Our Mission is to pursue academic, spiritual, and extracurricular excellence in a Christ-centered community.

Our Vision is to create students to be servant leaders, relevant in the world, pursuing God’s purpose and will for their lives.

The Academic Team helps students find their God-given calling, challenges students to meet their potential, and inspires a lifelong love of learning.

The Spiritual Life Team builds a flourishing community where people pursue Christ, treasure His Word, and serve others.

The Fine Arts Team provides students with the opportunity to express themselves through music, theater, and visual arts within the school and local community.

The Athletics Team creates teams that display passion, unity, servanthood, and humility.

The Human Resources Team makes GCA one of the most desirable and fulfilling places to work in the Midwest.

The Advancement Team strengthens connections and builds meaningful relationships that benefit the school and the surrounding community.

The Safety & Security Operations Team minimizes risk and maximizes safety.

The Business & Support Operations Teams provide organized and effective operations.

The Facilities Operations Team provides an attractive and well-maintained school.

The Admissions Operations Team pursues students and families that support the mission and vision of GCA.

We have created Strategic Initiatives to guide our work internally. These are focused on concrete goals that can be met within the next two years and include specific Action Steps to get there.

As we accomplish these goals, we will move items from the “To Do” list to the “Done” list. You can check back to see our progress anytime! When we have bigger announcements, we will share those in more detail.

Check back soon to see our Elevate 4.0 goals for the 26/27 school year!

Delivering a high quality education to students to help them meet their potential is always a top priority; nothing on these lists gets attention over that overarching goal!

1. We hired a full time Biblical and Mental Health Counselor at the high school to ensure students emotional, social, and spiritual needs are being met within the school setting.

2. We installed a new drainage system and fencing base on the South Campus playground and updated front landscaping.

3. We are offering more high school-level and advanced courses to our 6th-8th grade students to challenge students who need to learn beyond grade-level norms.

4. We added additional parking and a new car dismissal lane to help alleviate traffic conditions.

5. We hired a new AD with relevant education, AD experience, and a strong Biblical foundation.

6. We rolled out new performance evaluation software (PIVOT) and updated evaluation standards.

7. We adopted and launched a new ELA curriculum that is both rigorous and highly engaging for elementary students.

8. We implemented DocuSign to create efficiencies with paperwork.

9. We explored available land in the Johnson County area and ultimately purchased acreage for a future GCA campus.

10. We replaced carpet and painted five South Campus classrooms and also replaced 50 elementary desks.

11. We selected and purchased a set of read-aloud books for all elementary classrooms to intentionally elevate our spiritual foundation.

12. We hired a new Facilities crew member for the second shift.

13. We are utilizing Wayground software at the middle school level to streamline assessing and analyzing standards-based student data.

14. We joined the National Business Officers Association (NBOA) to access best business office practices and research.

15. We added a new member to the SAFE Team and completed 32 hours of firearms and active killer training to further strengthen readiness and response.

16. We created course-specific professional learning communities (PLCs) between MS/HS teachers to realign Indiana Priority Standards, increase student productivity and assessment scores, and support colleagues.

17. We integrated a strong Biblical worldview into each unit of new secular elementary ELA curriculum.

18. We selected a fundraising consultant to evaluate and create next steps in fundraising for future GCA development and expansion opportunities.

19. We created partnerships with various Christian universities to promote post-secondary options and tuition assistance.

20. We implemented a transition plan from current Graduation Pathways to the 2029 Cohort Graduation Seals.

21. We optimized and elevated the health benefits programs, which is expected to strengthen talent recruitment and retention.

22. We are providing in-house Christian counseling lessons by our school counselor to all middle school students to help them learn how to handle tough situations in a biblical way.

23. We are utilizing a data-driven approach to set tuitionrates and establish three-year projections.

24. We expanded internship and job shadowing opportunities to include juniors in addition to seniors.

25. We trained a School Safety Specialist on both campuses.

26. We implemented a grade check policy to increase student accountability for missing work and low grades, improve academic success, and reduce the need for course recovery or extracurricular ineligibility due to failing grades.

27. We expanded leadership opportunities that equip students to make a meaningful impact and also strengthen GCA’s community presence.

28. We implemented a reunification system for crisis situations.

29. We implemented a transition and training plan to prepare for long-time Facilities supervisor Lee Bigelow's retirement in June 2026.

30. We are driving continuous improvement in hiring processes and candidate selection.

31. We audited and restructured programming models in Student Academic Services.

32. We realigned all dual credit courses with Ivy Tech, moving away from Vincennes University, to provide a more cost effective course selection and a comprehensive course list to fulfill the Indiana College Core Requirement.

33. We created a systemic process for addressing students' needs and identifying the staff support supplying the services.

34. We hired a Development Coordinator to increase networking opportunities and build donor relations.

Delivering a high quality education to students to help them meet their potential is always a top priority; nothing on these lists gets attention over that overarching goal!

1. We completed ACSI Accreditation.

2. We implemented automatic withdrawal systems to streamline our accounting processes.

3. We created a lockdown procedure for the lunchroom at South, including securing the auditorium’s doors.

4. We integrated instructional coaching cycles with teachers that focus on a variety of educational topics to help them grow professionally.

5. Our elementary principal implemented regular meetings with grade level teams to celebrate, answer questions, and provide direction for initiatives.

6. We employed a higher quality cleaning company for both campuses.

7. We painted, redecorated, and reorganized the South Campus Auditorium.

8. We created a dedicated workspace for facilities personnel at the South Campus.

9. We remodeled the Cougar Den in the South Campus Gym into two offices and additional storage space.

10. We fully implemented Limble, a Facilities ticketing system, to provide for improved service, data analysis, accountability, and preventive maintenance.

11. We upgraded parking lot lighting at the North Campus.

12. Our high school leadership attended multiple training opportunities regarding the implementation of the new Indiana Graduation Pathways and Diploma structure.

13. We increased the inventory of microphones for Drama practices and performances.

14. We created a Flex position and class for 7th and 8th grade students to enhance learning and provide additional resource time each day.

15. We created a succession plan for administrative leadership.

16. We are tracking acceptance rates of job offers to improve our hiring process.

17. We are meeting monthly with all supervisors to track budget expenditures and prevent overspending.

18. We moved coaches to W-2 status.

19. We built seasonal coaching offices in each locker room at GCA North.

20. We created a team room in the weight room area of GCA North for use as an additional locker room and/or film room.

21. We restructured athletic department leadership to encourage crossover connections between high school and middle school sports.

22. We installed 80/20 perforated film on entrance windows on both campuses.

23. We upgraded parking lot lighting at South campus.

24. We moved all teaching staff through a learning program about GCA’s Statement of Faith and its spiritual foundations.

25. We implemented a spiritual growth assessment tool to be given to upper level students at the beginning and end of each year.

26. We upgraded the lighting system in the GCA South auditorium.

27. We built Tier Time with teachers and utilized a team approach to focus on specific skills for remediation and enrichment.

28. We replaced all lighting in the North Campus gym.

29. We improved club opportunities for high school students.

30. We improved resource opportunities for high school students with missing assignments.

31. We developed a network of local employers in order to connect juniors and seniors with internship opportunities.

32. We created a more robust annual Fine Arts Symposium to highlight fine arts students and their work.

33. We conducted quarterly benchmark assessments in Math and ELA in order to effectively gauge student learning and modify teaching strategies to meet needs at the middle school level.

34. We implemented quarterly projects to boost spiritual growth through community outreach and service learning for middle school students.

35. We evaluated the needs of the Student Academic Services (SAS) program school-wide.

36. We organized the SAS Department to best fit student needs for the 2025-26 school year.

37. We acquired feedback from new staff on ways to improve the transition into GCA employment.

38. We eliminated all paper receipt storage.

39. We evaluated a move to a better financial management system.

40. We improved the hiring process for coaches.

41. We provided monthly professional development for elementary teachers focused on best practices.

42. We renumbered our exterior doors for safety, security and organization.

43. We evaluated the needs and improvement opportunities for the projection system in the South Campus auditorium.

1. We rescheduled our Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) accreditation process to November 2024 instead of November 2023 in order to provide adequate time for staff preparation and to maximize its effective impact on GCA. (We are currently maintaining accreditation via both the Indiana Department of Education and ACSI this school year.)

2. We opened a fully functional library on the South Campus for student, teacher, and classroom use and hired a dedicated librarian (Elizabeth Barker).

3. We hired a Transportation Director (Jennifer Worley) to help address the ever-changing world of transportation needs, laws, regulations, and competition for drivers.

4. We purchased two new minibusses (our second and third ones) and will have both wrapped professionally with the GCA logo and graphics.

5. We expanded our Student Academic Services staff on the North Campus by adding long-time GCA master teacher Gretchen Dillard.

6. We restructured our Student Academic Services program on the South Campus to allow for the team of teachers to focus on specific areas, needs, and grade levels, including an enrichment program in the lower and middle schools.

7. We installed windows in 15 classroom doors on the South Campus for better visibility and safety.

8. We hired a new After-School Care Coordinator (Andrea Johnson) and expanded the staff to include responsible high school students.

9. We added a dedicated front desk gatekeeper (Bryan Ries) to help manage the safe arrivals of students to Before School Care.

10. We purchased a new storage barn for Athletics at the North Campus and one for the Archery Club at the South Campus.

11. We opened our new soccer field on the North Campus and purchased a new scoreboard and backstop net, which will be installed before next season.

12. We hired a full-time Director of Security (Brian Gabel) to both provide security and offer expert consultation on continuing safety improvements.

13. We implemented a new Standard Response Protocol for emergency situations to focus on staff response and student safety.

14. We expanded our day-to-day communications system to include walkie-talkies for all staff at all times as well as GroupMe communication groups.

15. We resurfaced the parking lot at the South Campus.

16. We revamped our Lower School daily schedule to create more routine and consistency for our students and teaching staff.

17. We added founding GCA Board Member and professional financial consultant Rich Westlake to our staff for part-time consultation and management assistance.

18. We removed landscaping at the South Campus to improve visibility and security.

19. We hired two new facilities staff (Josh Rogers & Jesse Johnson) to focus on improving facilities operations at both campuses.

20. We implemented improvements to our Armed Educators program to include training in safety, skill, criminal law, tactics, and first aid.

21. We implemented donor management software through GiveSmart.

22. We created a dedicated room on the North Campus for our nursing staff and our new Athletics Trainer (Jeremy Engle) to allow for increased presence and student support during the school day and at practices and games.

23. We increased the presence of more local church pastors speaking in chapels.

24. We expanded our security camera system to minimize unmonitored areas on both campuses.

25. We purchased higher-quality microphones for use in the drama program.

26. We added communication loudspeakers to the South auditorium & gym for effective communication in case of an emergency.

27. We strengthened our admissions process to ensure that our academic and spiritual standards are maintained.

28. We re-evaluated all classroom-related fees and minimized their frequency by incorporating them into tuition.

29. We rejoined Aspire Johnson County in order to engage our local community.

30. We upgraded the parking lot lights on the South Campus to a modern LED system for greater safety and security.

31. We implemented a third-party facilities management and maintenance platform to improve preventative maintenance and the visual appearance of both campuses.

32. We established smaller class size caps to improve teaching and learning in classrooms.

33. We refocused the longstanding Bible Buddies program to create connections between middle school and lower school students.

34. We upgraded the lighting system in the auditorium on the South Campus for chapels, assemblies, daily use, and drama performances.

35. We implemented ParentSquare as a single universal Preschool-12 communication platform during the second semester.

36. We upgraded the security of all doors on the North Campus used by weekend and weeknight renters.

37. We increased staff salaries to compete with local public school salaries.

38. We broadened our approach to employee recruitment in order to hire spiritually mature, knowledgeable, and experienced staff.

39. We evaluated our staff benefits package (and will do so annually) to offer more competitive options in order to bless and retain employees.

40. We focused on greater leadership development for our student-athletes as effective witnesses of Jesus Christ and representatives of GCA.

41. We installed a new alarm system and staff entry process on the South Campus.

42. We tested improved communications plans between GCA Athletics, GCA athletes, and parents of athletes.

43. We provided consistent Biblical Worldview Training for all staff.

44. We placed a significant emphasis on professional development among staff.

45. We built a new wing of four classrooms at the South Campus to reduce class sizes at the Elementary School level.

46. We renovated the Elementary School restroom and added a dedicated downstairs Staff restroom.

47. We initiated a move to a new athletics conference.

48. We improved the security camera systems on all buses.

If you read something and have more questions, please feel free to reach out to our Head of School:  

Kevin Jackson — kjackson@gcak12.org

317-215-5300, ext. 1101

These efforts do take funding! We would gladly accept any donations towards any of the specific goals: www.gcak12.org/give