A retired, former pastor of The Lamb’s Chapel, Brian Biggers, has launched a new church in Burlington, Grace Chapel, that’s planning to open a private Christian school for the upcoming 2024-25 school year.
Currently known as Freedom Christian Academy, the school’s founders have said that they would begin accepting applications for enrollment on July 3.
Biggers previously retired as pastor of The Lamb’s Chapel and, in the fall of 2023, founded Grace Chapel, which is currently holding Sunday church services at the Alliance convention center, a 30,000-square foot events venue, on Turrentine Street in Burlington.
Meanwhile, Freedom Christian Academy has reportedly hired several staff who had been employed with the private Christian school, Grace Christian Academy, founded in 2018 by The Lamb’s Chapel.
Staff bios for several new leaders at Freedom Christian Academy – who were longtime staff at Grace Christian Academy – have been posted in the last week on the Facebook page for Grace Chapel, Biggers’ new church.
Most notably, Freedom Christian Academy has hired as its head of school Kevin Bowman, who had served as principal at Grace Christian Academy since its founding and resigned after the 2023-24 school year ended (see related story, this edition).
Also joining the staff of Freedom Christian Academy, as dean of students, is Tim Britt, a retired chief deputy for the Alamance County sheriff’s office and a former member of the staff at Grace Christian Academy. In his staff bio posted on Grace Chapel’s Facebook page, Britt recalls, “In 2019 I went to work for Pastor Biggers at the Lambs Chapel in the care ministry. This evolved into a full time position at Grace Christian Academy, where I provided for the safety and well being of students and staff.”
Freedom Christian Academy has hired Jennifer Livers to serve as the principal for the new private school. Her online resume lists her previous employment as a teacher with the Alamance-Burlington school system.
Several other former teachers and administrative staff from Grace Christian Academy have taken new positions at Freedom Christian Academy. They include: Bayleigh Fenton, a former teacher at Grace Christian Academy, who will serve as an online instruction administrator for grades six through 12 at Freedom Christian Academy; Joani Bowman; Kimberly Moore; Tonya Qualls; and Ivy Lewis, based on former and current staff directories for the two private schools.
See Public Asks question regarding Grace Christian Academy: https://alamancenews.com/are-private-school-teachers-being-fired-or-let-go-for-attending-other-churches/
For its first year of operation, Freedom Christian Academy plans to offer in-person instruction exclusively to students in pre-kindergarten through grade five, at a location that that the school’s founders have yet to confirm.
However, a message posted last week on the Facebook page for Grace Chapel indicated that Freedom Christian Academy is planning to open in a space in a strip shopping center off N.C. Highway 62, located at 2401 Eric Lane, Burlington, across from the former JR Cigar Outlet and near the current location for Colfax Furniture outlet.
Freedom Christian academy will offer online-only instruction for students in grades six through 12 during its first year of operation, according to the new private school’s website.
Tuition rates for the upcoming 2024-25 school year will vary, based on grade levels. The school’s website lists the following tuition rates: Preschool for children ages three and four, $7,000; kindergarten through grade five, $8,000; and grades six through 12, $4,500.
Opportunity Scholarships, a state-funded subsidy intended to offset the costs of private school tuition and expand school choice for students in grades K-12, likely will not be available to students at Freedom Christian Academy during the upcoming 2024-25 school year, as funds already awarded are nontransferable, according to the school’s website.
Freedom Christian Academy also has several criteria for prospective new students and their families. “Freedom Christian Academy is a covenant school,” its website states. “This means that at least one parent in the household must be a professing Christian. FCA will educate students at school through the lens of a biblical worldview, and expects that education continues at home in the same way.”
To be considered for enrollment, students also must come from families that “actively” attend a Christian church; parents must agree with the church’s and Freedom Christian Academy’s statement of faith and sign a “parent contract”; and students in grades six through 12 also will be required to sign a “student contract.”
Neither Freedom Christian Academy nor Grace Chapel had responded to multiple requests for additional details from The Alamance News by press time Wednesday night.
The state Department of Administration’s Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE) has not received a required notice of intent to open a private school under the name of Freedom Christian Academy, according to Aldesha Gore, assistant director of communications for the state Department of Administration. The Division of Non-Public Education oversees and monitors private schools in North Carolina.
DNPE also does not have record of receiving a notice of intent from anyone under the names of Kevin Bowman or Brian Biggers, Gore confirmed for the newspaper late Wednesday.
“It is worth noting that this is based on our records as of today,” Gore added. “It is possible they just have not submitted their notice of intent yet.”
The 2024-25 academic calendar for Freedom Christian Academy lists the first day of school as Monday, August 26.
