An exchange of letters that began in 1963 brought together three families around a shared vision for a Christian high school where students could receive an education centered on the Bible.

Nelson and Ruth Blount, who had made a fortune in the seafood industry, had moved from Rhode Island to Dublin about a decade earlier to live a more simple life. The Blounts had a vision for a school where their own children and children from around New England could receive a high-quality Christian education. Pastor Melvin Moody and his wife Donna, a Maine native, were serving at a church in Florida. Melvin’s brother Leon Moody had recently completed his Master of Education degree at Florida State University and lived in Florida with his wife, Barbara.

Both couples were eager to serve in New England. Through mail correspondence with a mutual friend in Maine, the Moody families accepted an invitation to establish a Christian boarding school on the Blount farmstead, a working dairy farm with about 100 head of Holstein known as Staghead Farm. On Sept. 8, 1964, just three months after the Moodys arrived in New Hampshire, Dublin Christian Academy opened its doors to two dozen high school students. The faculty and staff consisted of the Moodys and six other individuals, including a farm manager.

Now celebrating its 60th school year, DCA continues to advance the vision of its founders to educate young people to love God, love others and live their lives to advance the Gospel.  “Through God's faithfulness to us, we have never wavered from that commitment,” explains DCA President Eric Moody, son of Leon and Barbara. “DCA remains on the foundations established by the Blount, Mel Moody and Leon Moody families.” 

Although the vision has not changed, the academy has seen major changes. DCA completely transformed its physical campus from a working dairy farm (which operated throughout the first year of the school) to a modern high school. An auditorium, classrooms and a science lab sit in the place of cow stalls. Classrooms also fill spaces once occupied by horses, donkeys and pigs. The former hayloft is now called the “Learning Commons,” complete with classrooms, a library, Chromebook charging stations, study areas and an information desk. The main farmhouse houses administrative offices, the school dining room and Common Grounds, a student coffee and snack shop. The former carriage house is the girls’ dormitory. 

The academy has also revamped its program and methods over the years to serve the changing needs of families and students. For its first 20 years, DCA served only secondary students, and most were boarding students from the New England states. As Christian schools began to crop up around New England, the need for a boarding ministry diminished. Advancements in technology and school choice options have continued to give families easier access to Christian education close to home. After adding an elementary school in the 1980s, the academy incrementally shifted its focus to serving day students from the Monadnock region.

Today, DCA is the premier Christian school in the Monadnock region and serves about 180 students in pre-K through 12th grade, including a vibrant community of about 20 international students who live in the school’s dormitories. In recent years, the academy has focused on expanding access to Christian education by reducing financial barriers. Past President Kevin Moody created an annual fund to provide scholarships to families in need. In addition to awarding aid from this fund, the academy also helps qualifying families apply for need-based assistance through New Hampshire school choice programs. 

But Moody says it’s the faculty and staff, not the school’s facilities or programs, that for 60 years, have distinguished Dublin Christian Academy as a family -- a community where students are loved, and where they learn both through education and example to hold fast to the truth, and to love and serve God and others.

“God has used the amazing dedication, commitment and sacrifice of our faculty and staff over the years who have poured their lives into hundreds of young people from here in the Monadnock region and around the world,” Moody said. “As a result, we have sent those students out into all walks of life, around the globe to be a light to point others to Christ.”

DCA emphasizes the spiritual development of students through teaching and relationship-building, preparing students to lead and serve their families, churches and communities. The school supports this goal through small discipleship groups, chapels, retreats, leadership training and ministry trips, and informal activities and events outside the classroom.

Even after 60 years, DCA remains a tight-knit community with strong ties to its history. What links the alumni of the first graduating class to graduates of the Class of 2024 is the shared connection school’s mission and vision which permeate DCA’s culture. The DCA family continues to grow, and Moody views each student as a gift.

“We count it a privilege and honor to serve these children and families, and are determined to give an education grounded in the truth of the Bible,” he said.

Moody looks forward to future changes and improvements like expanding its academic programs, upgrading current facilities and making strategic capital investments to improve safety and expand the school’s academic and athletic programs. Whatever these changes look like, he said the school’s leadership remains committed to the same vision that inspired his aunt and uncle, his parents and the Blounts to invest their lives in a farm-turned-school 60 years ago. 

Bethany Paquin is the director of institutional advancement for Dublin Christian Academy.