Grace Classical Christian Academy

Gryphons,
It's that time again - we cannot WAIT to see you on campus for Back to School Night tomorrow! This is a great opportunity to meet your teacher, catch up with your friends, and drop off your school supplies!

Last, but certainly not least we are pleased to introduce our new Admissions & Communications Coordinator, Mrs. Rebecca Briley. That's right - if you've been paying close attention to our staff intros we have not one, but TWO Mrs. Brileys joining our staff. How neat! We are thrilled that the Lord led Mrs. Briley to our GCCA family to serve as our Admissions & Communications Coordinator. Here a bit more about Mrs. Briley:

"Rebecca Briley is excited to join the GCCS community and bring her passion for Classical Christian Education and student discipleship to the Granbury area. A Baylor University graduate, she earned a bachelor's degree in Studio Art with a minor in Religion before completing a Master's degree in Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Throughout her ministry, Rebecca has served in leadership roles focused on discipling, mentoring, and encouraging students to grow in their faith and develop a lifelong relationship with Christ. She is committed to partnering with families to help students flourish both academically and spiritually.

Rebecca and her husband, Doug, have been married for 30 years, but their story began much earlier, in the 4th Grade! (A life lesson she passes on: never burn bridges because you just never know...) Their first home as a married couple was in Acton, making this return to the Granbury community especially meaningful. They now live in Fort Worth and have four grown children, who completed their schooling in Classical Christian Education. This fall, they are excited to celebrate their first child's wedding and welcome a new member to their family, anticipating more to come, sooner than later!"

Rounding out our new teacher introductions is Ms. Miranda Carlisle who will be teaching Upper School Writing and Humanities. We are delighted to have her joining our team and excited to see all of the ways the Lord will use her as an asset to our community. Check out Ms. Carlisle's bio to get to know more about her!

"Miranda is excited to join Grace Classical Christian Academy as an Upper School Writing and Humanities teacher. Miranda graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Art History (emphasis in Ancient and Medieval Studies) from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, an MA in English from Liberty University, and an MS in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Kansas. A former college softball player and coach, Miranda began her career in education and athletics in 2017 and has spent the past several years teaching and coaching students from 7th-12th grade.
Miranda is passionate about helping students grow as readers, writers, thinkers, and followers of Christ. She loves creating engaging lessons that encourage curiosity, discussion, creativity, and a lifelong love of learning. Her teaching philosophy centers on building strong relationships with students while challenging them to pursue excellence in both academics and character. One of her greatest joys is investing in the lives of students and helping them discover their unique gifts and purpose.

Outside of school, Miranda enjoys reading, history, painting/crafting, pickleball, attending church at New River Fellowship, and spending time with family and friends."

Please join us in welcoming our new Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Nikki Briley! We are so thankful that Mrs. Briley and her family are joining our GCCA family and are eager to see all of the ways she will love and lead our youngest Gryphons! Here's a little bio to help you get to know more about Mrs. Briley:

"A West Virginia native, Nikki Briley holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Marshall University. She and her husband, Matthew, met at Birchman Baptist Church while doing pre-school ministry, married in 2015, and have continued being active in children's ministry at Birchman ever since. They have four children, all of whom attend GCCA. Mrs. Briley has experience teaching in early education centers, homeschooling, as well as a brief stint in public schools. In her free time, she loves to spend time outdoors gardening, hiking, watching her children play sports, and spending time with family and friends."

We loved seeing some of our GCCA family at Granbury's 4th of July parade this weekend! We hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday weekend celebrating America's 250th! ❤️🤍💙

Next up in our new staff introductions is our 2nd grade
teacher - Mrs. Grace Smith! 🎉🥳 We are thrilled to have Mrs. Smith joining our team and can't wait to see how the Lord works in and through her at GCCA! Want to learn more about Mrs.Smith? Check out her bio below and don't forget to welcome her to our GCCA family!

"I am so excited to begin working at GCCA, guiding the 2nd graders to behold the beauty of the Lord in all the good that He has made, so that they may live flourishing lives that honor Him. I grew up in Peru, SA as a missionary’s kid, living in each of its three regions—the jungle, coast, and mountain. Because I loved language, etymology, and the classics, I pursued a BA in English with a minor in writing at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. After graduating, I wanted to continue studying the Great Books, so I attended the University of Dallas for my MA. From a young age, I knew I wanted to be a teacher, and God has opened many doors for me since childhood. I’ve taught Sunday School and VBS, tutored a wide range of subjects and grades, coached remedial readers, and taught in both elementary and middle school. I met my husband, Ryan, in 2020, and we were married in the fall of 2022. We live in Weatherford and attend Parker Bible Church. We own two dogs, two cats, and two horses. In my free time, I like to read, draw, watercolor, garden, bake, write, and travel."

We are overjoyed to begin announcing the wonderful teachers joining our faculty this coming school year. We prayed fervently for God to bring us the right educators to disciple our students and are confident that each of these new faculty members will do just that. Be on the lookout for new faculty introductions over the next few weeks and don't forget to welcome them to our GCCA family!

Kicking off the new team member introductions is 🥁🥁🥁 Mrs. Courtney Schaub, our new 1st grade teacher! Here is a quick bio to help you learn a little bit about Mrs. Schaub:

"Courtney and her husband, Gradon, met while attending Angelo State University on a study abroad trip to Europe. They have been married for 17 years and have four children. Courtney graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and later received her Masters in Theological Studies in Biblical Counseling from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. After attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, her husband went into pastoral ministry, and Courtney spent 9 years homeschooling her children. As a young mom, Courtney fell in love with the classical model of education after reading “The Well-Trained Mind” by Susan Wise Bauer and later became a tutor and then director of a Classical Conversation campus. They moved back to Granbury 3 years ago where her husband is a teacher and is also an Assistant Pastor at Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church. Being dubbed by the neighborhood kids as “homemade mom”, Courtney loves to have kids running in and out of her house with food in tow, keeping kids fed with good things. She also enjoys reading, hiking, and being involved with Mission Granbury. "

On the last day of school, we got to recognize a few students at our awards ceremony who we have seen go above and beyond this year. For us, this is not a time to acknowledge merely academic achievements, but more importantly to highlight the ways we have seen their character flourish this year. We are so proud of each of these students and all of our Gryphons for their hard work this year and can't wait to continue watching them grow in the years to come!❤️

Caps off to the graduates! 🥳🎓🎉

Class of 2026, we will miss the laughter and joy you brought to our hallways, but we could not be more thrilled to cheer you on as you set off on new adventures and follow God's plan for your life. Congratulations! We are so proud of each and every one of you!
Soli Deo Gloria!