Victory Christian Academy (VCA) is a non-denominational, independent private school for students of Christian families in kindergarten through eighth grade. The school is located in the south county area of St. Louis and serves families from all over St. Louis County, St. Louis City, and southwestern Illinois. Families from over 25 area churches are represented at VCA. VCA is a discipleship ministry and requires that at least one parent or guardian have a clear testimony of salvation and be in active fellowship in a local church. Enrollment is open to students of all ethnic origins.

 

VCA came out of the former Victory Christian School (VCS) which started in 1975 when several families meeting at the South Side Bible Chapel became distressed with the trends in their local public schools. They decided to start meeting together in the basement of the church to educate their own children. The school was supported by a free-will offering financial system and was staffed by available parents. The student enrollment soon expanded to the point that the Bible Chapel had to find a new building to house the ministry. The church purchased Victory’s present facilities, a former public elementary school, in 1982 to house the growing school. 

 

The school continued to grow and soon saw the addition of a high school. Even though the school grew to a high enrollment of around 240 in the early 1990’s, it continuously struggled with the central issues of proper funding and teacher turnover.

 

In 1998 the Bible Chapel and the school board started having serious discussions about the future of the school. In order to raise teacher salaries to reduce teacher turnover, Victory made aggressive changes from a free-will offering financial system to a standard tuition system. In 2000, the school board determined that the high school could not sustain long-term viability, and after much discussion and prayer, the high school was closed the next year.   

 

At the end of the 2008-2009 school year, the Bible Chapel ceased to be the main sponsor of VCS. As a result, Victory Christian Academy was incorporated as a parent owned and managed K-8 school. Enthusiasm for growing and improving the new school is very high. Teacher turnover is very low, with the average teacher having almost eight years of experience at Victory. Student enrollment is strong (over 100 students from more than 25 area churches) and the school has made numerous improvements to the facility and program resources, with many more to come. VCA is truly a dedicated family of believers.

In January, 2010, VCA announced it was moving to a new home in South St. Louis County which provides the school with room to grow.  On August 19, 2010, VCA officially opened for business at its new location at 618 West Ripa Avenue with an all-school dinner and building dedication.

 

The Lord has richly blessed our ministry as we have dedicated ourselves to excellence in education to glorify Him. The school’s history continues to unfold, and your part of this history is now being written. May you dedicate yourself to the task with all of your God-given abilities and talents – for the benefit of our students and the glory of God.