Ebenezer United Church of Christ in Burlington is launching a new private Christian school that will open for students in kindergarten through third grade on August 26.
This marks the second new private Christian school that has recently announced plans to open in Burlington for the 2024-25 school year. (Grace Chapel in Burlington has announced it will open a new K-12 private Christian school next month. See story in last week’s edition: https://alamancenews.com/new-private-christian-school-in-burlington-planning-to-open-for-2024-25-school-year/)
The new private Christian school, Excel Christian Academy Day School, will be located next door to Ebenezer United Church of Christ, in the church’s “Echo building” at 734 Apple Street in Burlington, Rev. Dr. Larry Covington, the longtime pastor of Ebenezer UCC, explained Tuesday in an interview with The Alamance News.
“Our goal is to provide a quality education in a Christian environment,” Covington said Tuesday. “This is our chance to at least see if we can get on first base.”
“When we first constructed the Echo building in 2002, it was for a school,” the pastor explained in the interview. Covington, who has led Ebenezer UCC since 1995, said he will also serve as the headmaster for the new private Christian school, Excel Christian Academy Day School.
Ebenezer UCC has received approval from the state Division of Non-Public Education to open Excel Christian Academy Day School for the 2024-25 fiscal year and that students will be eligible for Opportunity Scholarships to help offset the costs for tuition, Covington confirmed for the newspaper.
The Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE) operates under the umbrella of the state Department of Administration and is responsible for overseeing and monitoring private schools in North Carolina.
Tuition rates for the upcoming 2024-25 school year will vary based on grade levels and number of students per household who enroll, based on information that Excel Christian Academy Day School provided for the newspaper this week.
Excel Christian Academy Day School will offer substantial discounts to families who enroll multiple children.
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As an example, for kindergarten students, tuition at Excel Christian Academy Day School will be $6,800 per year for one student; $6,500 per year for a second student from the same household; and $2,500 per year for each additional kindergarten student from the same household.
For first through third grade students, tuition will be: $7,400 per year for a single student; $6,900 for a second elementary school student from the same household; and $3,000 for each additional elementary school student from the same household.
“We had a school for two years and then closed it, so this is a re-launching of a vision I had,” Covington explained. “We wanted to start a school – although I’m definitely an advocate [for public schools], so I don’t see it as in competition with any other private or public schools. In fact, we are the only recipient in Alamance County for the 21st Century grant [which is a grant administered by the state Department of Public Instruction to provide] afterschool care for Title I schools.”
Traditional public schools that are identified by the U.S. Department of Public Education as “Title I schools” typically have high proportions of students whose families’ incomes are at or below the federal poverty level. Title I schools receive additional funding to provide targeted academic assistance for their students. “[We receive] a grant for afterschool care, where we can hire credentialed teachers and provide afterschool educational care for students in Title I schools,” Covington explained.
Ebenezer UCC has received the 21st Century grant, totaling approximately $475,000 per year, through DPI for the past six years to provide afterschool tutoring and care for students in four Alamance-Burlington elementary schools that are designated as Title I schools: Eastlawn, Grove Park, Hillcrest and Newlin, Covington said.
“My point is,” the pastor explained, “we are an ally of public education, and that will not stop.”
Meanwhile, Excel Christian Academy Day School has hired Dr. Vanessa Diggs to serve as its principal, Covington confirmed for the newspaper.
A veteran educator, Diggs has also worked in ABSS and for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro city school system, according to a news release that the city of Burlington had issued when she was hired by the city of Burlington in 2019 to serve as the city’s first-ever Youth Services Coordinator.
Diggs holds a doctorate in Educational Management from Hampton University; a Master’s in Special Education from the University of Maryland, College Park; a bachelor’s degree in Special Education from Winston-Salem State University; and certification in School Administration from N.C. Central University. Diggs retired from Chapel Hill-Carrboro city schools at the end of May 2019.
While Excel Christian Academy intends to limit enrollment for its first year of operation to students in kindergarten through third grade, Covington said Tuesday that additional grades will be added with each subsequent year of operation. The new private Christian school will have seating capacity for a total of approximately 10 to 30 students in kindergarten through third grade during the first school year, he said.
In light of its plans to start off small, Excel has hired one teacher for the 2024-25 school year, Covington said, adding that additional teachers will be hired as enrollment grows in order to keep teacher/student ratios at one teacher for every 10 students.
Excel describes its mission as empowering “a diverse community, bound together by our faith in Christ, to strive for excellence in education…and fostering a lifelong love for learning, nurturing leadership skills, and instilling a spirit of service.”
Excel Christian Academy Day School will require parents or guardians to provide a birth certificate or alternative documentation, and verification of immunizations required under state law for school admission.
However, there are no additional criteria for prospective students to be considered for enrollment, based on application materials and other information that Excel provided to the newspaper this week. For more information, visit: https://www.excelchristianacademydayschool.com/
