Sylvan Lake’s Lighthouse Christian Academy receives $4 million for new school

The facility, Krause said, will be built near the Jarvis Bay campground on a 20-acre site in the Birchcliff area.

“I’m told it’s a 10-month build from when the builder says yes to build it. We are hoping to still be in for September of next year, but I don’t get to decide that,” he said, adding that Eagle Builders LP will build the new facility.

He added the academy was selected for the funding after applying for the Government of Alberta’s School Construction Accelerator Program.

Currently, the Academy, which opened in 1989, is home to approximately 140 students. They also have approximately 560 students who are homeschooled.

The project, Krause said, has a budget of $12.5 million, so with the $4 million supplied by the province, the rest will be raised by the academy.

To date, they’ve raised almost $4 million.

“We hope to walk through the doors debt-free, so that’s the goal. From when they start building to opening, there’s that window of time to continue to ask people if they’d like to support us or if we need to do financing,” he said.

Krause said for years they’ve been at over capacity. When it was built, it was designed as a church with a space for Sunday school.

In a room that should hold five to 10 kids, they were fitting 15 to make it work. They serve not only students in Sylvan Lake but many who travel from outside of town.

“We’re constantly moving out bookshelves to squeeze another desk in and make it happen,” he said, adding that multiple grades are often in the same classroom.

When the new facility opens, they hope to have 24 students in each classroom. That way, they can fulfill each student’s needs.

“Personally, [we’ve been waiting for this for] 26 years,” he said. “About 2000 was when I started to realize there could be more… In the year 2000, it started to grow exponentially.”

The announcement came as the province announced they were investing $25.8 million in six independent school projects that will create more than 3,500 new classroom spaces across the province.

Some of the projects include new schools, school expansions and modular classrooms in Calgary, Edmonton and central Alberta.

Some of the other projects approved include nearly $8 million for Bearspaw Christian School in Calgary, over $666,000 for the expansion of the Third Academy in Calgary, $3.3 million for the Khalsa School Calgary expansion, and $10 million to build a new Edmonton Islamic School.

MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake and Alberta Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, Devin Dreeshen, was on hand to present the cheque to the Academy.

Dreeshen said the Academy has done great work in being able to offer not just regular classes but specialized supports for children that need extra help.

He said it’s an exciting announcement for the town and the families involved. Dreeshen added that their track record played a major factor in why they were chosen by the government for funding.

“When you looked at this application over others, there’s the existing facility that’s done amazing work. [They have] a tremendous amount of student supports, as well as being just a great community partner,” Dreeshen said.

“As a local MLA, I’m happy to see the investment into a really great success story in our education system in Alberta.”

by Ian Gustafson

Sylvan Lake’s Lighthouse Christian Academy receives $4 million for new school

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