First Preparatory Christian Academy celebrated 50 years as a school and honored its longtime faculty and staff.

What started as a preschool, kindergarten and elementary school added middle and high school grades in 2006. That year, school leaders also broke ground on the main building on Court Street, adjacent to the church. The first senior class graduated in 2009.

The school changed its name from First Presbyterian Christian Academy to First Preparatory Christian Academy in 2020.

There are now 308 students throughout the lower and upper schools enrolled in FPCA.

“We couldn’t have FPCA without you,” school director Gladwin Harper told the students at an assembly to mark the golden anniversary. “We also couldn’t have FPCA if we didn’t have faculty to teach us.”

FPCA honored its longest- tenured faculty and staff, recognizing 10 people who have been there at least 15 years, and three of them have been there at least 30 years. Recognized were Marcia Graham, Dr. Charles Canup, Scottie Jenkins, Brenda Dollar, Kim Mobley, David Linderman, Daneen Peil, Kathy Summerall, Tom Sukaratana and Dede Splitt.

Summerall has been at the school for 30 years, Sukaratana has been there for 31 years and Splitt has been at FPCA for 39 years.