WE ARE THANKFUL

by Mark Koscak, Director of Development

At Providence Academy, we are thankful. There are many reasons to be thankful. This is our 30th anniversary, and we are thankful for 30 years of ministry. We are blessed to live in beautiful East Tennessee, and we are blessed to live among a people who are generous, faithful, and free! As I share a list of things that we at Providence Academy are thankful for, I am going to focus mostly on the last five to six years.

Enrollment

We are thankful for increasing enrollment. This fall we are expecting close to 850 students. This is about double what we had five years ago. We now have three tiers of classes from pre-K to 12.

Classroom Space

Doubling your student body means you need a lot more classroom space. We are thankful for 21 new classrooms, a second gymnasium, a weight room, and more locker rooms. We opened this 37,000-square-foot addition at the beginning of the school year, and we were able to build it for $270 a square foot! We are excited to share that we secured the $10 Million in gifts and pledges needed to fund this addition by the time we cut the ribbon on the new building.

Need-Based Scholarship

We are thankful for a community that supports need-based scholarship. At Providence Academy, 25% of our students are only able to attend through the support we raise. This year our goal is to raise $622,000 for families in need for next school year. Need-based support has been a priority at Providence Academy since day one. Through the generous community that we have here, the Lord has provided over $2.25 Million in funding in just the last five years.

Athletics

Over the last five years, we have added a football field, a softball field, and lights to the baseball field. These improvements have allowed us to add a girls softball team and a boys jv football team. We also added a wrestling program, a tennis program, a swim team, a track team, and a mountain biking club. We have a lot to be thankful for at Providence Academy!

Fine Arts

Our Fine Arts program is flourishing! Over the last five years, we have implemented a K-12 orchestra program that features performing groups in elementary, middle, and high school levels. We have added a drum line, an elementary drama program, and a middle school drama program, and we have grown our high school drama program to include both a drama and a musical each year. We are thankful for the growth of our fine arts program, and we dream of building a fine arts center on our campus.

Academics

Our seniors averaged a 26.2 on their ACT test scores last year as compared to a state average of 18.4. That's a 43% increase over the state average, and it doesn't just happen to be a good year. That ACT score is in the range of what we have consistently scored since our first senior class 21 years ago. 100% of our students receiving need-based scholarship are meeting or exceeding 3rd grade standards for ELA (English-Language-Arts which includes reading) and Math.

Alumni

Now that Providence is in its 30th year, there are numerous alumni, doing numerous things, in many different places. See pages 14-25 for more than 70 alumni updates! We are thankful for our alumni!

There are so many reasons to be thankful. We couldn't have done this without the generous community that we call home. This mission that we call Providence Academy hasn't cost the taxpayers a dime! But, most of all, we have a lot to be thankful for because we have a faithful Provider and Guide.