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An Excellent Education For A Life of Christ-Centered Service

We understand you want to set your child up to thrive in all areas of their life, and the school they attend plays a large part in that. Deciding which school your child should attend is a tough decision, and you could be concerned that if you don’t find the right school, your child will not get the foundation they need to navigate life as a believer. If you’re like most parents, you’ve probably wrestled with deciding which school has the curriculum and community that will be the best fit for your family. You’ve likely wondered if there was a Christian school that will educate your child – body, mind, and spirit – from a Biblical perspective. At Calvin Christian School, we get it! As parents, we understand you want to be confident about the school where your child will grow up. For almost 60 years, Calvin Christian School has been home to thousands of families who value strong academics in an environment of authentic faith.

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Calvin Christian School partners with Christian families and their churches to educate students from Escondido, Valley Center, San Marcos, Vista and communities across North San Diego County and Southern Riverside County. Calvin Christian School serves families with students in early education (ages 2-5), 3-day and 5-day kindergarten, and 1st through 12th grades.

Calvin Christian School Campus

Calvin Christian School is located in northern Escondido, just a mile and a half from both I-15 and CA-78. Our campus stretches across 25 acres and boasts over 30 classrooms, a state-of-the-art performing arts building, a gymnasium, several large playing fields, a full library, a weight-training room, and spacious courtyards.

The campus is divided into four distinct areas. The Early Education and Elementary school are located on the south side of Vista Avenue, and the Junior High and High School are located on the north side.

Faculty Overview

  • 27 part-time and full-time faculty
  • Nine members of our faculty hold an M.A. degree.
  • All K-12 teachers not holding a graduate degree are certified to teach.

Athletics

Calvin Christian School believes competitive athletics is a critical tool for developing the discipline, character, communication, and sportsmanship skills consistent with a Christian worldview. Our high school offers eight CIF athletic teams, and our junior high participates in eight different intramural sports.

Performing Arts

Through Music, Drama, and Visual Arts, Calvin is committed to fully developing the creative gifts of God’s children. We offer Band in grades 5 through 12, Choir in junior high and high school, and Art from preschool through 12th grade.

Serving The Whole Family

Calvin Christian School’s mission is to serve the whole family!

  • Our Early Childhood Education program serves families with children between the age of 2-5, part-time or full-time, and anything in between.
  • Our Elementary school has a 3-day and 5-day kindergarten program, both meeting for a full day.
  • Our Elementary program, kindergarten – 5th grade, includes Art, Music and P.E. in addition to core academics.
  • Our Junior High School program, grades 6-8, includes a rigorous academic program including Science (with labs), Art, Spanish, and P.E.
  • Our High School program, grades 9-12, includes a stellar academic program that includes Math, Bible, Art, Spanish, History, Science and more.
  • Our K-12 program serves students with I.E.P. or 504 education plans through our P.L.A.C.E. Services program.
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We Provide Our Families & Students With:

  • Athletic Programs for Junior High and High School
  • Musical Theater for lower elementary (Broadway Kids), upper elementary and middle school (Broadway Jr.), and high school
  • Extended Care (before and after school care) for students in kindergarten through 8th grade
  • Annual Middle School Retreat
  • Annual High School Retreat
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Accreditation

Calvin Christian School has a dual accreditation from both the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and Christian Schools International (CSI).

WASC is one of six regional associations that accredit public and private schools, colleges, and universities in the United States. Through its review processes, WASC confirms that an institution has substantially met the Commission’s Core Commitments and Standards of Accreditation and associated Criteria for Review and, thus, possesses the resources, policies, and practices to achieve its educational goals and has provided evidence of the quality of its educational programs. Accredited institutions are also subject to the conditions established by the Commission, including its policies.

CSI uses Measuring the Mission, a highly regarded, proven, and well-researched protocol to guide schools through their accreditation process. Christian distinctiveness is embedded within each standard of our protocol, allowing the school to specifically assess and measure all aspects of its Christian school mission.

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Statement of Faith

Calvin Christian School serves Christian parents and their children. Over 70 different church congregations are represented; from Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Reformed to many non-denominational congregations. The education at Calvin Christian comes from a Biblical perspective founded in the Reformation. The following Statement of Faith articulates the basic Biblical beliefs that form the foundation of Calvin Christian and its educational practices.

We Believe There Is Only One God...

We believe there is only one God, eternally existing in three persons: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This God has revealed himself to us by His creating, preserving, and governing the universe and by the written Word of God, the Bible.

We Believe The Bible...

We believe the Bible is the only inspired, infallible, inerrant, and authoritative standard for what we believe and how we live.

We Believe Humanity Was Created In Perfection...

We believe humanity was created in perfection, but Adam and Eve, our first parents, fell into sin. Therefore, every person is born in sin and is corrupted in their spirits, thoughts, emotions, and wills. Apart from the work of God, we are spiritually helpless and dead in sin.

We Believe Jesus Christ Is The True And Eternal God...

We believe Jesus Christ is the true and eternal God. This eternal Son of God became man, died on the cross to atone for the sins of all who believe, rose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus will return to earth in power and glory on the final day to judge the living and the dead. He is reigning now at God’s right hand, and He sends His Holy Spirit into the world.

We Believe In One Holy, Universal Church...

We believe in one holy, universal church founded on and affirming the teachings of the apostles.

We Believe In The Holy Spirit...

We believe in the Holy Spirit, who is eternally co-equal with the Father and the Son in power and glory. The Holy Spirit works to bring the dead to life by giving sinners the gift of faith and by enabling them to honor God in their lives.

“The Cord” is our annual school publication. A cord of three strands is not only stronger than any individual strand but exponentially stronger overall. This metaphor of a “cord” could certainly be applied to God’s blessings of His church, family, and Christian school. A child is provided the greatest foundation for life when there is Christ-centered unity of these three. The annual publication of The Cord magazine for Calvin Christian School is a celebration of the fruit of this unity, as experienced from the perspective of the school, where our young ones spend the majority of their waking hours. CLICK HERE to read the latest or contact us if you would like a copy!

History

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

Guided by that verse and a strong commitment to Christian education, members of the Christian Reformed Church of Escondido formed a Christian school society in the late 1950s. As a result of their prayers and persistence, definite plans began to take shape. In August of 1960, the society voted to approve plans for a school building. As 1961 began, so did construction. Everyone did what they could to help. Men showed up regularly with their hammers and nail bags to donate hours of labor. Ladies in the already active “Mothers’ Club” held fundraisers. After much hard work and personal sacrifice, Calvin Christian School opened its doors on September 5, 1961. The original school building consisted of two classrooms, restrooms, an office/teachers’ lounge, and the janitor’s closet. A modest array of playground equipment stood ready and waiting as well. Calvin Christian’s early curriculum stressed the fundamentals of education and Bible teaching. Music and Athletics made up part of the school day as well. From the beginning, students received a well-rounded, quality education. Calvin Christian High School began the school year on September 8, 1980, and was officially dedicated on October 10.

Behind the Name

John Calvin, along with Martin Luther, was a leader of the 16th-century movement that became known as the Protestant Reformation. These men and others called the church back to biblical Christianity and to an understanding of salvation in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone. John Calvin was a young law student in France when he heard the message Luther had proclaimed. His conversion led him to the life of a pastor and scholar in the French-speaking city of Geneva in Switzerland until he died in 1564. John Calvin was also a school builder. He founded an academy in Geneva for the education of the young, realizing that Christians ought to be able to read and understand the Bible for themselves. He also believed people should be educated broadly and that in addition to the Bible, they should understand the world around them. Calvin himself was educated in the best traditions of the day on the Latin classics, Greek and Hebrew, Rhetoric, in short, Humanities. He believed Christians should be excellently educated so they could serve God in whatever calling was theirs. Not surprisingly, wherever the Reformation spread, literacy expanded to people of all classes.

We are Committed to Helping Your Child Thrive

We believe your student will be best set up to thrive by attending a Christian school that will educate them body, mind, and spirit – from an authentic Biblical perspective.

  • Educating thousands of students for over 60 years
  • Accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges
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How We’ve Addressed Common Core Requirements

Calvin Christian School exists to educate students through a Biblical Worldview while holding to the highest academic standards. With the onset of Common Core, this mission remains unchanged. The Common Core Standards (CCS) for English Language Arts and Mathematics were written primarily in response to 15+ years of research trying to understand why the United States performs significantly below the average of industrialized nations in mathematics. One of the major reasons the U.S. has not been performing well is due to the standards and curriculum being less rigorous and primarily procedural based. Calvin Christian students have consistently outperformed their counterparts in public schools, as revealed on National Standardized exams. The Common Core Standards were written to prepare students for college and 21st Century Careers. Approximately 85% of Calvin Christian graduates enroll in four-year colleges and Universities immediately after high school graduation. Nearly all of the remaining 15% enroll in community colleges with the most having the intent of transferring at some point to a four-year college.

Thus, Calvin Christian School is in a position to carefully analyze the standards to determine which aspects might be beneficial to the already excellent academic programs while not interfering with the expressly Christian worldview through which all academics are viewed and taught. Where the Common Core Standards increase rigor and coherence of the current Calvin programs, insomuch as they do not conflict with the Biblical worldview, Calvin will seek to address those standards. Where the research-based practices will benefit Calvin students in their ability to understand and apply their academics, insomuch as they do not conflict with the Biblical worldview, Calvin will seek to implement those strategies. Where the Common Core standards have a focus on reasoning, problem-solving, and informational text, insomuch as they do not conflict with the Biblical worldview, Calvin will seek to implement those practices. As the Smarter Balanced Common Core exams are only made available at no cost to public schools, Calvin Christian students will not participate in them but will continue to take the MAP assessment (read more HERE) and other standardized exams to measure student progress. The ultimate goal of Calvin Christian School is to prepare students who know the God who created the world and them and learn to understand this world and live in it for His glory. This remains unchanged with the onset of Common Core, and gleaning the best from the CCS standards and practices will only help to increase the great success and mission of Calvin. Calvin Christian School does not rely on federal or state funding, and therefore we are not compelled or mandated to implement these standards. This is the great benefit we have by being a privately funded school!

Here’s how easy it can be to find a robust academic environment that also nurtures your child’s faith:

1. Visit

We would love to show you around! Schedule a personal tour of our beautiful campus and learn more about our curriculum, fine arts, athletics, and spiritual life. See what life at Calvin could look like for your family.

2. Apply

Fill out an application to help us get to know you better! We look forward to learning more about your family through the online application, references, student assessment, and family interview.

3. Enroll

When you enroll at Calvin, you get more than an excellent education for your child. You join a community of families who are committed to living out their faith in every part of their lives.

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