Triad Baptist Christian Academy opened its doors for the 2015-2016 school year Aug. 17 with a new milestone: the highest enrollment in its 11-year history.

Hannah Wilson, the Academy’s admissions coordinator, confirmed that 201 students began classes Monday in grades K-11 to set a new enrollment record.

She said the number of new students in Triad Baptist Christian Preschool also is up. The Academy now has 315 students from preschool through 11th grade. The Academy and Preschool are educational ministries of Triad Baptist Church.

“I’m overjoyed at the record enrollment that we are experiencing this year,” said Lead Pastor Rob Decker. “It has been part of an 11-year dream to now be starting 11th grade this year but we must continue to ‘press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ.’

“That’s because our goal remains to prepare students academically, spiritually, and culturally so they become Christian leaders in the world who know how to make their life count for eternity.”

Donna Mannon, Triad Baptist Christian Academy’s director of education, attributes the enrollment gains to:

• Families from a local Christian school that closed choosing TBCA over other options.
• The growing reputation of the Academy’s faculty and the quality of their teaching.
• The best retention rate the Academy has experienced to date in returning students.
• Continued technology and facility upgrades following the opening of the church's Worship Center/Gym such as a new Media Center with hundreds of books and six new computers (to now total 14) and the addition of 23 new computers in the Academy’s Computer Lab.
• Strong pastoral support (children’s, middle school and high school ministry) working with students and parents to address needs they’ve identified.
• Advertising and promotions increasing the Academy’s visibility and adding it to the list of schools parents are considering.

Added Mannon, “I think it’s a combination of all those things but the most important elements to me are the teachers in our classrooms, our staff, supportive parents, and God’s ever-present guidance.”

In addition to beginning the 2015-2016 academic year with record enrollment, Mannon said the Academy continues to move toward accreditation by both the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and AdvanceEd, the secular group which accredits private and secular schools from elementary through college in North Carolina and several other states.

The accreditation team is currently scheduled to visit the Academy in March 2016.

To learn more about Triad’s educational ministries, visit the Academy and Preschool pages on tbcanow.org. Follow them on social media through the icons and links at the bottom right of each page.