“My name is Jahkia, I’m 18 years old and I just switched to Joshua Christian Academy at the end of last year. Before that, I was all online at a public school.”
“It wasn’t a good experience for me. I was struggling because it was hard to pay attention at home on a computer and the teachers kept assigning new work for us every day. I fell behind and my grades slipped. It was really hard to pick my grades up after that, I asked my teacher what I could personally do and she just said, ‘it’s not like I can magically hand you a piece of paper and your grade can go up.’”
“After that, I just didn’t want to do online school anymore. My nieces were going to JCA, and since it is my senior year, I was really nervous to even mention to my mom that I wanted to come here. I was praying and saying that if my mom doesn’t ask me about JCA, I’m not going to mention it.”
“I remember two minutes after, she asked me about it. She called the school that day and I started the next. Ever since I switched schools and came here, to this private Christian school, I feel like I’ve changed so much.”
Jahkia Boyum Student, Joshua Christian Academy Des Moines, IA
“When I came to JCA my life completely changed and I became a better person. At my old school, I didn’t like the way I was acting. I was trying to follow the trends – I knew that wasn’t really me.”
“When I went to a public school, there was never that one-on-one time, I was failing, and I felt like the teachers couldn’t give me the help I needed. Everybody here gets along and it’s a really good place. I don’t feel like I’m at school because we’re almost like a big family.”
“The classes are smaller, and the teachers are able to give you that one-on-one time. They pay attention to individual students and they care about our grades and our futures. Dr. J makes sure everyone is doing the best they can.”
“When I first switched, my credits weren’t good enough to graduate, and nobody told me that before. The public school didn’t tell me I didn’t have enough credits to graduate this spring. I found out when I came here, and Dr. J said he’d make sure I’m on track and that he’d help me get to where I needed to be.”
“I was upset because they should have told me earlier, but I also felt better knowing that I was now at a school that wasn’t waiting to see me fail. Now I’m set to graduate in the spring.”
“I feel like everybody should have the ability to make a choice like I did, whether it’s to choose JCA or another private Christian school. It has been a very good change for me. I know my future would look way different if I was still going to my public school.”
