ABOUT US

All About Lighthouse Christian Academy

Lighthouse Christian Academy is a licensed Child Care Facilty through the Florida State Department of Children and Families with staff credentialed in Childcare.

Lightouse Christian Academy is a partner with The Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe School Readiness Program. LCA has The ELC – BPIEACE Certification, (Best Practices in Inclusive Early Childhood Education) We are honored to provide a safe and inclusive learning enviorment for all children at all learning levels.

What is Our Standard?

Everything we do is with excellence; We require of ourselves standards which far surpass even those required by the State because your child’s well being, safety and education are our main goal.

What Are Our Qualifications?

When LCA began twenty-five years ago, Lighthouse Christian Academy’s leaders chose to voluntarily become state certified through the Department of Children and Families (License # C16MO0014). We have FCCP (Florida Child Care Professional – also know as CDA’s (Child Development Associate ) on staff and stand ready to answer any further questions you may have about our certifications, awards, etc.

We also work with the Office of Early Learning of Florida in cooperation with The Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe to be sure we are providing a quality learning environment for the young children of Monroe County’s working families.

Who Do We Enroll?

We enroll children from 2 years old to Pre-K 5.

We enroll children up to age 5 years old if their 5th birthday is after September 1st since they do not yet qualify for Kindergarten. Our goal from the first day a child is enrolled at LCA is to prepare them for success in Kindergarten with foundations to carry them as they grow to be productive adults in our community.

Certifications

Lighthouse Christian Academy was founded, and remains today, a center submitted to the strict licensing requirements of the State of Florida. Because of our status the State of Florida does not require us to be State Licensed, we can be exempt. We knew it was a quality choice to be accountable to these standards and continue to not only meet these firm guidelines, but to exceed them as well.
Introductory Child Care Training
All of our teachers are required to complete 45 hours of mandatory training. In addition, must pass proctored competency exams in Child Care Regulations, Health Safety & Nutrition, Identifying Child Abuse, Child Growth & Development, Behavioral Observation and Developmentally Appropriate Practices.
Florida Child Care Professional Credential (FCCP)
Our teachers have also attained their FCCP, also known as “CDA” or Child Development Associate Certification. This is a training program approved by the State of Florida that consists of a minimum of 120 hours of early childhood instructions, 480 contact hours with children ages birth through 8 and a formal assessment. We congratulate our teachers who have completed this program.
Director Credential
Our Directors have participated in the State of Florida training that was designed to meet the demands of administering a childcare program, which requires extensive skills and knowledge in both child care development and program administration.

BPIECE Inclusion Program

The LCA staffing team is trained to identify areas of early intervention and then work with Local Support Services to meet any need for additional resources to assist children with a variety of challenges on a daily basis. It is an honor to cooperate with many local agencies to provide onsite services to the children enrolled at LCA. The LCA Teaching team is meeting individual needs for each child to maximize their learning potential, especially at these early ages is proven to show a high success rate incorporating early interventions in our classes to benefit the children of the Key West and Lower Keys Working Families.

ELC - Subsidized Care

We participate in the School Readiness Program with the The Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe. They currently have funds available to help pay for childcare to qualified families. To see if your family qualifies click on this link Pre-Qualify for help paying childcare.

This link will take you away from the Lighthouse Christian Academy Website and bring you to the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe with questions to Pre-Qualify your family for the ELC School Readiness Program, which assist in the cost of your childcare at Lighthouse Christian Academy.

Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN)

LCA participates with MCCYN – Military Childcare In Your Neighborhood (child care assistance for the Military Families stationed in Key West. Click here to apply for Military Child Care Benefits

Days Closed

LCA is a year round school. We are open from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday.

We do have 12 designated days that the school is closed to observe the following holidays for the

LCA School Year 2025 – 2026:

  1. Independence Day – July 4, 2025 (Friday)
  2. Labor Day – September 1, 2025 (Monday)
  3. Veteran’s Day – November 11, 2025 (Tuesday)
  4. Thanksgiving – November 27, 2025 (Thursday)
  5. Friday After Thanksgiving – November 28, 2025
  6. Christmas Eve – December 24, 2025 (Wednesday)
  7. Christmas – December 25, 2025 (Thursday)
  8. New Years Day – January 1, 2026 (Thursday)
  9. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – January 19, 2026 (Monday)
  10. Presidents Day – February 16, 2026 (Monday)
  11. Good Friday – April 3, 2026 (Friday)
  12. Memorial Day – May 25, 2026 (Monday)losed to observe the following holidays for the
Emergency Closing

In case of local weather emergencies, LCA will contact families through the LCA emergency broadcasting system. (Via phone and email blasts)

We will do our best to use our automated phone system to notify you of such closings and re-openings. Please be sure that the LCA office has the best number to reach you at all times in case of these emergency closings.

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Benefits of early education

“High-quality preschools recognize the importance of providing an environment that teaches and nurtures young children (birth to 5) to learn these milestones and meet standards of learning.”

— The D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education

Some of our Lighthouse Kids practicing reading.

“The research tells us that 90 percent of brain development occurs in the first five years of a child’s life. It is this brain development that impacts the way children approach learning. Without positive interactions and a high-quality learning environment, children (birth to 5 yrs) can be disastrously behind even before they enter formal school.”

— David Lawrence Jr., chair of The Children’s Movement of Florida

“The wisest possible path to genuine public education ‘reform’ is this: Invest early to give children the best possible start in school and in life.”

— Jerry Scarborough, Superintendent of Schools of Suwannee County, Florida

“Being able to read and ready to learn at an early age is a fundamental tool in creating a prosperous and economically vibrant society, and these skills are more important in the state of Florida now than ever before,”

— Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch

“Ensuring that children (birth to 5 yrs) have positive experiences prior to entering school is likely to lead to better outcomes than remediation programs at a later age, and significant up-front costs can generate a strong return on investment.”

— Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University

“The surest, most effective way to provide children with the opportunity to reach their full potential is to create a pathway to success through early childhood education. (birth to 5yrs)”

— James E. Rohr Pittsburg Post-Gazette, Jul 25, 2013

“85 % of who you are – your intellect, your personality, your social skills – is developed by age 5. Let’s invest where it makes the most difference.”

— Massachusetts Early Education for All

“The best way to improve the American workforce in the 21st century is to invest in early childhood education, “

— James Heckman (Nobel Laureate in Economics)

“Early education is most certainly the next wave of educational reform…”

— Dr. Donna Shalala (Former Secretary of Health and Human Services)

“We also equip our citizens with the skills and training to fill those jobs. And that has to start at the earliest possible age. Study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road. “

— President Barack Obama State of the Union 2013 speech

“Effective preschool raises achievement levels for all children, and it offers real hope for closing the school-readiness gap.”

— Jack O’Connell (CA State Superintendent of Education)

“Lack of awareness for the development period of 0 to 5 years old orphans a critical stage of childhood development. Education policy often focuses exclusively on K-12, higher education, and skills training. While success in these endeavors is necessary for an educated, functional, and socially advanced population, investments in education are made more effective when pre-school aged children (birth to 5 yrs) are surrounded by a supportive and learning environment before they even get to kindergarten.”

By Michael Seo, The Huffington Post, June 19, 2013

“We’d better smarten up, stop obsessing over high school students, and pay attention to where we get the biggest bang for the buck — on the front end, with infants to five-year-olds.”

— Sean Gonsalves, Cape Cod Times column “We’d Better Smarten Up,”

“This is an important issue because we know learning begins at birth,”

— Margaret Combs, senior early childhood education specialist