Cornerstone Christian Academy

Hahaha, oh Cornerstone! As a former student at Cornerstone Christian School, a student that attended for 10 years, I can say that my first 7 years at this school were great. The elementary school gives a warm, wholesome feeling that gives you a true look at what Jesus is all about-​LOVE! Everyone is treated with respect and I believe the kids are given just enough shelter and discipline. However, the day we began middle school, everything had changed. I would come home everyday, throughout middle school, crying about how the kids have suddenly became so mean and disrespectful. Now, even when I confronted the teachers about it, what did they do? Oh, they told me to pray about it. Now, I am a strong believer in prayer, it is very powerful, but often why should we pray when we ourselves can make a solution? I had been a student there for 10 years! With my sister and I, my mother paid nearly $ 100,000 to this school! And that’s their response to me being bullied for being overweight and different? Now, don’t even get me started on how unprofessional their staff is. When a student got in trouble, the principal LOCKED THEM IN A CLOSET. SHE LOCKED THEM IN A CLOSET. (Now I should mention this principal is gone now) Do they not realize how pathetic that is?! How unprofessional that is?! That’s child abuse! During my time in Middle School, my home life was somewhat difficult. In 7^th grade, my dad had died. I received zero compassion from the staff. It was the end of the year, I took about 3 days off from school, I came back and everyone was signing yearbooks and then my friend saw me and she immediately hugged me, we had been friends since our first memories, a staff member pulls me aside and has the audacity to tell me that it is inappropriate to hug someone of the opposite gender. Are you kidding me? Not even the slightest bit of compassion? I basically ignored her ignorant statement and asked if I could have my yearbook, which had been pre-​paid, she then told me that we had owed the school $ 300 because my mom did not volunteer during the year and that no, I could not have my yearbook until she paid up. I’m sorry that my mom actually works and doesn’t support the gender rolls that Cornerstone tries to enforce! As I said before, my Mom had paid $ 100,000 dollars to this sad excuse of a school! She CAN afford another $ 300! My mom SCREAMED at the receptionist for even having asked us of such a thing at this time. The receptionist then was forced to give us an apology. Throughout this entire ordeal, we had yet been told a simple «We’re sorry for your loss.» Oh, what else did the teachers do? Well, the English teacher used bigoted language for one, which one? The «N» word. And not in a educational way! There happened to be a scene in a book where two African American men got into an argument, and she said «Well you know how those ‘N’ like to fight.» She then went on a full on rant, and approached the only African American student in the school and asked him «How does it feel to be the only black kid at this school?» Now, this same teacher also had a two day lecture on Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey and how evil they are for spreading their «Liberal Agenda» to the world, which in a way I found entertaining because Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey are far better at expressing love and acceptance than this «school» she did this instead of actually doing her job and teaching English. She is completely unprofessional and should be fired. While the other teachers are not as abusive and crude as this one, they still aren’t comparable to the compassion I have witnessed in the Evergreen Public Schools, who truly enforce their «Zero Tolerance for Bullying» policy. The funny thing is, Cornerstone has this policy, but how could you have this policy when the staff themselves don’t even follow it? Also, Cornerstone RAVES about how advanced in education they are, when I came to Heritage they were far more advanced in every category than Cornerstone even attempted to be. Well maybe if they’d stop locking students in closets and screaming at them about how horrible Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey are then maybe I’d know how to write a DBQ. When I came to Heritage, I had much more accepting peers and far more classes and clubs to choose from. When I discussed Cornerstone with my new friends at Heritage, they were horrified. They had all had such great experiences at Frontier that I was actually angry that I didn’t attend. But hey, I went to Cornerstone, and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. However, if you get anything out of this review, it’s that you should pull your kid out as soon as they hit 6^th grade, my therapist would agree! Do yourself a favor, and save your $ 15,000 for something your child will actually enjoy.

I am a parent who has had two students attend Cornerstone from kindergarten through eighth grade and have one currently in his last year. I cannot say enough great things about this school! I’ll begin by saying the teachers and support staff of whom many are also parents, are phenomenal. The standard of excellence is unsurpassed not only by the caliber of teaching but the untiring dedication and attention given to our students. Along with the state of the art classroom technology our students are immersed in an atmosphere where learning is not only fun and interactive but far advanced among private schools.
My eldest son is now a sophomore in high school and when complimented by his Honors English teacher concerning his writing skills, he told her that he was very well prepared by his teachers at Cornerstone, just more confirmation we made the right choice in sending our kids here!
I can’t talk about Cornerstone without mentioning the administration. The team of administrators at Cornerstone, especially in the last few years has brought to the Elementary and Middle School vision and leadership that is unparalleled. New programs and activities implemented at the middle school in the last couple of years, such as Champions of Character and the Lifesaver awards have had a profound impact on our students both spiritually and academically.
I am so thankful the Lord has given my kids the opportunity to go to school here and created a foundation that will last a lifetime.

I have found the principle of Cornerstone Christian Academy (middle school), to be lacking any conscience or Christian values. In the middle of a custody battle, I took the high road and said nothing, while my ex and his new wife slandered me to the school, of which my daughter was a new student. The school subsequently went out of the way to alienate me by deliberately not adding me to the school email, providing false documentation to my ex for court regarding attendance, aiding in covering up my daughter’s participation in extra curricular activities so that I could not support my daughter and attend. When I questioned the principle, in person, regarding the lack of correspondence from the school, including no response from multiple offers to volunteer, and yes, I filed out the background check on it 8 months ago, the principle looked at me like she was completely baffled by the situation. She LIED and said «We don’t really send out anything.» Then she handed me a post-​it note, said to write down my email address and quickly excused herself. I never got anything. I called back two weeks later. Some woman I did not know, who apparently «job shares» answered the phone. I explained that I was concerned that I still hadn’t received any correspondence from the school. That woman promptly looked into the matter and said «I have no idea why you have not been added, but you should get emails now.» Low and behold, I got a newsletter the very next week, and the week after that, and guess what? I got an email the next week too! Thank you, Mrs Principle, for lying to my face, so I know, without any doubt, that you are a terrible Christian. I hope you read this review and it prompts you to think about the lack of values that you demonstrated. You judged me without even knowing me. You defied family values by attempting to alienate me from my daughter. You broke the law by providing false documentation that was easily disproved with the school’s inline calendar. Shame on you!
As for the education, my daughter was «Band Student of the Year» a couple years ago when she attended Evergreen Public Schools. The public school had an amazing music program. FYI: playing an instrument has been linked to higher test scores. Anyhow, Cornerstone Christian has a pathetically weak program because they simply don’t have the funding to hire the very best teachers, like public school (it’s a numbers game), and there are so few student that all grades play together. You have new students learning to play for the first time with experienced musicians, and the whole band sounds terrible as a result. After one year, my daughter quit the band. Sports are adequate. The good news is, everyone gets to participate regardless of skill level.
I have gone to Cornerstone around lunch time on a few occasions. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by Evergreen Public Schools, but the kids were outside playing in the parking lot, even in the rain. There was some cones set up as a perimeter, but the children were all over the place. There did not appear to be anyone watching them, on any occasion, unless you count the office lady possibly glancing out her window??? This last time I was there, it started raining. Even as I was in the school, the rain got worse, yet nobody called the kids inside. It sounds fun, but how are the kids going to study and learn for the remaining three hours while their soaking wet clothes and hair cause them to be chilly and cold.
This last thing is a personal opinion. You may very well agree with the school on this one. In that very first newsletter I received, I learned that the 8^th grade girls were going to make the boys lunch. It was apparently a big deal. The boys reciprocated by making Valentines for the girls, as if the girls weren’t going to make Valentines for the boys as well. I know I spent a good chunk of the weekend making cards with my daughter. Anyways, somehow this was teaching the boys chivalry. Yuck! As the mother of three daughters, I am disgusted! My daughters don’t need to be valued for their ability to cook! How about the boys make the girls lunch, or even better, why don’t they teach the kids to work together to prepare a meal??? If all my daughter is good for is cooking, she doesn’t need a private education. I’m so thankful my daughter is graduating this June and we can be done with this horrible school.

My kiddos love their teachers. Patty is amazing in the toddler class. My son still talks about her even though she is no longer his teacher. We love Cornerstone