Twenty-three years ago, Cornerstone Christian Academy started a Christ-centered school with eight students. With enrollment for the fall semester at 459 students and 68 faculty members, the school’s leadership decided it was time to make more space. When classes resume, the new renovation to the K-8 facility will be a welcomed addition.

“For the last four years, Cornerstone has participated in the AJC Top Workplace anonymous survey through Energage,” said Headmaster Colin Creel. “At the conclusion of the survey a couple of years ago, we received high-level results. The survey showed our staff loved working here, but desired more space, specifically in the middle school.”

Keeping up with growing needs

After careful planning, school officials decided to add additional science labs, student spaces and offices that would remedy the challenge. The renovation of 2,500 square feet and additional 5,500 square feet will cost approximately $4 million and is expected to be complete and fully usable by January, said Creel.

“The new science labs will only be used by sixth, seventh and eighth-grade classes,” he said. “Any unscheduled time is intentional so our science teachers will be able to set up and break down labs accordingly. To this point, they have never been afforded this luxury since every space was used each period.”

There will also be breakout rooms for one-on-one conferences with parents and students and a breakroom for teachers.

“If teachers need to meet with students or if they have a parent-teacher conference, they’ll no longer be displaced,” Creel said. “Now there are four additional little, smaller rooms. One is going to be used for our counselor and the other three will be flex spaces.”

There will also be more administrative offices. Director of Operations Andrew McDonald’s office is currently inside a closet.

School administrators believe that with the new space, the school will be just right for its mission of partnering with parents to provide a quality academic education designed to develop students who will follow Christ, embrace biblical truth and live lives that glorify God.

“This addition is a great example of responding resoundingly to a specific need,” Creel said. “I desire to serve our students and teachers as much as humanly possible. I always choose to maximize the dollars spent on our teachers and students.”

“We enjoy our current student size, and do not desire to increase our student enrollment; rather, we always are looking for ways to enhance the student and teacher experience. One of the reasons why Cornerstone is so special is that the board and the administration listen to the needs of the community and respond accordingly,” he added.

Beyond the bricks and mortar

It’s obvious that teachers are the backbone of America’s schools, but the future of the profession has been in a precarious state in the last few decades. Many researchers believe the COVID-19 pandemic only accelerated the decline.

According to its annual report, The State of Teaching, the EdWeek Research Center, the expertise and skill required to do the job well is often underestimated, while the ever-increasing demands of the job are not well understood or sometimes misrepresented.

Creel agrees.

“In the last few years, it has become harder and harder to keep and attract teachers. We’re always trying to figure out ways to get more qualified teachers to apply,” he said. “There’s an additional layer that makes it a little more challenging for us because it’s not just about great teaching, we also need people who love Christ and then love kids and not all teachers love kids.”

But Cornerstone is rising to the challenge. Creel said they meet it head-on and look for creative and effective ways to find and keep the best and brightest teachers in the area.

“In the last few years, we’ve been pretty aggressive about trying to make our pay scale as competitive with the public schools as possible,” he said. “We’re probably never going to be at the same level as public schools, but we try to offer additional benefits.”

Cornerstone matches retirement savings at an aggressive level, provides a step-up pay scale that rewards seniority and offers professional development opportunities.

“My life philosophy is I want our teachers to be inspired,” he said.

Over summer break, the school paid for teachers to get extra training in programs in Denver and California.

“We want them to become the best in their fields because I feel like when teachers are excited about what they’re doing, then the kids will be excited and parents will be happy,” said Creel.

The secret to Cornerstone’s success

“We try to make sure that our kids know the truth and we keep it pretty simple,” he said. “I think our culture is changing pretty rapidly and we want to continue to keep our kids grounded and we want to keep them encouraged.”

He explained that the mental health crisis affects every sector of the population – his students included.

He referenced a book called, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.

“It has data to support what we as educators know already that cell phones and smartphones, at a young age, are bad for kids’ self-esteem,” he said.

Although Cornerstone hasn’t been forced to use cell phone lock pouches like many schools across the country, it has a policy that phones are not to be in use during school hours. There have been no problems with compliance so far.

The Cornerstone “village”

Like many private schools and some public schools, Cornerstone asks parents to contribute volunteer hours.

“That’s going to look different for parents based on if they work full-time, but lots of different ways to get people plugged in,” Creel said. “Our parent-teacher fellowship does a great job.”

He recalled a former teacher who had taught in public schools for a while and when she came to Cornerstone, she’d tell people it was like Disney World – the happiest place on earth in part because of the parents’ willingness to participate.

“This is a special place and one of the hallmarks is that we have so many great parents that get involved,” he said. “They are supportive of our community. We have big events here out on the field, and you’ve got parents signing up to volunteer to help with whatever needs to be done. There’s always a core of people who want to come out and be a part of it.”

Creel added that there’s a kind of open-door policy where parents are invited to come to school throughout the year – not just for school functions, but to share birthday celebrations with their kid’s class or eat lunch with students in the cafeteria.

“We want the family to be a part of their children’s education – not just dropping them off. We’re not at daycare. We’re here to teach but be a part of that life experience,” Creel said.

That ethos so moving for Director of Operations Andrew McDonald that it inspired him to become an employee as well.

“My background is in operations and there was one year I was at a fundraising dinner, and I saw this little spot on the board that said, ‘operations director office’ and so I asked Colin, ‘What’s the plan for this position?’ And he said oh it’s years down the road’” said McDonald.

He and Creel worked out the details and soon McDonald was on board, where he’s been for the past three years.

“It’s great to ride into school with the kids in the morning and home in the evening,” he said. “Not a day doesn’t go by where they’re not excited about something that happened and want to share those great experiences that are foundational to their life kindergarten through eighth-grade education.”

Creel noted that 95% of a child’s moral development occurs between the ages of three and 13.

“That’s why we’re here, to help these kids have a foundation for where they go next; private school or public school, it’s usually about 50/50, that they stand out in a good way because they’re used to taking ownership of their education,” he said.

“They’ve been given leadership opportunities in middle school that you typically give to juniors and seniors in high school. They just stand out in a good way and that’s our goal: to prepare them for life so that they can be a light out in the world,” he explained.

For more information about Cornerstone Christian Academy, visit cornerstonecougars.org.

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