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Dear Stakeholders, As the 2024/2025 school year gets underway, the Algoma Christian School Board would like to take a moment to share an update about our current expansion project. Expanding has long been a part of the continuous school improvement plan by the School Board and Administration at ACS. Our history is one of incremental growth - starting with separate campuses for elementary and high school students, followed by the construction of a building that encompassed all students under one roof. As the number of students grew over the years, so did our building - an addition here, some extra classrooms there, a gym, a locker room, and a fine arts wing. God’s blessing and provision have been a part of the ACS experience since its inception. Today, we find ourselves in the middle of a 4-Phase plan of expansion. What started as an exciting idea scribbled on a whiteboard has become a new parking lot, drain field, driveway, 11,500 square foot childhood development facility, and recently excavated ground waiting for the next phase to begin! The progress we’ve made so far is largely in part to one anonymous donor who gifted nearly $600,000 to this project! That investment has been built upon by other donors and the annual proceeds of our Project Luke 9 fundraiser. We are also applying for grants to help offset the cost because 100% of the funding for the expansion project is sourced through donations. Absolutely no tuition money is being spent on this endeavor. The School Board and Administration, in conjunction with the Finance Committee, work tirelessly to keep tuition rates affordable. Our Development Team collaborates on fundraising efforts for the tuition assistance program, general fund needs, and capital projects. Our Finance Committee is devoted to investing and stewarding our resources carefully and intentionally. Together, we are committed to taking each step forward, debt free. What was once an exciting opportunity has become an urgent necessity. More and more families are coming to value the beacon of truth and hope that is available through a Christian education. Consequently, every desk that is filled becomes a classroom stretched a little closer to capacity. Every grade level that expands beyond its allotted size limits becomes two grade levels in two classrooms with two teachers. The transfer of the Wee Knights facility from our elementary wing to its own building has made our recent growth possible, but once again our facility is nearing capacity. Many rooms now serve multiple functions. In fact, most of our secondary teachers aren’t even able to use their classrooms during their prep hour because another teacher is using it for another class! Our kitchen hasn’t been updated in almost twenty years, and was not meant to serve a student body of this size. Our middle school band classes sit shoulder to shoulder in a music room that doesn’t accommodate large class sizes. Without the completion of this project, future enrollment will demand waiting lists for certain grade levels! The addition of our Auxiliary Gym/Cafetorium will relieve the constraints that have been tightening every year as enrollment continues to break records, but it will take a team of Knights to make this financial commitment a possibility. We, as a School Board, are calling upon every parent, grandparent, staff member, donor, and stakeholder to partner with us in raising $200,000 by December 31, 2024. Putting forward this financial investment to construct the shell of the building along with the essential mezzanine before the roof is placed will save us $70,000-$75,000 in the long run. No gift is too small. Every donation (from $5 to $500,000) brings ACS one step closer to that goal! Please be in prayer about how you can be meaningfully involved in making this necessity a reality. Do you know someone who is passionate about Christian education and would like the opportunity to come alongside us in creating a space that fosters Christ-centered learning? Are you part of a business that sponsors fundraising efforts? Do you know of an excellent Christian foundation that specializes in helping small schools like ACS? We are willing and ready to reach out to anyone that is interested in partnering with us as we seek to share the love of Jesus and the truth of his Word to students and families in our community. Please contact a member of the School Board, Administration, or Development Team with any leads we should pursue, and stay tuned for more ways to be involved in the coming months. Praise the Lord for the growth and His continued protection! In Him, Scott Anderson ACS School Board President ACS Board Members Brent Parker - Vice President Roxanne Anderson -Treasurer Jason Doncis -Secretary Chris Kooienga - Trustee Scott Toth - Trustee Danielle Mysliwiec - Trustee  Have you ever visited ACS during Secondary Lunch? If you have, you probably recognized that our serving space is cramped. In fact, our kitchen hasn't been updated in 19 years! The current kitchen was built as a part of the first permanent structure on the Sparta Ave. campus in 1990. Fashioned after a home kitchen, it had wooden cabinets, laminate countertops, a single range, and limited storage. In its earliest iteration, “Hot Lunch” consisted of Little Caesars pizza on Fridays, delivered by volunteers. Eventually, an official hot lunch program was offered. Run completely by volunteers, hot lunch was only available three times a week and limited to what could be made in roasters, crockpots, and a microwave. In 2005, the kitchen underwent a significant upgrade to accommodate increasing enrollment and the expansion of the Hot Lunch program. Equipped with stainless steel prep tables, handwashing and dishwashing stations, a commercial-grade range, and multiple refrigerators and freezers, the facility was state-of-the-art and capable of serving hot lunch to up to 300 students daily. Today, with an enrollment of over 365 students, more than 50 staff members, and the addition of our Wee Knights Child Development Center for infants through preschoolers, the need for a modernized kitchen is more pressing than ever. Despite updates to our technology, security, classrooms, and athletic facilities over the past 19 years, the kitchen has remained largely unchanged. Our fearless food services director, Mrs. Macy, makes the best of her less-than-ideal kitchen, but space constraints have started to take their toll. And she’s not the only one burdened by a lack of space. As enrollment continues to break records, every nook and cranny of our facility is in use. The last addition to our secondary wing took place in 1998, when enrollment was at 260 students. The new Wee Knights building has allowed us to reclaim necessary classroom space for our elementary wing, but no such alternatives exist for our secondary students. Thus we are excited to announce plans for a new multipurpose "Cafetorium." This expansion project is the addition of a state-of-the-art kitchen, plus a gymnasium/auxiliary space to be used for elementary PE, chapel, music, band classes, concerts, and a cafeteria! It also includes flex space for extra growth as needed. The building will be located behind the current facility and will be connected to the new Wee Knights Child Development Center. Mrs. Macy has ambitious plans for her new kitchen, including the elimination of disposable dishware, the installation of a salad bar, and initiatives to reduce waste. Unlike the current setup where meals are pre-assembled and boxed, the new kitchen will feature a larger serving window, allowing for more personalized meal service. It is important to the School Board and Administration that no debt be incurred for this project. Therefore, all expenses must be met by fundraising and donations. Already, an extremely generous donor has allotted nearly $600,000 for this project. But we need to raise an additional $200,000 by December in order to have the shell of the building constructed and able to withstand a Michigan winter. One of the largest expenses of this vast project is the installation of a second floor mezzanine. If our funding allows, the mezzanine can be constructed as one piece and lowered into place. However, if we do not have the funds before it becomes necessary to put the roof in place, the mezzanine will have to be built into place down the road. Installing the mezzanine before the roof will save us between $50,000 and $75,000! If you or someone you know is interested in partnering with us to make this expansion project a reality, please reach out to our Development Director, Brittany Dracht ([email protected]) or call the school office (616-678-4780). We're honored to offer a Christ-centered education to students in our community, and delighted to see growth that necessitates expansion!  |
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