A significant expansion currently underway at Airdrie Koinonia Christian School (AKCS) will include more than just physical changes to the facility – along with the new space, the school is launching a rebranding campaign to introduce its new name.
“We left the Koinonia Society last September, so we needed to remove Koinonia from our name,” said Shellie Wilson, manager of academic relationships with the school. “Long story short, Airdrie Christian Academy (ACA) was the name that was selected by most people.”
The athletics department will also see a rebrand to go along with the new name as the AKCS Eagles becomes the ACA Warriors. According to Wilson, the school is still waiting for an official approval for the new name, but she said the school is excited to introduce its new identity to the community – along with brand-new facilities.
“When our school was built in 2016, we weren’t able to fully complete the building,” she said, noting ACA’s 33-year history in Airdrie began when the school was operating out of portables off Yankee Valley Boulevard. “But we need it right now, because we were pretty much maxed out at 250 students.”
The project will double that capacity, Wilson said, allowing the school to accommodate up to 500 students while providing new opportunities for rental space for community use. The expansion adds around 25,000 feet of space to the school, and includes completing the facility’s chapel – complete with an industrial kitchen which will double as a home economics room – and creating a large learning commons area.
A main benefit of the new design, according to Wilson, is having the space to separate the different age groups within the school, which accepts students from pre-school up to Grade 12. Students will be grouped by grade into specific wings of the school, with older students on separate levels.
“That’s something that is especially important when you’ve got really, really little kids mixing in with bigger ones,” Wilson said. “We wanted to make sure they all have that separate space.”
Though she was unable to provide details on the cost associated with the project, Wilson said some funding has been secured through corporate sponsorships. Each room offers the opportunity for sponsorship, she said, and contributors will be recognized with a plaque posted outside of the classroom – giving local businesses the chance to advertise their generosity whenever the space is rented out.
“Also, because we are a private school and we are tuition-based, it’s really our families that are paying for our school and helping make up the rest of that cost,” she said.
While she said the expansion completes the original building plans for the school, one of the benefits of moving into the facility before it was fully developed was the ability to alter the design based on needs determined throughout the last couple of years.
“The changes we’ve made are that we have put more of a focus on the space we’re building to be usable space by other people, as well, and make it more community-friendly,” she said. “A lot has changed, but our values and mission haven’t changed – our solid, faith-based teaching hasn’t changed – but we want to get that focus on community and bringing people together and providing other activities.”
Most of the work will be completed by the time the new school year begins this fall, Wilson added, with a grand opening celebration scheduled for Sept. 3.
