Excelsior Artz Preparatory School of Tamarac, Florida, earned a conspicuous number of placements at the Annual Association of Christian Schools International District Spelling Bee and Math Olympics that was recently held in South Florida. The private, non-denominational Christian school, affectionately known by students, parents and benefactors as “EAPS,” is a standing member of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). With a boastful membership of over five thousand schools nationwide and several hundred internationally, including Africa, Asia and South America, ACSI hosts annual academic competitions for top performers nationwide.

Excelsior Artz Preparatory School, the only predominantly West-Indian school in the competition with a student population a quarter of the size of its competitors, surprised attendees and officials alike in racking up over 80% of the first place medals awarded! Kendra Quinland, who took first place in the ACSI District Spelling Bee and third in the State Spelling Bee, will be heading to Washington D.C. this Saturday to compete in the ACSI National Spelling Bee. The EAPS student will be competing against fifty others who have outperformed their peers at the local levels nationwide. This seventh grade competitor who has been a student at EAPS since age four, is of Jamaican descent, a Christian adolescent, who is also a dance student, thespian student, and a Prefect at the school. Students like Kendra Quinland, who have gone through the ranks of EAPS, have been awarded scholarships to attend the best private high schools in South Florida and demonstrate marked, long term academic success.

When asked “how they do it” principal and founder of EAPS, Kay Baugh, responded “God does it…We know that we only attain this much success because of God.” In an effort to mentally approach the competitions with a higher purpose than winning medals that are based solely on performance, students are reminded of the schools previous motto: “Be not conformed to the world; instead, be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” and are implored as well to “Seek first the Kingdom Of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.“ EAPS is a Coed, non-denominational Christian school with grades from Pre-Kindergarten to 8th with the kind of teacher to student ratio that affords each student the attention they require to realize their full potential. EAPS first opened its doors in 1996 and was founded by the current principal and her mother Beverley Baugh. The school is currently accepting enrollment for students age three through grade eight.