a school through the labor and donations of hundreds of volunteers and school supporters. In 2001, NCA International became the first ACSI-accredited school in Central America. In 2009, NCA International added a second accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and School (SACS) and its parent organization, AdvancED. Today, the school has reached a size of about 320 students and 33 teachers.

In 2005, the newly formed association opened its second school, NCA Nejapa, which offers Christian education of academic excellence in the Spanish language. In order to distinguish the first NCA school from NCA Nejapa, it became known as NCA International. In 2013, NCA Matagalpa opened its doors as the third NCA school. Between the three schools, we are currently meeting the educational needs of over 900 students. For a more detailed history of the whole NCA association, visit our NCA Association History page.

Timeline

Fall 1991

  • Nicaragua Christian Academy began with 3 missionary families and 7 students

Fall 1995

  • Purchased property at Km 11 Carretera Vieja a León
  • Built two initial multi-grade classroom buildings (currently 1st-6th grades)

Fall 1996

  • Built first secondary classroom building (currently HS001-HS006)

Fall 1997

  • Built preschool classroom building

Fall 1998

  • Built chapel area (current library, with 3 open walls)

Spring/Summer 2000

  • Built second high school building (computer lab, science lab, HS007-HS009)
  • Leveled soccer field
  • Built elementary playground

August 2001

  • NCA became the first ACSI accredited school in Central America

2002-2003 school year

  • Built main office building and expanded chapel area

February 2005

  • Opened NCA Nejapa with 55 students

January 2008

  • First Spiritual Emphasis Day for 7th-12th grade students

Summer 2008

  • Built first phase of Eagle Center (cafeteria, music room, conference room)

August 2009

  • NCA International became the first school in Nicaragua with dual U.S. accreditation by adding regional accreditation with SACS/AdvancED

2010-2011 school year

  • Expanded preschool classrooms

May 2011

  • Purchased back corner of property, formerly home of mission team guest house

2011-2012 school year

  • Renovated basketball courts at back end of property

2012-2013 school year

  • Added new high school classroom wing (renovated old mission guest house)
  • Built elementary artificial turf soccer court
  • Installed in-ground sprinkler system in main soccer field
  • Expanded parking lot and created new traffic flow for drop-offs and pick-ups
  • New projectors and interactive whiteboards in many classrooms
  • Began using "NCA International" to refer to the original NCA campus
  • NCA International enrollment reached 300 students

February 2013

  • Opened NCA Matagalpa with 36 students
  • Began construction of the Eagle Center

2013-2014 school year

  • Finished and began using Eagle Center
  • Built new elementary playground (phase 1)
  • First major NCA school musical: "Desires of Your Heart: The Story of Esther"

2014-2015 school year

  • Built new lunch and garden areas in center of campus
  • Built preschool artificial turf soccer court
  • Finished final phase of elementary playground
  • Built new library, student center, school store and offices (in former chapel area)
  • Purchased first classroom set of Chromebooks

2015-2016 school year

  • Founded the SOAAR inclusive special education program
  • Started practice of instructional coaching to strengthen all of our teachers
  • Built two new ELL classrooms (next to the fourth grade classroom)
  • Implemented ID card payment system in cafeteria and school store
  • First Every Way Day for 4th-6th grade students
  • Built the Korean Ranchon in honor of NCA Korean families
  • Expanded Youth Group into Thrive, Launch, Amplify and Student Serve Outreach

2016-2017 school year

  • Drilled 850-foot water well

2017-2018 school year

  • Build new science lab

2018-2019 school year

  • Initiated series of campus security improvements