When David faced Goliath, he faced him with complete trust that God would take care of the details. All he had to do was step out in faith.
Tualatin Valley Academy (TVA) in Hillsboro, Ore., is doing the same thing.
In fall 2016, TVA will be opening a ninth-grade class, with the intention of adding 10th grade in the 2017–2018 school year.
The school has already been growing. Current enrollment is 205, and a second kindergarten class was opened this year. TVA anticipates continued growth next year, and the new ninth-grade curriculum aims to meet part of that need.
For many years TVA has served a robust group of students, including both community and Adventist students. After they complete the eighth grade, students and their parents must choose between commuting to an Adventist high school or attending a public or private high school close to home. Last year nine of the 13 eighth-graders who graduated chose either a public school or a non-Adventist private school on the west side of Portland.
So, why not have an Adventist high school option on the west side, especially if it keeps kids in Christian education who would otherwise leave it?
Beginning this fall, TVA is preparing to offer a robust high school curriculum focused on science and technology in the setting of small class sizes with great teacher to student ratios. The school aims to nurture student individuality within a climate of academic excellence and innovation. To help facilitate that goal, generous donors have made scholarship funds available to incoming ninth-graders via the Every Child Deserves to Know Christ scholarship, from which 20 TVA students are currently benefitting.
The high school program will have strong emphasis on technology, science, media studies and music. Students will have the opportunity to participate in stellar programs such as videography, video productions, communications technology, hands-on science classes, and challenging music programs including choir, handbells and band.
Small class sizes allow students flexibility to participate in many extracurricular trips such as a marine biology trip, trips to Washington, D.C., or the Amazon, and trips for on-location filming. Because of the proximity to students’ homes, parents will have the opportunity to be as involved in their child’s education as they would like or are able.
Outreach is also important to TVA. Hillsboro, where the school is located, is expected to grow explosively over the next several years. Nike and Intel are nearby, which provides opportunity to reach out to those families and offer them all the benefits of a small, Christian private school. It gives TVA the opportunity to reach beyond the borders of churches and to get into the community, like Jesus asked His followers to do.
It wasn’t that David had no fear when he faced Goliath; it was that he had trust that if this was what God wanted him to do, God would hold up His end of the bargain. TVA has that same trust. There are what seem like large obstacles in the way of growing the program, primarily financial. But God is bigger than that. And with God leading TVA toward growing a high school program, everyone involved is excited to see what miracles God has in store!
Contact TVA at 503-649-5518 or online at tvaschool.org.
Tualatin Valley Academy high school students will have opportunities to participate in stellar programs, including a hands-on science program.
