👩‍🏫Meet the Founder

A Welcome from Mrs. Stokes

Welcome! My name is Chiquita Stokes (known to our sprouts and families as Mrs. Stokes), and I am the founder and lead educator here at Rooted In Christ Academy.

I know that choosing who guides your child's earliest school years is a profound decision. Please know that in our classroom, your little sprout will not just be educated—they will be known, protected, and deeply loved.

Every day, our cozy academy will be filled with hands-on discovery, joyful worship, outdoor exploration, and gentle guidance tailored exactly to how your child is growing. I am so honored to partner with your family during this beautiful season of growth, and I look forward to walking alongside you as we build a strong, faithful foundation for your child.

Welcome to our academy family!

With joy, Mrs. Stokes

💡My Vision

I believe that every child is a unique masterpiece created by God. My heart for starting Rooted In Christ Academy was to create a space where children don't have to choose between high-level learning and deep-level faith. I wanted to build a school where 'growing up' means 'growing deep' in the love of Jesus.

📜My Background

  • Educational Experience: With over 10 years of dedicated experience in classroom education, leadership, and ministry, I have spent my career cultivating learning environments that challenge young minds while protecting the joy of childhood. 

  • Heart for Children: As both a parent and an educator, I saw firsthand the shifting landscape of modern schooling and recognized a profound need for an intentional alternative—a place where early childhood is treated as a sacred, foundational season of discovery rather than a race through rigid worksheets. 

  • Faith Journey: As a member of New Creation Christian Fellowship, my life and ministry are anchored in the daily reality of God’s Word. I am wholly dedicated to leading this academy in alignment with the Holy Spirit, ensuring our students see faith modeled in action every single day. Beyond my role at the academy, I am blessed to share my life with my husband, Jerard Stokes, and our five children—my greatest joy and my first ministry.

🤝My Commitment to Your Family

As we embark on this journey with our founding Pre-K 4 class, my promise to you is to treat your child with the same love, care, and excellence that I would my own. We aren't just building a school; we are building a family.

📖Our Story:

The Birth of a Vision

Every great tree begins as a seed of vision. Rooted In Christ Academy was born directly out of a vision and divine instruction given by God. For years, the natural path ahead seemed to be chasing a role as an administrator in an established school system. However, God clearly closed those doors and redirected our founder's path, giving her a specific vision and blueprint to build a brand-new foundation from the ground up—one modeled after Colossians 2:7: "Rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." This academy is the direct fruit of that holy instruction—a school built not on human ambition, but on radical obedience to God's calling.

Out of that prayerful desire, we sought to provide a different kind of education—one where academic excellence and spiritual depth are grown together. We recognized that the Pre-K years are the most fertile soil in a child’s life.

With a mission to plant the Word of God deep in the hearts of our youngest learners, we officially opened our doors to our first Pre-K 4 class. We saw a need in our community for a school that didn't just teach children how to learn, but Who to follow.

🏗️Building the Future, One Grade at a Time

We are a Growing Academy. By starting with our foundational Pre-K program and intentionally adding one grade level each year, we ensure that our growth never outpaces our quality. This slow-growth model allows us to focus deeply on our students, ensuring that every child who starts with us in Pre-K 4 has a clear, consistent, and Christ-centered path all the way through their elementary years and beyond.

Today, we are proud to be a community of families, educators, and students who are all growing together, firmly Rooted In Christ.