Jericho Christian Academy

Jericho is a good school for children that are outgoing and those that are not. The teachers and staff are great at helping the students foster there personality and talents while stressing academic excellence in a Christian environment.
--Submitted by a parent

Jericho Christian Academy is and has always been a phenomenal school. The teachers, students and facility were second to none. The Abeka curriculum is great for the earlier grades. However, Abeka does not have enough analytical exercises which requires critical thinking. As with every school, parents must also ensure their children do more than what the school teaches (read, read, read). If you want a kid friendly, academic enriching, and godly environment, JCA is the answer!
--Submitted by a parent

I attended Jericho from the time I was 6 until i was about 10. The teachers and administration was very good, but other than that, I cannot say anything positive about the school. The curriculum used at JCA was terrible. By the time I got into the 6th grade at Riverdale Baptist, I was completely lost. The curriculum at JCA repeats every year. It only shows the fundamentals of certain subjects and doesnt teach anything new. At Jericho, I was making straight A's. When going to Riverdale, I had to get tutoring in almost every subject with my teachers just so I could catch up with my classmates. If your child isn't doing well at Jericho, seek help immediately. Some parents may think that you can get a better education at Jericho, but I must say, I have had better education in a PG county public school.
--Submitted by a student

Jericho is a good school, but not progressive. JCA lacks timeliness on communication for meetings and responses to concerns. I strongly disagree with the other comments about Principal Gill...she does not return promised responses. Many agree that the prices are too high for teacher to student ratio, JCA's reputation, etc. but they want to charge the same as Riverdale (established credentials). Since enrollment is low (my assumption), in June they want to lower the tuition (but no mention of a lower price for after and before care)...that is a day late and dollar short. JCA did not listen to the parents. Good preschool program, but again, not progressive with computers, foreign language, etc. The staff needs to greet the children with eye contact, smile, maybe even help wth a coat. JCA is not competitve with other schools. Leadership should be visible and I have not seen the apostle for one meeting.
--Submitted by a parent

I have have been a JCA parent since 2001. I have been extremely pleased with the faculty, and how my children have grown academically and intellectually, along with spiritual reinforcement. Despite financial challenges, we have sacrificed to keep our youngest two at JCA, because we were not pleased with the results the PG County school system gave for our two older children. Principal Gill is outstanding, the PTO has taken it to another level with the support they have given the school. It is a shame that the church organization does not support or see the value of continuing to invest in our youth. It is a ministry. Pure and simple. When you send missionaries to foreign countries, you don't pull the plug when the donations are down in hard times. The seed that you are sowing will reap a harvest. Are the children in our community any less valuable?
--Submitted by a parent

My son has attended Jericho for the past 1.5 years. He started in PreK-4 and is finishing up PreK5. I cannot speak for the upper grades, but the time that my son has spent there has been great! He has learned and advanced such a great deal and has thrived in this environment. His current teacher is phenominal and genuinely cares about her students. I did not give an excellent rating due to the problems with administration. As another parent previously stated, parent involvement is not really encouraged and no one (outside of the your child's teacher) seems to hear you when you make suggestions. It seems that the church has too much authority over the school, which causes a conflict of interest between the school administrators and the bishop. I've appreciated the education that my son has received from Jericho, but he will not be attending this school next year.
--Submitted by a parent

i am a former student of Jericho. I attended it through grades 3 - 7. I will start by saying the teachers would not teach anything important to us. These teachers were teachable at all. Once your inside those four walls you feel as if your outside learning about nothing. To end Jericho gets 3 thumbs down.
--Submitted by a student

First, let me start by saying that the staff at Jericho is great. Always very pleasant and helpful when needed. When my daughter attended in 2006, I was complete disappointed with the curriculum at Jericho. The curriculum was structured for every student to be on the same level. It wasn't made for students that were in advancement courses prior to going to Jericho. My daughter was taking Honors course in public school and basically had to repeat her 9th grade year because the curriculum wasn't set up for that. She was only able to take 1 advance course. If you are looking to pay for the same type of education you would get in public school with a little religion added on; then Jericho is the place for your child.
--Submitted by a parent

I am a former student of Jericho. I attended the school from kindergarden to 8th grade. While at Jericho I had Honor Rool all year. For high school, my parents took me out and put me in Archbishop Carroll High School(great school). I was completely lost my 9th grade year. I was not prepared for anything that they were teaching us. Jericho may look fancy, but it does not prepare you for the real world

My child has been attending Jericho for the past three years and I love the school because of the way the children are challenged academically. However, the staff does not keep their words. In pre-K we were supposed to have parents and teachers conference monthly, but we only had one and the others just did not happened without any notice from Deacon Taylor or the teachers. Now in elementary school I realized they do not encourage parents involvement. The staff seems to not know what's going to happen next, paper work are sent home right before the due date. My child will be attending Jericho this year and I m hoping that Mrs. Gill will do a much better job. So far she is trying to keep the school up and I realized she appreciates parents input which is a good start. I believe this school is preparing my child for the future academically, but they need to be more communication between parents and the school.
--Submitted by a parent