Westminster Christian Academy

After four years at Westminster I entered college with 45 credit hours. I was well prepared to meet the demands of a rigorous program and graduated with three majors and academic honors. My brothers did the same. All of us now have doctorates and jobs (pertinent in the current economy). The education was absolutely excellent. I was not penalized in any way for my worldview, though I do not agree with presbyterian doctrine, and I graduated second in my class. In fact, I felt well prepared in college to discourse with others about their perspectives because I knew what I believed, and why, and how my views differed from other major worldviews. Westminster strives to grow the next generation of christian leaders, equipping them with both academic excellence and a personal relationship with God. I am grateful for all they taught me.

Westminster is a great school with amazing teachers and students. I would call it one of the best schools in St. Louis. They have very high test scores great class sizes. The school is not just Presbyterian, it is made up of many Christians from different church settings. Most of the student body considers themselves to be Presbyterian though. When comes down to it, this an amazing school with a great student body that strives for greatness in everything including academics and sports.
--Submitted by a parent

I am curently a student at Westminster and all I have to say is it's not the type of school you might think it is. As a small percentage of the schools ethnicity groups, I experience racism like "black jokes" and stereo types of all kind. The school has a a group for minorities to make it seem like we have an input when you can look and see there really is no action being shown. The good thing about the school is teachers really do take the time out to care about your spiritual lives and your hurt but other than that, some students that go there have no kind of campassion for you if you do not fit into there "little group." As a student, I would suggest you chose another school.I know next year I am!

This school has provided an excellent learning environment for me as a student. I love the open Christian environment as well as the teachers willingness to answer questions on matters concerning faith and their involvement also in extra-curricular activities.
--Submitted by a student

I love this WCA. Our academics, sports, and Chapel are all done with the goal of glorifying God. The teachers are also awesome and inspiring.=)
--Submitted by a student

WCA is a school that is a true community. If you are part of the Evangelical Christian community this should be your first choice for educating your children.
--Submitted by a parent

We found out too late. WCA is a fundamentalist Christian school based on John Calvin. All students are graded and recommended by teachers for leadership positions on how well they support these worldviews. Many Students have high GPA s, often well above a 4.0 because the school uses 100 as an A+; almost all come from specific Christian denominations, churches and/or schools. Comparison of the academic offering content with other schools shows definite weaknesses in content and coverage. WCA teaches a worldview mandating students set aside or invalidate entire books of literature that are not written by Christians or validate the worldview taught at the school. If these are your beliefs, your child will benefit, if not, choose another school.
--Submitted by a parent

I am a graduate of Westminster class of 2006. I would recommend Westminster to any Christian family seeking a faith-based education. In all schools there is legalism and politics. Westminster is no exception. For some, this is a hard characterisitic to overlook at WCA. There are definitely families that are very involved in the school and seem have quite a bit of influence. However, it does not affect the education that is given to the students. The education I received at Westminster was excellent. The classes challenged me and pushed me in ways I did not realize until my first year of college. My first year, at a private University, was a breeze. WCA has its successes and failures, but overall it's a great school.

We feel the quality of WCA teachers is not good and had teachers who've tried to learn from another teacher to teach a class (computers) or had the other teacher grade the work because they couldn't. A language teacher taught our student slang that was off color as a typical greeting for young people -- she didn't know the difference. The worst part for some students is all subjects are taught from a specific religious viewpoint and if you don't subscribe to that 'particular' viewpoint, you can't get good grades. The school definitely isn't nondenominational Christian and anyone who believes it is will have a rude awakening. Best not go in the first place. Parents are invited to paricipate in specific ways; mothers/women are excluded from Board Membership & the school even created PAWS with husband/wife heads to bypass women alone in positions of leadership in organizations with men/women.
--Submitted by a parent

Teachers at this school reall dont see the big picture. They see kids being kids and they freak out because they dont pray or worship God enough. It really bothers me how kids are labeled as poor or rich. My child hates this school because she is into loving and accepting people for who they are what they believe and how they belive it. Here at this school its there way or no way. I love God with all my heart but im just saying there needs to be more respect for people with different values.
--Submitted by a parent