Hillside Christian Academy exists to provide a level of academic excellence that is worthy of both the names Christian and Education. Our Philosophy of Education is based on the following axioms:

• A God-centered view that the purpose for gaining knowledge is to discover truth, and that all truth is God’s truth, and outside of God no truth exists.
• God’s truth is revealed through:
  1. The Bible, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God that contains this truth;
  2. Jesus Christ, the Son of God who embodied God’s truth;
  3. The Holy Spirit who reveals God’s truth to the world; and
  4. The creation, God’s natural world, which contains all knowledge and truth in existence, therefore, the universe and humanity are dynamically related to God and have the purpose of glorifying Him.
• The purpose of all subject areas taught in a school is to discover God’s truth in His creation as revealed by the Holy Spirit, and to lead every student to know God and glorify Him by accepting God’s free gift of salvation through His Son, thereby committing his or her life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Hillside Christian Academy adheres to the belief that academic excellence cannot be achieved without excellence in the quality of the teaching staff it employs. Our teaching staff approaches the ministry of teaching in the following way:

• Our teachers believe they have been called into the ministry of teaching. This calling has been confirmed by their pastor and the administration of Hillside Christian Academy;
• Our teachers have been educated in the academic disciplines and trained in the ministry of teaching;
• Our teachers know their classroom belongs to God and they submit to His authority and leadership;
• Our teachers enter their classrooms as humble servants, proclaiming God’s word, interceding on behalf of their students, making the necessary sacrifices for the glory of God and the benefit of their students;
• Our teachers are Christ-centered teachers, producing lesson plans that teach to the whole student: spirit, body and mind, conveying God’s truth and bringing glory to God.

Hillside Christian Academy enables its students to develop a worldview consistent with Scripture by presenting a Biblically integrated curriculum. Since God’s Word is the source of all truth, true education must take place in the light of this truth. Every subject is taught based on the truth that God is the Creator and sustainer of all things. Therefore, all subjects are taught in the following light:

• We believe there is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three separate, but coequal-equal persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:1-2, 26- 27; Deuteronomy 6:4; John 1:1-3, 14 and 4:24; Hebrews 1:1-8)
• We believe Jesus Christ is both truly God and truly human. He died upon the cross for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the basis of His shed blood. He arose from the dead in fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures, is now at the right hand of the Father on high as our great High Priest, and will come again to consummate His kingdom of righteousness and peace. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 20-25; John 1:1; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-19; Hebrews 10:19-22)
  We believe the Holy Spirit is the divine Person sent to indwell, guide, teach and empower every believer for ministry. He is also sent to convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. (John 14:16,17 & 26; 16:8-15; Acts 1:8 and 4:29-31)
• We believe that the Old and New Testaments are the true revelation, the word of God. They were inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of human kind. They constitute the divine and only rule for Christian faith and practice. (Joshua 1:8; John 20:30-31; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
• We believe that humans, created in the image of God, fell through disobedience, thereby incurring both physical and spiritual death. All humans are born with a sinful nature and separation from the life of God. Humans can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the total depravity of humankind and the enabling grace of God through the preaching of the gospel. (Genesis 1:26, 27 and 3:1-19; Psalm 14:1-3; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 1:18-21)
• We believe that salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all people, and those who repent and believe in Him are born-again of the Holy Spirit. They are made alive in Christ by grace, receive the gift of eternal life, and have the right to be called children of God. (Luke 19:10; John 1:12 and 3:3-7; Ephesians 2:5-8; 2 Peter 3:9)
• We believe the Holy Spirit has endowed the Church with spiritual gifts for the purpose of building up each other with love in Christ and bringing the Gospel message to a lost world. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are an essential aspect of church life and are a definite part of the spiritual inheritance of all true believers. (Romans 12:5-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 and 14:1-40; Ephesians 4:7-16)
• We believe that it is God’s will that every believer be sanctified completely, which means to be separated from unto God from sin and the world. We are sanctified at our conversion, yet we are in the process of being sanctified. (Romans 12:1,2; 1 Thessalonians 5:23,24)
• We believe that the Church is an expression of the Kingdom of God and the kingdom is God’s rule in the lives of true believers. The Church universal consists of all true Christians from every age, race and nation, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and have been redeemed through His blood and born-again of the Holy Spirit. The local church is any body of believers in a specific locality who are joined together by Christ, for the worship of God, edification through the Word of God, prayer, fellowship, the equipping of the saints for the work of service, the proclamation of the Gospel, ministry to one another and others through love and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and observance of the ordinances of baptism and communion. (Matthew 29:19; Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30; Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 10: 24-26; Revelation 19:5-9)
• We believe in the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ where a personal and visible Jesus will return just as He left. There will be a judgment of the just and the unjust. For the former there will be a resurrection to life and for the latter there will be a resurrection to judgment, leading to eternal punishment. (Matthew 24:35-51; John 5:24-29; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:12-28; Revelation 20:12-15; 22:7, 12, 20) More information is available on the Hillside Church of God website.

Our highly regarded Christian program has partnerships with all of the U.S. regional accreditation agencies. If you are looking for a school that strives for excellence based on a solid Christian philosophy of education, consider exploring our program.

Accreditation with the Association of Christian Schools International’s (ACSI) program demonstrates our ongoing commitment to excellence. ACSI accreditation requires an annual vigorous, holistic organizational appraisal and improvement process to increase student achievement. This is what that means for your family:

• The school’s performance is continuously assessed in foundational areas of Christian education: Bible Knowledge and Biblical Worldview, Academic Excellence, Life Skills and Practical Application of Knowledge, Character building, and Spiritual Formation.
• As part of the accreditation process and annual renewals, the school undergoes self-assessment and peer reviews to evaluate whether it is meeting its rigorous academic standards.
• Students graduating from our program qualify for admission to most colleges and universities and credit transfer between schools nationally and internationally.

Some additional benefits of being an ACSI accredited educational institution include:

• Accredited membership status in ACSI and a listing as such in the online directory.
• Approval by the U.S. Department of Education for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), I-20 and I-17 forms.
• Various U.S. state and several national recognitions for credits/athletics.
• Endorsement to administer College Board/ACT exams on the school site.
• Accredited Christian schools may receive state funding (state laws vary).
• Eligibility for joint accreditation status with the following:
  • AdvancED (North Central Association, Southern Association, and Northwest Association accrediting organizations).
  • New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
  • Middle States Association (Elementary and/or Secondary).
  • Western Association of Schools and Colleges.