K-8th Grade

Downey Christian is traditional in its approach to education.  Our goal is to provide challenging Christian academic curriculum, which promotes intellectual, spiritual, social, emotional, physical growth and development. DCS utilizes the high level Abeka curriculum.  It begins with our traditional philosophy of education. This teacher-directed framework empowers teachers to focus students’ attention on the material they need to learn—in a context and sequence that will help them learn it best.

As students begin to grasp what’s being taught, newly acquired concepts and skills are fortified time and again using a method often referred to as spiral learning.

Finally, students’ growing mastery of subject matter is strengthened because of the comprehensive design of our curriculum. Material taught in one subject is reinforced in other subjects. At every step of the way, students learn, apply, and master new concepts and skills.

Teaching from a practical, traditional approach will develop your students intellectually. They’ll be able to demonstrate appropriate grade-level knowledge aligned with our scope and sequence, achieve or exceed grade-level scores on nationally normed standardized testing, and pursue a college program of study.

Through traditional teaching designed to help instill good character and by meeting program expectations, students will be able to display personal integrity in their everyday lives and discern right from wrong.

Because of daily Bible instruction and use of a Christian curriculum, students will be able to apply biblical truths from God’s Word to their own lives, demonstrate knowledge of the doctrines of the Bible, and choose prayer and memorizing Scripture to grow in their faith. 

Common Core Alignment

Many Christian school educators and homeschool parents are inquiring about the sweeping national education standards known as Common Core State Standards (CCSS). While CCSS have only been written for English language arts and mathematics, they have quickly been adopted by most state departments of education, and future standardized testing appears to be aligning with them.  Meanwhile, there is much controversy over the imposition of national standards, the loss of local control over education, and undesirable philosophical implications.

Because Abeka has historically met or exceeded recommended content standards, it is not surprising that when compared to current CCSS, the Abeka language arts and mathematics objectives were found to already meet almost all Common Core content standards.

However, a few differences were found. For example, in English language arts, Abeka fulfills or exceeds many of the standards at an earlier grade level than outlined in CCSS. Further, in mathematics, Abeka has chosen a different sequence of topical representation because it is more logical in presentation than what Common Core proposes.

Standards in education are often very useful when they inform content in an effort to ensure that subject matter is age appropriate, sequentially meaningful, and academically rigorous. Unfortunately, some of Common Core goes beyond content and moves into the realm of teaching methodology.

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols of your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."-Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV.   Learning to love God, know what God requires of us and how we can serve Him in our daily lives is one of the main goals of Downey Christian School. The STUDY of God’s word, its APPLICATION to our lives, and the GUIDANCE of the Holy Spirit are all essential in building a strong foundation of faith in Jesus Christ. We desire to follow Jesus’ example (Luke 20:21) and “teach the way of God in truth.” Academic subjects will be taught with a Bible perspective. Bible is taught daily as a separate subject and is also integrated into all aspects of curriculum and campus life.  The Word of God is taught at appropriate stages throughout the grade levels.  Weekly Chapel services welcome the Holy Spirit to speak to us as we worship and praise our Lord Jesus Christ. We encourage you to visit our weekly chapel services and take advantage of great teaching and fellowship time with students and staff.

The mission of the Downey Christian School athletic program is to utilize sports as a vehicle to help each student grow in wisdom and stature.   While very competitive, Downey Christian School believes that sportsmanship is a valuable part of sports competition.  Furthermore, it is “fairness, respect for one’s opponent, and graciousness in winning or losing.” If you choose to participate in a sport or become a spectator at a Downey Christian sporting event, we encourage you to exhibit sportsmanship at all times. We strive for excellence in our athletic program.  DCS participates in a competitive inter–school Christian athletic league that seeks to master each sport yet emphasizes Jesus and our walk with The Lord.

Our athletes compete in many sports throughout the school year including:   

Basketball

Flag football

Soccer

Track and field

Baseball

Students at Downey Christian School have opportunities to participate in many extracurricular activities throughout the school year.  All students are encouraged to participate in any extracurricular activities that may interest them. 

These activities may include: Student Leadership Team, Cheerleading Team, Chapel Worship Team, Talent Contest, Spelling Bee, School Clubs, Community Gospel Outreach Programs, Special Event Concerts / Presentations, Athletics, Music Program, and Art Program

Downey Christian Schools offer an opportunity for all students to participate in an after school program that provides additional academic guidance.  Students in attendance are assisted with daily homework completion and help with any other academic problems they may have.  Academic success begins through parental guidance while the goal is to assist parents in their student’s educational goals. We strive to assist families with homework completion before the child leaves the school while the parent checks this homework and continues at home with any other studying or projects that may be assigned. This program is very successful when the school and parents partner to monitor continual growth in their child’s academic and spiritual program.