Cornerstone Christian Academy
Donation protected
We are Cornerstone Christian Academy located in the village of Kingman, Alberta. Cornerstone is dedicated to offering families choice in education by providing a school environment that aligns with the values and Christian convictions of parents. We partner with parents so that students receive a consistant message both at home and at school, where the Christian worldview is deliberately taught. Students, staff and families at Cornerstone choose to live in obedience to God's Word through the study and integration of the Bible into their daily lives.
In 1986 a small group of parents felt called to provide the option of Non-Denominational Christian education in the Camrose area. No such opportunity was available at that time and still today, Cornerstone remains the only choice for Christian education in the region. From humble beginnings of just a few students in 1986 we have seen continual growth to the point of now serving approximately 180 students from more than a hundred families in 2017. As the student population has grown, so has the need for more space. Starting in a church basement, then moving to the Camrose warehouse district, to building at its current location in Kingman in 1993, Cornerstone has continued to provide parents with a choice to educate their children in a deliberately Christian environment. The need for that choice has only grown over the years. In 2003, Cornerstone added a full size gymnasium to its initial six classroom facility. In 2012, the school more than doubled the current facility with a brand new secondary wing. For more than 3 decades, Cornerstone has been providing quality education, with a Christ centred focus, for the families in our region. As the only Christian program in the area, the school serves familes coming from a large geographic region of approximately 3,000 sq km.
Up until 2009, Cornerstone operated as an accredited Private school, with partial government funding. This was very rewarding and quite successful, but also had its challenges. In order to keep tuitions affordable for families, teacher and staff salaries were significantly below the competitive average of the public system. This sometimes led to a "revolving door" of workers, who could not afford the reduced salary. Thankfully, we were blessed with some very dedicated staff in those years gave their heart and soul to the school, and helped form the "family" atmosphere that our students and families have grown to know and love, but they sacrificed a lot to do so. Therefore, in 2009, a decision was made to become an "Alternative Program" within the Battle River public school division. This would allow Cornerstone to continue offering an integrated Christian program centered on Christ, while also allowing our staff access to competitive wages, benefit packages, and a host of other supports that were not available privately. It also gave Cornerstone students access to the same funding and education supports and options enjoyed by regular students in the public system. The relationship with the public division was positive and mutually beneficial for many years. Things took a drastic turn in 2017, however, when the chair of the public school board gave CCA a directive that "any scripture that could be considered offensive to particular individuals should not be read or studied in the school", thus fundamentally compromising the Christian character and focus of the alternative program. This very broad statement was alarming and unacceptable, as many, if not most pages of the Bible can be considered offensive to someone - Christian or otherwise. When the Cornerstone Board was not willing to make this compromise, the public division made the decision to terminate the contract between our organizations, thus ending the relationship between us and actually closing down our school. Despite pleas from parents, students, and the Cornerstone Board to work towards a remedy, none was to be found. After 32 years of continuous operation, on June 30th 2018, the Battle River School Division officially closed Cornerstone Christian Academy.
The loss of the only Christian alternative for parents in the area was not one the CCA Board was willing to accept. As soon as the current year's Private School application forms were available, the CCA Board began working with Alberta Education in an effort to keep the school open. Education at Cornerstone Christian Academy was not over, and we were confident that God was not finished with us yet. After countless hours of prayer, hard work, paperwork, and sleepless nights, we are overjoyed to announce that on July 20th 2018, God answered our prayers and Cornerstone Christian Academy was granted Private School status once again by the Alberta Government.
The continued operation of Cornerstone is fantastic news, but it does come with its own set of challenges. As a result of the public school closure, all student technology was removed from the building (chromebooks, computers, networking equipement, the bell system, phones, etc). In addition, many textbooks and other teaching aids were reclaimed by the public school division. We now have approximately 7 weeks to hire staff, replace technology and prepare for the start of the fall 2018 school term. All of these things come at a cost we were unable to plan for and this is where you can help!
We have always been a school that strives to be affordable, and it is our aim to remain that way. Given the set of circumstances that have led to this point, however, we need your help. Will you donate to help us remain affordable and effective in this transition year? Our goals through this campaign are paying down our bus loan and mortgage, and replacing student technology. If this campaign is successful in these items, we are confident tuition rates can stay affordable. It is our hope that through this initial transition year CCA families will see the least amount of disruption possible, and that we will remain a viable and growing option for many families in the future!
Thank you so much for taking the time to learn about our school and its challenges - if you have questions, please ask!
To register for the 2018 school year, CLICK HERE!
100% of funds collected through this campaign go towards operation of the school.
CCA is a registered charity. If you would like a tax deductible donation receipt, please email you’re name, address, and phone number to [email redacted] and we will get one to you. If you choose to remain an anonymous donor, your information and donation amount will still remain anonymous.
In 1986 a small group of parents felt called to provide the option of Non-Denominational Christian education in the Camrose area. No such opportunity was available at that time and still today, Cornerstone remains the only choice for Christian education in the region. From humble beginnings of just a few students in 1986 we have seen continual growth to the point of now serving approximately 180 students from more than a hundred families in 2017. As the student population has grown, so has the need for more space. Starting in a church basement, then moving to the Camrose warehouse district, to building at its current location in Kingman in 1993, Cornerstone has continued to provide parents with a choice to educate their children in a deliberately Christian environment. The need for that choice has only grown over the years. In 2003, Cornerstone added a full size gymnasium to its initial six classroom facility. In 2012, the school more than doubled the current facility with a brand new secondary wing. For more than 3 decades, Cornerstone has been providing quality education, with a Christ centred focus, for the families in our region. As the only Christian program in the area, the school serves familes coming from a large geographic region of approximately 3,000 sq km.
Up until 2009, Cornerstone operated as an accredited Private school, with partial government funding. This was very rewarding and quite successful, but also had its challenges. In order to keep tuitions affordable for families, teacher and staff salaries were significantly below the competitive average of the public system. This sometimes led to a "revolving door" of workers, who could not afford the reduced salary. Thankfully, we were blessed with some very dedicated staff in those years gave their heart and soul to the school, and helped form the "family" atmosphere that our students and families have grown to know and love, but they sacrificed a lot to do so. Therefore, in 2009, a decision was made to become an "Alternative Program" within the Battle River public school division. This would allow Cornerstone to continue offering an integrated Christian program centered on Christ, while also allowing our staff access to competitive wages, benefit packages, and a host of other supports that were not available privately. It also gave Cornerstone students access to the same funding and education supports and options enjoyed by regular students in the public system. The relationship with the public division was positive and mutually beneficial for many years. Things took a drastic turn in 2017, however, when the chair of the public school board gave CCA a directive that "any scripture that could be considered offensive to particular individuals should not be read or studied in the school", thus fundamentally compromising the Christian character and focus of the alternative program. This very broad statement was alarming and unacceptable, as many, if not most pages of the Bible can be considered offensive to someone - Christian or otherwise. When the Cornerstone Board was not willing to make this compromise, the public division made the decision to terminate the contract between our organizations, thus ending the relationship between us and actually closing down our school. Despite pleas from parents, students, and the Cornerstone Board to work towards a remedy, none was to be found. After 32 years of continuous operation, on June 30th 2018, the Battle River School Division officially closed Cornerstone Christian Academy.
The loss of the only Christian alternative for parents in the area was not one the CCA Board was willing to accept. As soon as the current year's Private School application forms were available, the CCA Board began working with Alberta Education in an effort to keep the school open. Education at Cornerstone Christian Academy was not over, and we were confident that God was not finished with us yet. After countless hours of prayer, hard work, paperwork, and sleepless nights, we are overjoyed to announce that on July 20th 2018, God answered our prayers and Cornerstone Christian Academy was granted Private School status once again by the Alberta Government.
The continued operation of Cornerstone is fantastic news, but it does come with its own set of challenges. As a result of the public school closure, all student technology was removed from the building (chromebooks, computers, networking equipement, the bell system, phones, etc). In addition, many textbooks and other teaching aids were reclaimed by the public school division. We now have approximately 7 weeks to hire staff, replace technology and prepare for the start of the fall 2018 school term. All of these things come at a cost we were unable to plan for and this is where you can help!
We have always been a school that strives to be affordable, and it is our aim to remain that way. Given the set of circumstances that have led to this point, however, we need your help. Will you donate to help us remain affordable and effective in this transition year? Our goals through this campaign are paying down our bus loan and mortgage, and replacing student technology. If this campaign is successful in these items, we are confident tuition rates can stay affordable. It is our hope that through this initial transition year CCA families will see the least amount of disruption possible, and that we will remain a viable and growing option for many families in the future!
Thank you so much for taking the time to learn about our school and its challenges - if you have questions, please ask!
To register for the 2018 school year, CLICK HERE!
100% of funds collected through this campaign go towards operation of the school.
CCA is a registered charity. If you would like a tax deductible donation receipt, please email you’re name, address, and phone number to [email redacted] and we will get one to you. If you choose to remain an anonymous donor, your information and donation amount will still remain anonymous.
Organizer and beneficiary
Jonathan Jay
Organizer
Kingman, AB
Amy Lauber
Beneficiary
