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Cary Christian School to Purchase 21 Acres
New campus will allow for growth of Classical/Christian School.
Cary Christian School's enrollment is up, and plans are in the works to accommodate the growth with a larger facility. The day is approaching when parents driving their children to the school, which is currently on three campuses, will be able to make just one drop.
The classical/Christian School is in the final stages of purchasing nearly 21 acres in Cary, two miles from current campuses on Old Apex Road, with plans to build a 49,000-square-foot facility. This will allow for the growth that has been taking place steadily since the school began in 1996. Each year they have added 55 kindergarteners. School officials hope students will begin attending at the new facility in the fall of 2004, and the first senior class will graduate in May 2005. The school is currently in the "silent" phase of the capital campaign, according to development director Gene Liechty, with the public phase kicking off in late summer, when they plan to break ground.
"We're very thankful that God has chosen to bless our labors thus far," he said, adding that more than $800,000 in cash has been raised as well as $600,000 in pledges. "But that number changes every day." The goal is to have $1.3 million in cash before breaking ground.
Cary Christian is waiting to sign the contract on the land until the city gives its final approval on the project.
"There's a neighborhood that borders the property, and residents were very interested in finding out if the school was going to remove trees between the adjoining properties," Liechty said. School officials met with their future neighbors April 1, addressing their concerns. "We're leaving the trees and planting more in the 40-foot buffer zone, which will serve as a privacy area for the school and neighborhood next to it. Everyone left that meeting very encouraged."
The 21-acre track of land will include a 36-classroom building, large gymnasium, playgrounds, a baseball field, and combination soccer/football field.
Herbert Young, whose land has been in his family since the mid-1800s, is selling the property to the school. The property is adjacent to the Triangle Swim Club, which has been owned and operated by the Young family for many years. "We have parents at the school who grew up at the club," Liechty said. "We're very grateful for Mr. Young's willingness to part with it. He believes his parents would be happy with the decision. His parents had both a heart for the Lord and for education."
With enrollment at 434 students this year, the school expects to be at more than 500 next year. There are 13 children on the kindergarten waiting list, which Liechty attributes to a growing demand for classical/Christian education. "This is why we're growing. Parents see the value of this education."
Thus the need for a new facility, which will have a capacity for 800 students.
"The goal has never been to see how big we could grow as a school," said Liechty, adding that they want to maintain the family atmosphere of 66 faculty members who "know each other and their families well." But if the desire and demand for classical/Christian education in Cary continues growing, he said Cary Christian School would gladly welcome another school with the same curriculum, ideology and worldview. We'd extend the right hand of fellowship to them."
Cary Christian ninth graders were invited to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test at Duke University last year, and their average score was 1240. These freshmen beat the average SAT score for North Carolina seniors, which is 985, and the national average of 1010. In addition to the four-year requirement for Latin, in the next two years the curriculum will expand to include elective studies in Hebrew and Greek.
"God is being kind to us, and He's brought us teachers who love to teach," Liechty said. "We incorporate God and a Biblical worldview in all of the disciplines."
This article originally appeared in The Raleigh World.