Education is an extensive and influential field that has the power to shape the future of society. For a child, education begins at a tender age when the brain is curious about the world and has an immense capacity to learn and grow. That’s why nurturing young minds with love, care, and empathy at schools is crucial. These values help them develop sound mental health, teaching them moral values such as kindness, compassion, and faithfulness.

Education is not just about academics; it is a holistic approach encompassing spiritual growth. Instilling a sense of spirituality in young learners is essential, as it fills their hearts with compassion and hope. It helps them develop a positive outlook and instills a sense of purpose.

Thus, the world of education is not just about imparting knowledge; it is about shaping young minds and preparing them for a better tomorrow. These values help students appreciate the world around them, and they grow into responsible citizens.

Christ the Teacher Academy, situated in Fort Lee, North-east Bergen County, New Jersey, was established following the closing of four churches’ parish schools: Church of the Madonna, Holy Trinity, Holy Rosary, and Epiphany. Christ the Teacher Academy, established when multiple Catholic schools merged, has served students’ needs in the greater Fort Lee area for over 20 years.

It is situated on the grounds of Madonna Parish. These schools were distinguished by their shared social development values, academic brilliance, and Catholic identity. These qualities are still present today. Christ the Teacher Academy holds Middle States accreditation; its students show respect for others, and they hope that people demonstrate their faith via their words and deeds.

Inculcating Spirituality in Young Hearts

Christ the Teacher Academy; as the name implies, Christ is their model teacher. It aims to develop its students’ spiritual, intellectual, moral, physical, and social potential.

The school believes in the saying of Christ, “Let the little children come to me.” Through his example, the school welcomes all to learn his words. As educators, the faculty at the school aim to give the students a solid foundation in academics, faith, and citizenship.

The school’s mission is to guide each student to develop to their fullest potential spiritually, intellectually, morally, physically, and socially with Christ as their model. The vision is to continuously provide a safe, nurturing, yet rigorous environment so that every child is well-prepared for the future.

It believes that each child is a gift from God with varying strengths and abilities; each child can be educated and guided to perform at their best, and the support of the community and stakeholders is critical to success, and Christ’s message is the soul of the school community.

Strategies to Achieve Educational Excellence

Christ the Teacher Academy has a specific method to maintain its exceptional performance. These strategies are:

• Teachers use professional development opportunities to enhance current educational trends and technology within the classroom.
• Use of Map Growth test scores to identify academic strengths and weaknesses.
• Administration sources and uses all available funding dollars efficiently and effectively for optimal student performance.
• Strong Home School Association provides fundraising opportunities and support.

Dealing with the Challenges

Challenges are an avid part of any organization, specifically in the dynamic field of education. Christ the Teacher Academy has also been through highs and lows but has always maintained the quality of education. Some of the significant challenges are:

• Maintaining and increasing enrollment.
• Recruiting the most talented faculty members.
• Effectively servicing a more extensive and increasingly diverse student population.

This prestigious institute sailed through the challenges with the following strategies:

• Establishment of a strong STEM program.
• Construction projects are underway to accommodate the growing student population.
• Providing Arts and Physical Education classes for all grades.
• Providing Spanish classes for all grades.
• Addition of various extracurricular programs, taekwondo, tennis, chess, debate club, volleyball, drama club, boy’s league, wellness for girls, BETA club, National Junior Honor Society, Student Council, and ambassador program.
• Availability of before and aftercare programs for working parents extended aftercare until 6:30 pm.
• Construction of a new kitchen to ensure daily hot nutritious lunches for the students and faculty.
• Full-time medical staff.

Leveraging Technology to Enhance Classroom Experience

With many technological advancements, such as G-Suite for Education, Christ the Teacher Academy could switch to remote learning for all students immediately during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. As the 2020-21 school year commenced, it offered the students the choice of remote or in-person instruction, ensuring their education would be disrupted as little as possible.

Following technological advancements are provided to the students at Christ the Teacher Academy:

• 1:1 Chromebooks for students in Grades 3-8.
• Use of iPads for Pre-K students.
• Provide weekly technology classes for all grade levels.
• Addition of Fire TVs in Pre-K classrooms.
• Addition of Sharp AQUOS Boards.
• 3D printers in the STEM lab.
• Creation of a School Media Center.

Crafting an Extended Family Atmosphere

Christ the Teacher Academy is a top-notch institute. It maintains an extended family atmosphere for its students. Its culture is to foster teamwork among all faculty and staff members in planning times for grade-level teachers.

It also tries to nurture a sense of community among the parents, teachers, and students. The faith-based community-monthly mass, a celebration of holidays as a school family, catholic traditions, and teachings are all traditions of Christ the Teacher Academy. The institute encourages fun family and school events like Breakfast with Santa, Family Bingo, Homecoming Dance, Thanksgiving Luncheon, Trunk or Treat, Easter Bunny Snack, etc.

Prestigious Awards and Recognitions

Christ the Teacher has achieved numerous awards and recognitions, such as:

• National Blue-Ribbon status.
• It also attained Academy Status.
• Won several STEM awards, including CNBC New York.
• It has continuously achieved the Middle States Accreditation.
• It was named Fort Lee Best of the Area for Schools.

These accolades significantly enhance the credibility and quality of the programs by validating the excellence of the curriculum, student success, and industry relevance of the approach.

Inclusive Extra-curricular Activities

Extracurricular activities enhance the students’ personality, providing them with inclusivity and creativity. The academic and extracurricular support that Christ the Teacher Academy offers to prepare students for future success are as follows:

• Gifted and Talented program
• Variety of sports programs
• Debate and Oratory Clubs
• Summer Camp
• Summer programs
• Beta Club
• National Junior Honor Society
• Community Service projects
• Student Council

These activities provide the required break from academics and nurture the children with excellent skills and memories to be cherished for life.

Promoting Critical Thinking and Mental Acuity

In order to preserve academic standards and promote young learners’ critical thinking, mental acuity, and inventiveness, a varied and inclusive student body is essential. A few steps taken by Christ the Teacher Academy are as follows:

• Ensure that prospective parents understand that all students are welcome here.
• Creating one of the Middle States goals to be more inclusive.
• Incorporating professional development for the teachers to enable differentiation for the vast, diverse population.

The Extraordinary Teachers

The teaching faculty is the backbone of any educational institute; they impart knowledge, taking care of the holistic development of the students. Christ the Teacher Academy’s dedicated teaching faculty and their commitment play a pivotal role in the success of the school. Using the following strategies, these educators are able to establish such a student-centric atmosphere:

• Grade level planning meetings
• Teamwork to overcome challenging circumstances
• Teacher collaboration between classes and grade levels
• Teacher-created clubs
• Teacher summer programs
• Teachers committed to attending student events on the weekends and evenings
• Teachers participate in a variety of professional development opportunities and classes as they continue to be lifelong learners

Every student at Christ the Teacher Academy is the community’s future, and the school’s firm conviction holds this ideology at heart. Its motivated teaching staff is dedicated to imparting moral values, high standards of education, and an integrated body of knowledge. The institute works to model and develop its pupils as remarkable individuals with the potential to become spectacular adults. It makes the required adjustments to meet their needs while considering their challenges and skills, resulting in a customized, one-on-one teaching strategy.

Staying Connected to the Roots

For a child’s holistic growth and development to be transparent and supported in reaching goals, there must be ongoing communication with parents, guardians, and the community. To make sure that the pupils are doing the same, Christ the Teacher Academy employs the following practices:

• Weekly Digital Backpack
• School Website
• Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
• Google Classroom/Remind/Class Tag

Christ the Teacher Academy is an esteemed educational institute that believes Christ is the ideal teacher in all aspects. The school’s aim to emulate his lifestyle, empowering learners to attain their whole spiritual, intellectual, moral, physical, and social potential, is highly appreciable. By instilling moral values and utilizing current teaching methods, they may cultivate a generation that will thrive in the future.

Christ the Teacher Academy welcomes students of all backgrounds. This institution fosters a strong foundation in academics, faith, and citizenship. It educates and guides each child to achieve their full potential and promotes a strong sense of community, enabling students to thrive academically.

The school’s excellent Gifted and Talented Program serves students in grades 3 through 8, is the best example of how the team constantly looks for new ways to push its students. They are challenged to the limit at this school to ensure they reach their full potential.

The school’s dedication to its pupils is genuinely exceptional. The institute is excited about what it will accomplish in the upcoming weeks and months as it celebrates its incredible success this year.