Just a few years ago, Naples Christian Academy was struggling. Today, the school has a new partnership, expansion plans, and a plethora of new students. NCA went from just 81 students two years ago to 103 last year to 170 in grades pre-K through 8 this year.
“We have grown an incredible amount,” said Rachel Haughey, head of school at NCA. She explained that having a new progressive plan helped the school recover from difficult times.
“In 2020, with [the pandemic] and everything, the school was in a position of financial duress, and the future was very uncertain,” she said. “There … was fear and uncertainty and doubt” as both teachers and students left the school.
To combat this uncertainty, the board of NCA set forth three initiatives focusing on finances, leadership, and location.
“A lot of families that remained recognized how special this place is,” Haughey said. “It is a place that feels like family.”
Their initiatives worked, and the school began a quick turnaround. This year, the school partnered with Covenant Church of Naples and moved to the church from its previous location at Hodges University. With enrollment soaring, the school already needs more room, so in August 2025, it will move to the 30,000-square-foot former Esporta building in Golden Gate, previously the site of LA Fitness, Lifestyle Family Fitness, and the Athletic Club of Naples.
NCA’s classrooms are filling up with students from public schools, previous homeschoolers, and those new to town.
Courtney Jeremias homeschooled her oldest son until this year when she sent him to NCA as a fifth grader. She also has a kindergarten son there.
Jeremias was apprehensive about transitioning from homeschool to a traditional school but said NCA was the perfect next step.
“What I like most about this school is how they really reinforce and support the very same values and foundations that I try to build with my kids at home,” she said.
Kristin Merrill taught in Collier County Public Schools, and her kids attended public schools. That changed this year when they all headed to NCA.
“I always had that conviction of showing all those great things in public school, and there are a lot of them, but it was all-consuming,” Merrill said. “Everything was: ‘What was your test score?’ and ‘How did you do?’ It just seemed very impersonal.”
Her sons are in fifth and eighth grade at NCA and are enjoying the new atmosphere. Her oldest son likes getting more play time in sports and having outside time during lunch.
“It is an environment of encouragement, acceptance, and love,” Merrill said. “There are high academics and standards, but it doesn’t feel that way. I feel so much less stress and so much less anxiety.”
Growth spurt
Haughey is excited about NCA’s booming growth.
“We had a total turnaround for finances and enrollment, and the provision of this amazing location for the interim, and a new location being purchased in Golden Gate,” she described. “The team went from 8 people to 30. It had been just bare bones and was that way intentionally to balance the budget.”
The school began in 1973 and was initially located off Santa Barbara Boulevard.
“This is our 51st year,” Haughey stated. “We were the first private school in Naples. We predate all of them.”
Tuition might look expensive, but Haughey said with Florida’s Personalized Education Program scholarships, parents don’t pay very much for their children to attend. This year, tuition is $11,190 for kindergarten through third grade, $11,290 for fourth and fifth grade, and $13,240 for middle school. But the state gives parents $9,272 for kindergarten through third-grade children and $8,664 for fourth through eighth grade.
Florida students who opt out of public school can get PEP funding through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. This scholarship provides an educational savings account to fund the educational needs of eligible students. The program serves 20,000 students this school year and will grow by 40,000 annually.
Jeremias said that’s why she could now send her children to NCA.
“Because I stayed home and we were living on one income, it is something I didn’t think we could ever do,” Jeremias said. “This opens the door.”
Haughey would like to see NCA expand to include high school. “There is a demand for it and a desire,” she said.
Haughey has five children at NCA. Her kids attended the school first, and she liked it so much she followed them there and took the job.
“A lot of times people think Christian schools give a pass on academics,” Haughey explained. “Our commitment is we are called by God to excellence in all things. We are called to excellence in academics. You are not making sacrifices to have a commitment to a solid Christian education. We desire to be known as one of the best schools, period.”