3 Unwavering Priorities: How Grace High School Achieves its Mission, Pt. 2

Our Purpose

Since 1978, Grace has operated under our guiding vision to love God and love people. This vision, as well as our mission to nurture the whole student in an academic environment through a biblical worldview, has remained steadfast for nearly 50 years! We have never wavered from the bedrock truth that every individual is made in the image of the Creator and possesses intrinsic value.  We believe wholeheartedly in preparing our high school students for success, no matter what path they pursue after graduation. 

In the last article, we looked at the first way Grace High School achieves its mission - by our commitment to a biblical worldview and a distinctly Christian education. In this second article, we will discuss how Grace High School prepares students academically through our established, rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum designed to set students up for success.

1. Academic Preparedness

In a recent report from Fox News, UC San Diego, a prestigious school with only a 30% acceptance rate, has been forced to develop a remedial course for incoming freshmen due to the number of students entering with below high school level math skills. The university reports that 1 in 8 students needs middle-school level math courses. Why is this happening? Senior fellow with American Enterprise Institute, Robert Pondiscio, says the alarming report by UCSD is also national and can be attributed to the omission of ACT and SAT scores, and  grade inflation by high schools in order to boost graduation rates so as not to lose governmental funding. 

With the omission of ACT and SAT scores, colleges and universities have no way of assessing whether their freshmen have actually attained high-level math skills necessary for college. This causes admissions departments to wonder whether students’ high school transcripts were manipulated in order to boost graduation rates. Dr. Pondiscio calls the Covid Lockdowns, the omission of ACT and SAT scores and the manipulation of high school transcripts “a perfect storm.” We, at Grace School, feel this is tragic and an enormous disservice to students and parents.

Grace High School has been committed to our rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum for nearly 50 years. Our standards exceed the UC acceptance standards, setting students up for success. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. The Grace High School AP Test Pass rate is consistently well over 80%, far exceeding the national average of 60%. These scores are further evidence that our graduates are well-prepared for high-level college academics. Our graduation rate is 100%, with 98% of our students achieving the UC standards! When students are immersed in a supportive environment like Grace, where they are valued and their success is always a priority, they feel prepared and confident to aim high and achieve success beyond what they themselves could have imagined. 

In addition to our high AP Test Scores, we see evidence of our commitment to academic excellence in our alumni! We consistently hear from alumni who credit their high school years at Grace with their success in college and careers. Our Alumni are part of our valuable community and we love to hear how Grace prepared them for life after high school. Many alumni have returned to work at Grace or send their own children to school here, knowing that our mission and commitment to excellence have never wavered. Grace School will not lower its standards as we feel that would be an incredible disservice to the students and the parents who trust Grace with the education of their children.

The Grace Commitment

At Grace School, we do not shift with the changing tides of culture; instead, we stand firm on the consistent truth of God’s Word. For nearly half a century, we have remained dedicated to providing a distinctly Christian education where students are known, valued, and loved. We have not wavered in our commitment to a rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum that successfully prepares students for life after high school and the best way to do this is to teach a student to think critically and examine the world around them from the lens of a biblical worldview. We continue to offer a wide variety of co-curricular opportunities for students to develop necessary life skills and to grow into the well-rounded, thriving adults God intends them to be.

“Our kids were underchallenged and not feeling secure in their [former] school classrooms. Being at Grace, they are academically challenged and held to much higher standards.” Christina Davenport, parent.

“The teachers at Grace were very supportive of what I wanted to learn. They provided me with extra resources that I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else.” Peter Wang, Class of 2022 and UCLA Engineering Student.

“The teachers at Grace are just cool, hanging out with us on their lunch breaks. I like that. It truly helped me to love academics, and for that, I want to say thank you.” - Nathan, Class of 2025.

Check back for the part 3 in this series where we will discuss how Grace provides thriving co-curricular opportunities. For more information about Grace School, our mission, academics, and co-curriculars, please visit our website at https://www.graceschoolsimi.com/

-Lori Holland, Marketing Director in collaboration with Carissa Wilburn, Admissions Director and the administration at Grace School Simi Valley, March, 2026