King's Ridge Christian School

SNAPSHOT K I N G ’ S R I D G E C H R I S T I A N S C H O O L AT- A - G L A N C E

VISION King’s Ridge Christian School will be the number one choice for a Christ-centered, academically excellent, college prep school and a place for students to build character, discover their unique purpose and calling, and make an impact that extends far beyond the King’s Ridge campus.

MISSION

KING’S RIDGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL IS A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY PROVIDING A COLLEGE PREPARATORY EDUCATION EQUIPPING STUDENTS TO KNOW, TO SERVE, AND TO BELIEVE.

PH IL O S O P HY King’s Ridge Christian School provides a nurturing learning environment, supported by the families and the community, emphasizing the development of the student: academically, spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially and ethically. As such, we believe in: • An accelerated Christian education of academic excellence providing students with the tools to reach their full potential and be useful in the lives of others.

• Each student as an individual with unique gifts requiring specific focus on learning experiences appropriate to age, maturity and learning style.

• Presenting to students the Christian faith where prayer and worship are integral parts of the life and work of the entire Christian school community.

• An educational environment that equips students to deal with the diverse aspects of the world and assists them in shaping Christian based responses to complex choices and issues.

• Fostering physical fitness, school spirit, sportsmanship, competition and teamwork through a comprehensive athletic program.

• Encouraging an appreciation of the aesthetics of music, art and drama through a cultural arts program.

• A school where students are known, taught, nurtured and loved collectively by teachers, administrators, parents and other students, and the inherent value that such an environment brings to each student’s success.

• The importance of teaching personal responsibility, honor, moral integrity and ethical behavior.

• Developing positive attitudes and selfconfidence necessary for college prep and lifelong learning.

• Assisting students to develop selfdiscipline for leadership and compassion for service to others.

• An environment open to all students that invites and welcomes diversity in the student body.

• Supporting the partnership of parents and valuing families committed to the school’s mission and their active involvement in the life of their children and the Christian school community.

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S T A T E M E N T F A I T H KING’S RIDGE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL IS A MULTI-DENOMINATIONAL CHRISTIAN SCHOOL. THEREFORE, AS ONE OF ITS FIRST PRIORITIES, THE SCHOOL’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES CREATED AND ADOPTED A STATEMENT OF FAITH.

GOD

We believe in the one sovereign and loving God, the Creator and Ruler of all things in heaven and earth.

God exists in three persons: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

JESUS CHRIST We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus is both fully God and fully man and was without sin. He died on the cross for our sins, was buried, resurrected from the dead, ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

HOLY SPIRIT We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, convicting us of our sin and need for Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit comforts, teaches and empowers us to live in righteousness.

K I N G ’ S

R I D G E

C H R I S T I A N

S C H O O L

HISTORY TIMELINE M AY

2000

ACE (The Advancement for Christian Education) conducted a demographic study and developed a strategic plan to meet Atlanta’s growing demand for college prep Atlanta private schools that are grounded in Christian faith. A grassroots effort of community meetings attracted “builder-minded” families who wanted to help create a legacy of a different type of educational option.

SEP TEMB ER 4

2001

2004

King’s Ridge Christian School launched and grew in a refurbished retail space in downtown Alpharetta. There were 196 students in grades K-8.

KRCS received dual SAIS / SACS accreditation to add to the accreditation from the Georgia Accrediting Commission (2002).

2001 - 2004

2001 - 2005

116 acres in northwest Fulton County were identified for the King’s Ridge Christian School campus.

Adjacent landowners sought legal action on zoning several times over the next four years.

Programs and enrollment grew, supported by a strong parent volunteer community.

FALL

2008

2010 KRCS joins Georgia High School Association and a press box was built at the athletic field. The One Act Play cast and crew of The Men Next Door were the first GHSA award winners in KRCS history, earning state runner-up in Class A schools.

A “UMAC” (Upper Middle Academic Center) with interior hallways was created from modular units. The Honor Code was developed setting the tone for a climate with no locks on student lockers.

2008 Under the leadership of John Smoltz as chairman, the school’s Board of Trustees commissioned a “Five Year Strategic Plan” in 2008 to chart the course for the future development and growth of King’s Ridge Christian School.

O C TOB ER

2008

A dedication ceremony was held to open a 37,000 square foot Student Center, providing a central location for students to gather for lunch, assemblies, athletic and fine arts events.

AU GU ST

2007

2006 Founding head of school, Barbara Adler, retired after successfully guiding the development of the School’s program, accreditations and the building of community.

David Rhodes was appointed as new headmaster.

Enrollment increased by 30% and the new campus opened with the dedication of the “Barbara Adler Academic Center”, named for the School’s founding head of school. The campus included 70 acres of land, a multi-use lighted athletic field and a 65,000 square foot building to serve as the permanent Christian Elementary School.

O C TO BER

2006 - 2007

2005

Program offerings expanded with Advanced Placement classes for accelerated Christian education, an award-winning arts program, Honor Council, and college prep and placement office. Commencement for the Class of 2007 was the first event held on the new campus with 6 graduates.

Acquired land for the school campus after it was approved for zoning.

Donation and subsequent sale of the original 116 acres accelerated the purchase and start of construction on the new property.

MAY

D EC EMBER

2014

2011

KRCS Class of 2014 included a small group of students named as Tiger Trailblazers who have attended KRCS from Kindergarten thru 12th grade.

KRCS Varsity Baseball team wins the GHSA 2014 A-Private Baseball Championship by sweeping every series of playoff action.

KRCS Board of Trustees recognizes the need to create a point of difference as a private Christian school in Atlanta. Visionary thinking creates the JOURNEY for Life Impact and a $10 million capital campaign for a private high school building and the Kendrick Center for Life Impact are launched.

M AY

2011 KRCS Varsity Baseball team reaches the elite eight playoffs in GHSA play.

AU GU S T

2013

The High School building and Kendrick Center for Life Impact opens as a home to KRCS high school students. Middle School students return to a classroom building that has been refurbished as a welcoming environment to the “tween” years. “UNITED on the JOURNEY” is adopted as a theme to direct all three private school levels toward a common vision.

VISION FOR A

KRCS CHRISTIAN EDUCATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE KRCS VISION AND MISSION THERE IS AN INTENTIONAL VISION FOR CHRISTIAN EDUCATION IN WHICH ALL STUDENTS WILL PREPARE FOR COLLEGE AND LIFE BEYOND.

THE RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

– COLOSSIANS 1:16-17

As a Christian school, we believe that each individual enters the world not knowing who God is but through a faith journey has an opportunity to mature in a relationship with Christ.

This journey includes a series of steps on a continuum starting with “growing toward” knowing who Christ is and once that point is reached, is followed by “growing in” Christ.

The timeline to move through this process is determined by the growth of the individual.

The ultimate goal for all of our students is to grow toward Christ.

HOW IS THIS ACCOMPLISHED? Students will come to understand that God is infused in everything – their academics, co-curriculars and careers.

He is not contained in a category or a timeframe.

APPROACHES TO

LEARNING

KNOWING GOD IS IN ALL THINGS, WE THEN CONSIDER HOW TO APPROACH LEARNING. EDUCATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN REFLECTIVE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD. CLASSICAL EDUCATION was created for the elite in a time when books were only available to the upper class of society.

Education was text-centered filled with rhetoric, dialogue and logic.

TRADITIONAL EDUCATION emerged when there was a need to train people to work in factories. Schools mirrored these manufacturing plants with students in rows learning from a sage teacher at the front of the class who possessed the knowledge.

Students demonstrated learning through rote memorization and competitive evaluation.

Today, there is a personalized approach of PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION. It considers how each person can contribute their unique skills where learners engage by doing. There is formative and continual assessment, and technology is leveraged to access information. Teachers are no longer the ones who hold all of the information so they must transform their role in classrooms to guide students as their apprentices to understand how to manage the information and apply it in the best use.

We know that each approach to learning has its own merits.

Students need to appreciate the text and discussions that ensue from reading literature and thoughts. We cannot abandon the need to learn basic facts and content.

Students must stay current with changing technologies and how to leverage them for the optimal use in locating the right information needed to solve the problems of tomorrow.

The intersection of these three approaches to learning is where dynamic instructional relevancy takes place.

It is where students will build the skills needed to be prepared for an unknown future; skills such as connectivity, collaboration, critical thinking, communication, creativity, character, and ability to handle change. It will be what they will pull from deep within themselves as they invent careers to solve society’s problems.

When you embed the continuum of the maturation of the Christian faith journey, you now have a transformative model in the way anyone does Christian education.

K IN G ’S RIDGE CHR ISTIAN SCH OOL PROFI L E

MAX CLASS SIZE PreK & Pre-1st Kindergarten Grades 1 - 12

PreK 12TH GRADES

14 16 20 (as goal)

Teaching assistants in all Private Elementary grade levels.

8:1

STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO

775 ENROLLED Private Elementary School Private Middle School Private High School

333 228 214

SELF-DIRECTED LEARNER Students own and are responsible for their educational process. They are no longer going to be able to sit back as an audience member. They must become engaged, leading to a deeper level of learning, knowledge application and higher level thinking.

Students must learn to think critically, communicate clearly, collaborate, connect with others globally, prepare for an unknown future with skills rather than training for just one career, be resilient, navigate through life with the ability to adapt to change because change is guaranteed. The non-cognitive skills will have an increasing level of importance for these learners.

PROFILE OF A

KRCS STUDENT

This repositions the role of the teacher to serve as a guide to ask thought provoking questions to lead students to think at deeper levels, to create learning opportunities to apply knowledge that is readily available to them and to evaluate information for relevance. They act as apprentice leaders to their students.

The developed skills applied within the context of a faith journey growing toward, and then in Christ produces a student who:

SELF-AWARE LEADER

• DEMONSTRATES AN APPRECIATION FOR EVERY TYPE OF LEARNING • IS WELL INFORMED • IS QUICK TO UNDERSTAND • IS A QUALIFIED WORKER

They will begin to understand who they are and how they are wired. They will know their passions, gifts, skillsets and talents. They will also understand their short-comings. They will accept they are who God created them to be and understand their potential to lead others through positive influence utilizing emotional intelligence and other soft skills.

• WILL SERVE AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS • CORRECTLY HANDLES THE WORD OF TRUTH Adapted from Daniel 1:4 and 2Timothy 2:14-16

They become leaders worth following who serve at the highest level in their careers, their families and their communities.

They accomplish this by growing to become a self-directed learner, a self-aware leader and a self-confident servant.

Leadership is not about a position, but about influencing others in positive ways. You can be a strong leader and not say a word.

SELF-CONFIDENT SERVANT They will begin to recognize who they are in Christ and who Christ is in them. They will serve because of the needs of others rather than their own need. They will understand that their purpose is to serve others in their careers, families and world.

2765 BETHANY BEND ALPHARETTA, GA 30004 | P:770.754.5738 | F:770.754.5544 | WWW.KINGSRIDGECS.ORG