Close Reach Academy

Elementary School

Charting The Course for Academic Success

Close Reach Academy Elementary School charts the course for academic success by developing curious thinkers and confident possibility finders. Our supportive community equips and empowers students to integrate their faith while pursuing academic excellence, leading to impactful relationships that inspire a heart that yearns for God and service to others.

About Our Educational Model

At CRA Elementary, children learn best by experiencing learning hands-on. This educational approach is engaging and entirely immersive as students interact with each subject using their senses, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and creativity to arrive at comprehensive solutions. Giving students the experience of learning helps them gain confidence through their failures and successes.

Why It’s Effective

The CRA experiential model excels at cultivating strong cognitive, intellectual, creative, and social-emotional skills. By focusing on each learner, this model enables teachers to lead engaging lessons tailored to meet diverse student needs. When students are consistently challenged and immersed in stimulating material, they become deeply engaged, which supports their academic, personal, and spiritual growth.

By leveraging inclusive environments that value neurodiversity and accommodate learning differences, we ensure a positive educational journey for every student. The CRA model actively moves away from the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach by customizing instruction, fostering flexible learning environments, and employing adaptable lesson plans.

Interested in Close Reach Academy Elementary?

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Child(ren) 2025-2026 Grade Level (select all that apply)

Outcome and Results

Our comprehensive teaching strategy helps students feel confident and empowered in their educational journey. By ensuring students experience daily success, we aim to strengthen their academic abilities and promote personal growth. We recognize and value each student’s unique talents, providing support in areas where they face challenges. Students feel Seen, Known, and Valued each day. Our holistic approach focuses on nurturing the qualities that make each student special, helping them develop into confident, intellectual, and mindful individuals.

Theological Foundation

At Close Reach Academy Elementary School, we’re an interdenominational Christian community dedicated to creating a culture of embodied theological education. Our God-centered environment focuses on teaching Christian beliefs and practices, with the goal of developing action-oriented disciples of Christ. We aim to help students become naturally aware of their role in God’s plan, constantly reflecting on the Holy Spirit’s work around them.

Our intentional Christian community supports students in solidifying their identity within God’s narrative, while also encouraging them to explore their unique gifts. We foster a vibrant faith life through daily discipleship, weekly chapel services, a student-led chapel team, Christian rites of passage celebrations, and community service projects. This multifaceted approach allows our students to experience God in a transformative way, nurturing a lifelong commitment to their faith. Our emphasis on deep Christian expression, practical application, and empowering students sets CRA Elementary apart from other Christian schools.

Deep Christian faith and traditions are central to the Close Reach Academy Elementary experience. We celebrate our faith in an invitational and welcoming way for people from all religious or non-religious backgrounds. We teach all members of our community to honor and respect the diverse religious traditions of others, while staying true to their own beliefs. At Close Reach Academy Elementary, we come together to pray, reflect, and serve as one school community, united as beloved children of God.

Culture and Environment

Driven to build the most positive and collaborative educational environment possible, CRA Elementary is anchored in faith, service, and academic excellence. Students and parents will experience genuine care and support through each age and stage of development. Prioritizing the connection and partnership between home and school, we commit to coming alongside each student to meet their academic, spiritual, and emotional needs.

Teacher Qualifications

Building the best educational team requires our teachers to be passionate about teaching and educated in the most comprehensive instructional practices and approaches to learning. We prioritize higher education and a commitment to teachability for all of our educators as they learn, grow, and evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of our students.

Educational Philosophy

Researched and proven, we take the best parts from each academic approach, combining them into our experiential model of learning. Hands-on, engaging, experiential, solutions-based, creative, and differentiated, we meet the State of Washington learning standards while also applying our model as an overlay to each subject. Teacher-led and student-immersed, our curriculum meets the needs of each learner, developing students in a thoroughly engaging and mindful process as they learn intellectually and grow spiritually.

Community

Within our faith community, you’ll often hear “we” and “us” because we share a deep connection and are dedicated to growing a strong educational community for Bellevue and the Greater Eastside. To nurture this community, we support one another through parent groups, teacher support, volunteer efforts, fundraising, and inviting new families to join us. When we collectively respond in faith, our unity shines brightly, demonstrating our shared devotion to the world around us.

Events

All event times are displayed based on America/Los_Angeles timezone.
Bellevue Neighborhood Church
Thu, 15 May 07:00 PM
We invite you to an Open House event on Thursday, May 15th, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Dr. Craig and Dr. Jennifer Pelissero will present their vision and educational model for this exciting new school, which will be housed at Bellevue Neighborhood Church. This session will include a casual Q&A opportunity, allowing you to learn more and express your interest in enrolling your child at Close Reach Academy Elementary.
 
We look forward to connecting with you and sharing more about this incredible opportunity!
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Open House

625 140th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005