Private Lutheran education from early childhood through eighth grade anchors La Mesa Village at Christ Lutheran School and Preschool on La Mesa Boulevard. Dual accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and National Lutheran School Accreditation validates the EC-8 academic program, which includes dedicated choir, band, and visual-arts periods — performing-arts disciplines also offered privately by Wagner's School of Music in La Mesa. Founded in 1958 as a mission of Christ Lutheran Church, the school holds California Purple Star School designation recognizing specialized support for military-connected students and their families. The preschool division accepts children starting at age two and operates year-round with a curriculum balancing emergent literacy with faith-based social development, a pedagogical alternative to the Montessori method used by The Woods Montessori Preschool elsewhere in La Mesa. Total enrollment stands at approximately 298 students across all grade levels, with a student-to-teacher ratio of 24 to 1. Full-campus WASC review cycles require faculty credentialing audits, curriculum-alignment documentation against Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards, and annual measurable-outcome reporting to the Pacific Southwest District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.