Students at the Chautauqua Christian Academy have pride in their school – ice-cold pride.

The school located at 200 Hunt Road is a kindergarten through 12th grade, faith-based school. On Thursday, the students and facility were treated to a personalized ice sculpture, in the form of a Blue Knight, courtesy of local arborist and artist, Vince Liuzzo.

“Vince came out and helped our students show their school pride by working with them to create the knight ice sculpture outside,” said Scot Stutzman, Chautauqua Christian Academy principal. “Our students are proud of our school. The facility is like an extended family and we’re doing great work here in education.”

Stutzman said that the students in his school are used to seeing Liuzzo around the campus and facilities, and were excited to work with him on this project.

“They were excited to work with Vince,” he said. “The high school boys wanted to just hang out with him and show their pride by helping him with this project.”

The academy first opened in 1976 with only 14 students, making up kindergarten through third grade. Enrollment in 2022-23 reached 107 students in kindergarten through 12th grades, and Stutzman said enrollment growth is still increasing. Along with academics, CCA offers a variety of sports programs for girls and boys which includes soccer, volleyball and basketball.

Stutzman told The Post-Journal in 2023 that Chautauqua Christian Academy officials have plans to continue to keep incorporating college level courses along with internships in trade fields with a focus on supporting the growth of Science, Technology Engineering and Math. Stutzman said the academy has already started this process.

“We work as a team here and it shows in our numbers of students enrolled,” said Stutzman. “We’re -(at) near capacity and growing. We hold our students to a high standard, both educationally and with behavior. We look at creative ways to teach our students. We don’t have a one-size-fits-all approach to education and how we teach.”

Stutzman, who has more than 20 years of experience in the education field and education management, believes that CCA is poised to have another stellar year.

“We are going to have to start looking at expanding our facilities, faculty and operations,” Stutzman said. “The staff really cares about the students in our charge.