Hope Christian to add high school

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Ian Christianson, 4, a preschool student at Hope Christian Academy, bows his head in prayer before enjoying a snack Wednesday afternoon. Unlike many students before him, he will likely have the opportunity to graduate high school from HCA when he is old enough, since the school is planning to expand.

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Dickinson may soon have another high school as Hope Christian Academy is looking to expand in the fall.

After 30 years of providing a Christian-based kindergarten through eighth-grade school, it’s time for a high school, HCA Administrator Shane Bradley said.

“Basically the big thing for us is we offer the biblical worldview as part of our curriculum,” Bradley said. “That’s the exciting thing.”

The school, which has 78 children enrolled, is located inside the Evangelical Bible Church in north Dickinson.

The plan is to add ninth grade in the fall and then add a grade each year until HCA has a full high school, he added.

“The church body voted on this at least two years, maybe more, and once that had been approved, it was just a matter of timing,” Pastor Ron Dazell. “As far as I can see, this is a unique junior high class. This particular group seems to have a pioneer spirit of taking the next step of actually doing it.”

Wendy Timmerman is a second-grade teacher at HCA and the mother of an eighth-grader enrolled there. She is excited her son may be able to attend high school at HCA as he has been enrolled there since preschool.

“The most important factor is that he will be able to talk and learn about God as he has been throughout his school years here and that will be able to continue,” Timmerman said. “I think it’s the best place for him to build his foundation in Christ Jesus.”

Most children who have attended HCA enroll at Dickinson High School in ninth grade, Bradley said.

Timmerman hopes arrangements can be made so high school students at HCA can attend some classes DHS.

Space constraints have been a concern, but Dazell said there will be room for at least the ninth-grade class. The church and school are also planning an expansion and may use a portable classroom if it’s not finished in time to add 10th grade, he said.

“We’re over a million dollars raised toward a $3.2 million project,” he said.

As long as parental interest remains strong, Bradley said HCA will continue moving forward with adding a high school.

“We definitely know that there’s a lot of interest in having a high school that offers a biblical perspective in the classroom,” he said.

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