School Profile
Pan American Christian Academy
School Overview
Welcome to Pan American Christian Academy (PACA), where each employee is actively engaged in "nourishing hearts, developing minds, and educating for eternity."
PACA employees are role models for students, and thus are expected to live out the ends we commend to PACA students: wholeness, achievement, and stewardship, as well as being catalysts for good in the wonderful world of people and places that God has entrusted to us. The school has remained faithful to and maintained its commitment to God's Truth since its founding in 1960.
Having entered its seventh decade of serving children of both the local residents and the foreign community of São Paulo, PACA's 800+ graduates are now spread across the world. Creative, dedicated, faithful, and innovative PACA teachers daily serve a plateful of biblically integrated Christ-centered activities, not only in the classroom, but also at recess and on the athletic field, the cafeteria and the swimming pool, the playground and the fine arts stage.
The parent community is highly loyal and very supportive. Located in the southern section of the city, PACA's campus has been described as "an oasis" from the hustle and bustle of the city.
PACA espouses seven core virtues: Kindness, Community, Empowerment, Joy, Respect, Generosity, and Service. We believe leadership comes first through service.
Making disciples is our task – and being a Christ follower means serving the one who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life. Service begins with PACA students, who understand and embrace the idea of serving others,. not only through gifts and talents God has given, but also through disciplined decision-making. Our students have been blessed to bless others, which is why PACA faculty and staff are so deeply committed to continue offering a "Quality Education Based on a Biblical Foundation" for many years to come.
PACA's faculty consists of 40 teachers and are a unique (about 50-50) blend of Brazilian nationals and foreigners. These teachers enable PACA to offer two high school diplomas – the American (as an ACSI-accredited school) and the Brazilian (as certified by the Ministry of Education and Culture). Typically, 90-95% of PACA's graduates receive both diplomas.
Along with a modest salary, PACA provides benefits that include on- or near-campus furnished housing, health insurance, and bi-annual airfare to the home of record. School leadership recommends foreign-hired teachers subsidize the salary with additional support from the home country, and assists teachers via its foundation (501.C.3) status in the USA.
New teachers find PACA students and the parent community to be friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic about what is happening at school. We believe two PACA distinctives — Community (growing relationship) and Achievement (desire to excel) — are the result of planting Truth within the life-changing context of loving Jesus with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. PACA employs highly motivated professionals who are committed to this kind of living.
School History
OVERVIEW
Pan American Christian Academy (PACA) is a Christian day school founded in 1960 by foreign missionaries to Brazil to serve missionary families. For the school's first decade, it offered only the elementary program. PACA expanded its program in the 1970's – the school's first alumni being the class of 1974 – and has since expanded enrollment. With the addition of the pre-kindergarten program for three- and four-year-olds, PACA's average enrollment is 330. The families served now include expatriate families (both Brazilians and foreigners from the global community), as well as local families. PACA enrolls students from across São Paulo without discriminating on the basis of race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, or disability.
HISTORY
In February 1960, the initial classes met in the Methodist Church of Itaim. The first year's faculty included five teachers with a student body of 28. During the early years, the school occupied a variety of rented facilities until in December of 1965, a small city block in Campo Belo. As the school continued to grow, a number of classrooms were built and nearby houses were rented, but it soon became evident that the Campo Belo site would be too small to meet the demands.
In July of 1972, 33,000 square meters (7.5 acres) were purchased in the southern São Paulo neighborhood of Rio Bonito. Construction started in April of 1973, and the first units of the new campus were opened in February of 1974. The Brazilian Ministry of Education accredited the school, and the first twelfth grade class graduated in June of 1974.
Facilities have grown to include a swimming pool, a computer lab, and an adjacent campus that added a second cafeteria, auditorium seating for 120, a preschool, a learning lab, a conference room, and office space. The pre-school campus houses the home offices of ACSI-Brasil, which serves 80 national and international schools across Brasil.
Former PACA director (1991-94) Dr. Eugene Berends once said of PACA, “It’s not the place, it’s the people.” Heaven only will know the many wonderful servants – teachers, board members, parents, alumni, and friends – who gave sacrificially to sustain PACA's history of faithfulness. The school has been blessed with excellent leaders and teachers throughout the years. God has blessed PACA for over 60 years – to Him be all glory.
Notable Products / Brands
PreK - 12 Christian Education
Benefits
The following are provided by the school:
- The documentation and visa process for residence permit in Brazil
- Modest salary to live locally paid in Brazilian Reais (BRL = R$)
- Housing on or close to campus
- Transportation to and from Brazil for the contracted employee and his/her dependents
- Tuition for PreK - 12th Grade aged children attending PACA
- Lunch at school for employees and their children enrolled at PACA
- Modest monthly grocery stipend
- Access to car pool for teachers who live on campus (a per kilometer charge applies)
- Professional learning stipend
Positions Available
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