Lower School

Building a Foundation for Students to Thrive and Succeed

Lower School at TCA provides a joy-filled environment that sets the foundation for the TCA experience, purposefully created to harness and nurture each child’s unique design. Our passionate teachers are dedicated to making sure that each child receives the care and attention that he or she needs to thrive.

The rich curriculum and engaging, spacious classrooms help foster a robust learning experience for every child. Year after year, that small child who enters Lower School as an eager Pre-K 4 student is loved, challenged and equipped to move on to Middle School, the threshold of adolescence, as a confident and prepared learner.

The Lower School Experience

• Curriculum-aligned field trips and activities

• LEAP program available for advanced and gifted learners in grades 3-5

• 1:1 student to Google Chromebook ratio for technology integration in each classroom

• Integrated technology, iPad and Google Chromebook carts in PreK - 5th grade classrooms

• PreK-5th Grade attend age-appropriate chapels once a week 

• K-5th grade Pride Tribes—small groups led by TCA faculty for mentoring, discipleship, and service opportunities

• Guided reading with small-group instruction

• REACH program available with dedicated teachers to assist with diagnosed learning differences

• Service and/or mission projects for each grade level

• Athletic opportunities beginning in Kindergarten

• Exploratory STEM class and integration for hands-on learning for 2-year-olds through 5th grade

• Fine Arts focus through Music, Percussion, and Art classes

• After School Program and Camp Roar available for grades Pre-K – 5

Some Extracurricular Opportunities and Highlights

• Lower School Musical

• 4th & 5th Grade Football

• PAL League Basketball

• Spelling Bee

• Mother/Son Event

• Father/Daughter Dance

• Veteran’s Day

• Grandparents’ Day

• Great American Clean Up

• See You at the Pole

• Lion Pride Choir for 3rd-5th graders

Grading Scale

A 100-93
B 92-85
C 84-75
D 74-70
F Below 69

Elementary Testing

Trinity Christian Academy administers the ACT’s Aspire test to students in grades 3-10. This assessment is a valuable college preparatory tool that promotes higher-order thinking and processing. ACT Aspire maps learner progress from grades three through high school on a vertical scale, anchored to the scoring system of the ACT.

Aspire is a computer-based for grades 6-10 and pencil/paper test for grades 3-5. It is a longitudinal college and career readiness assessment that tracks student growth and is built upon the same rigorous foundation as the ACT test.

In addition to measuring achievement, Aspire serves as an indicator of college readiness and is excellent preparation for the ACT.

Like the ACT, Aspire tests in the academic areas of Mathematics, Science, Reading, and English.

Students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade will continue to be assessed through the Terra Nova 3 test. Terra Nova 3 is a respected and widely used achievement test that measures mastery in the core subject areas.

TerraNova, Third Edition, for reading, language, math, science, and social studies, features a carefully researched test blueprint that reflects today’s challenging standards for content and performance. This standardized test is used to evaluate the overall effectiveness of our program and individual student achievement.