HISTORY
History of Highlands Christian Academy
•••
January 1963 – God led Pastor William H. Roberts from First Baptist Church of West Hollywood to start a church in Pompano Beach.
February 18, 1963 – Thirty-eight people attended the first service of the newly organized church at Tedder Elementary School. Soon, five acres of dairy land was purchased on 48th Street, and things began to move quickly for Pompano Baptist Temple.
1965 – Pompano Baptist Temple sensed God’s leading to start a Christian school ministry, and Pompano Baptist Temple School was opened in 1965 with one teacher and one class of fifteen kindergarten students.
1969 – The school continued to grow, and by 1969, the need for additional space necessitated a second story to be placed on the existing educational building on 48th Street. The name of the school was eventually changed to Highlands Christian Academy.
1970’s – Further expansion of the ministry took place in the early 1970s with the purchase of 17 additional acres and the construction of the two-story educational building on the northwest side of our campus (3rd Avenue).
1975 – The first class graduated from HCA, and the church started construction of a new gymnasium, which would provide science rooms, a lab, a music room, and cafeteria facilities for the growing school ministry. The gymnasium project was completed in 1976.
1982 – An additional 5.2 acres were purchased, which became the site of our current sanctuary, the football field, and the maintenance area.
1985 – A new nursery building was completed that also serves the HCA Preschool.
1989 – The church broke ground for an 800-seat auditorium. The first service was held in the new building on September 16, 1990, and the name was changed to Grace Baptist Church.
1994 – 11 mobile homes were added at the back of the property to provide Grace and Highlands employees with affordable housing during their transition to life in South Florida.
1999 – The secondary building (Kennith R. Lopez Building) was built to accommodate the growing HCA enrollment, to provide new offices, and a new cafeteria. The gymnasium was also renovated in that same year.
2000 – Lights were added to the athletic fields in the summer of 2000.
2005 – On October 24, 2005, Hurricane Wilma’s category 3 winds destroyed the interior of the church building, three roof systems, four classrooms, athletic fields, fencing, and other miscellaneous damage to the property. Church services were held in the gymnasium for 18 months while repairs were being made.
2006 – Renovations were made to the elementary building during summer 2006 for $70,000.
2019 – A modular building was added to accommodate a STEM program at HCA.
2021 – An EANS grant of $1 million was used to improve technology and security for our students. This included the use of Chromebooks, secure access points, security cameras, sight barriers, and more.
2023 – The Sanctuary (Bldg. A) was renovated from floor to ceiling, including paint, carpet, theater style seating, lighting, audio system, and the addition of an LED wall to assist in the church services and school plays.
2024 – New roofs were added to Bldg. J (Lower School) and Bldg. K (The EDGE), and the roof of the gymnasium was sealed to meet wind insurance requirements.
2025 – The Upper School office was renovated to enhance security and keep guests from accessing our student population. New roofs were added to Bldg. D (Kids Connect) and Bldg. F (Upper School).
PRINCIPALS
•••
William Roberts 1965-1969
Dan Wood 1969-1973
Darrell Winget 1973-1975
Rodney Face 1975-1981
Kennith Lopez 1981-2017
Dr. Steve Lawrence 2017-2021
Larry Smith 2021-2025
Dr. Mike Melone 2025-Present
PASTOR / PRESIDENT
•••
William Roberts 1965-1978
William Rogers 1978-1986
Ed Holland 1986-2001
Chris Lane-Interim
Art Larson 2004-2005
Dr. Brian Wingenroth 2006-2016
Dr. Gary Colboch 2017-Present
ENROLLMENT RECORDS
The first graduating class was the Class of 1975 with 7 graduates.
YEAR STUDENTS GRADS FACULTY
1975-76 485 18 28
1976-77 500 29 28
1977-78 365 25 20
1978-79 400 17 22
1979-80 441 28 22
1980-81 427 26 24
1981-82 445 29 23
1982-83 478 18 24
1983-84 542 27 32
1984-85 590 31 33
1985-86 620 33 32
1986-87 622 33 32
1987-88 567 26 30
1988-89 501 21 28
1989-90 498 33 28
1990-91 498 21 29
1991-92 502 32 30
1992-93 511 29 29
1993-94 579 25 31
1994-95 649 32 32
1995-96 709 30 36
1996-97 725 29 38
1997-98 734 47 40
1998-99 762 45 41
1999-00 778 43 42
2000-01 822 48 43
2001-02 834 47 49
2002-03 925 40 54
2003-04 938 49 54
2004-05 842 68 49
2005-06 882 46 53
2006-07 780 60 53
2007-08 710 38 51
2008-09 674 46 48
2009-10 605 18 43 1st VPK
2010-11 611 46 44
2011-12 601 45 43
2012-13 601 46 43
2013-14 619 53 43
2014-15 621 52 47
2015-16 608 46 44
2016-17 590 45 44
2017-18 598 29 45
2018-19 617 33 45
2019-20 567 24 48
2020-21 495 24 42 COVID
2021-22 552 23 44
2022-23 563 11 53
2023-24 584 23 53
2024-25 584 25 57
2025-26