With just under 100 students at Puget Sound Adventist Academy (PSAA), there are a lot of big opportunities for this growing campus.

The school’s small classroom size enables teachers to give personalized attention, and to offer trips and extracurricular activities that larger schools cannot match because of logistical difficulties.

“We have a great family atmosphere,” says Doug White, principal. “We get to know our students on a personal level, offering accountability, friendship and spiritual guidance.”

Each quarter, teachers are assigned students who are struggling with their grades. Students regularly report progress to their teachers and discuss learning and time management methods.

Beyond academics, PSAA students participate in a wide range of extracurricular activities, from yearly band and choir tours, to mission trips and history tours abroad, to sports events. These tours allow students to share their talents and experience while gaining a larger worldview.

This year’s music tour took 73 students down to Napa Valley, San Francisco and Santa Cruz. Students performed at Pacific Union College, local churches and nursing homes, and also took part in a regional music competition with other high schools. The competition rated the band as “excellent,” and the choir received a top score of “superior.”

The extracurricular activities enhance the academics to give students life skills, confidence and a spiritual foundation to succeed in college and life.