Building Updates

Dear Isaac Newton Christian Academy Community,

We are excited to share important news about the future of our school! As many of you know, we are experiencing significant growth, and we are grateful for your trust in us to provide quality Christian education.
After careful consideration and planning, we are moving forward with a strategic approach to enhance our school facilities. Our focus is twofold:

1. Improving Our Current Learning Environment: Our immediate priority is to upgrade our facilities for our current students and families, ensuring an excellent learning environment that reflects our commitment to academic excellence and Christlike character.

2. Preparing for Future Growth: While addressing our current needs, we're also thoughtfully planning for continued growth to welcome more families into our school community.

A critical factor driving our expansion plans is the current structure of our student body. We have two sections of classes in grades K - 5th and 7th, but only one section in 6th and 8th – 12th grades. As our students progress through the school, we face an urgent need for additional classrooms. Without expansion, we will not have enough classrooms to accommodate our current students as they move up through the grades. This situation underscores the immediate necessity of our expansion efforts to ensure we can continue providing quality education to all our enrolled students, as well as accommodate new families.

Key aspects of our path forward include:

1. Facility Enhancements and Strategic Growth Plan: We plan to update and expand our current buildings which will include the following improvements:

    ● Reinstating a larger dedicated lunchroom
    ● Creating additional classrooms
    ● Incorporating new office spaces

These enhancements will provide a proper dining area, accommodate our growing student body, and improve administrative efficiency. These changes will foster community, free up much-needed classroom space, and create an even more vibrant learning environment for our students.

2. Phased Building Approach: We are adopting a strategic, phased approach to our expansion:

    ● Phase 1: We are developing preliminary plans for a new building that will accommodate our current enrolled students as they progress through the school and allow for some additional growth. These plans are being carefully refined to ensure the project's scope aligns with our expected fundraising potential and financial stewardship goals and meets the needs of our school to provide academic excellence.

    ● Phase 2: As we responsibly manage and fundraise for the initial expansion, we will continue exploring both on-site and off-site locations for potential future growth to meet long-term needs.

3. Community Involvement: We deeply value the perspectives and insights of the school community, including our LCEA members. Your collective wisdom and experience are invaluable as we move forward with our expansion plans. We are actively planning to incorporate additional methods of feedback to ensure we can effectively integrate your insights into our strategic plan. We are committed to making decisions that reflect our shared mission and vision for Christian education in Cedar Rapids. As we progress, we will continue to keep you informed about our expansion plans, the ways in which they will benefit our students and families, and how you can contribute your thoughts to this exciting process.

4. Faithful Stewardship: We remain committed to responsible financial management, ensuring that our expansion plans align with our resources and community support. By taking a measured and thoughtful approach to our financial planning, we aim to create a sustainable path forward that honors both our current resources and our vision for future growth. Our approach includes:

    ● Carefully evaluating all financial aspects of the proposed expansion
    ● Maintaining transparency about our financial planning
    ● Seeking cost-effective solutions that maximize the impact of every dollar
    ● Exploring multiple funding strategies, including potential grants, donations, and responsible financing options
    ● Ensuring that our financial decisions support our educational mission and do not compromise the 
       school's long-term financial health

We are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and are confident that with your continued support and prayers, we will achieve our goals. Our mission of "Developing Christlike Character and Academic Excellence" remains at the forefront of all our decisions.

We invite you to join us in this journey of growth and faith. Your support, whether through prayer, volunteering, or financial contributions, is crucial to our success. Together, we can ensure that Isaac Newton Christian Academy continues to provide an excellent Christian education environment for our current families while preparing to welcome more students in the future.

We will keep you updated as our plans progress. If you have any questions or would like to get involved, please don't hesitate to reach out by emailing feedback@incaonline.org
Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to our school community.

In His Service,

Linn Christian Education Association Board
 

On June 25, 2024, we sent an update stating that our offer to purchase the Garfield Elementary building from Cedar Rapids Community School District was not accepted. In addition, we promised to keep you informed on new information as it became available. While the following details may not address all the concerns and questions that our community has, we pray that it will provide you with some clarity as we move forward.

Record enrollment numbers have shown us that many in our community desire to seek a Christian education at Isaac Newton Christ Academy. As a school, it is our desire to serve as many families as possible. Therefore, the Facilities Committee has been exploring both long-term and short-term solutions that will allow us to continue the mission of Developing Christlike Character and Academic Excellence in our students.

Short-term Solution:

• This summer we have divided the existing cafeteria into two spaces that can be used as temporary learning spaces while we search for a long-term solution. This means that students will be eating their lunches in classrooms with their homeroom teacher during this transition phase.

Long-term Solutions:

• Linking the school building and The Patriot Center: The Facilities Committee is exploring potential plans to design a building that will link the existing school building and The Patriot Center. The design focus is a larger kitchen, cafeteria, and music room, with room to grow if needed. This process is ongoing, as the Facilities Committee is working with a commercial design firm to develop conceptual designs for a connection building and to seek City of Cedar Rapids’ guidance for preliminary approvals to build. These preliminary approved concepts are expected to be completed sometime this fall. Once completed, they will be shared with our Capital Campaign Committee to begin fundraising efforts. The school leadership will be seeking Linn Christian Education Association’s (LCEA) input at any point once the concepts are complete.
   
• Seeking out additional properties: Simultaneously, we’ve engaged a commercial real estate agent to identify properties that may become available while we work through on-site expansion. Our hope is to find a way to expand on-site, unless God brings the right property forward for us to grow in.
   

We are committed to following the leading of the Lord  and our mission of “Developing Christlike Character and Academic Excellence” in every student that we serve. We will continue to provide additional updates as they become available.

If you have any questions or concerns, we encourage you to forward them to feedback@incaonline.org.

The Linn Christian Education Association (LCEA), the governing board of Isaac Newton Christian Academy, attended the Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) board meeting last night, June 24th, to present an offer to purchase the Garfield Elementary school building from CRCSD. Ultimately, the offer presented by Board President, Amy McDonald, was not accepted, and the CRCSD board has decided to move forward with another buyer. We appreciate your patience and prayers as we explored this opportunity. While this may be disheartening to some, we stand firm in our belief that God always remains faithful; and His plan for Isaac Newton Christian Academy will come to pass.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”
Deuteronomy 7:9

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11

The LCEA is committed to following the leading of the Lord and will continue to explore other solutions and opportunities which will allow us to achieve our mission of “Developing Christlike Character and Academic Excellence.” We will provide the Isaac Newton Christian Academy Community with updates and any other pertinent information as it becomes available. We appreciate your prayers for wisdom as we move forward.

Thank you for your continued support.

Contact Information:
Linn Christian Education Association
Amy McDonald – President
319-362-9512
board@incaonline.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Isaac Newton Christian Academy, a leader in quality Christian education for the Cedar Rapids area, in partnership with their governing Linn Christian Education Association (LCEA) Board of Directors would like to formally announce their interest in purchasing the former Garfield Elementary School.

“Our school has been an integral part of the Cedar Rapids community for over three decades, providing quality education rooted in Christian values,” said Amy McDonald, President of LCEA. “We believe that continuing to use the Garfield building as an educational institution would not only maintain its legacy but also serve the best interests of the community. Preserving educational facilities should be a priority,” added McDonald.
LCEA representatives will attend the Cedar Rapids Community School District Board Meeting and Public Hearing on June 24 to express their interest in purchasing this property. The school encourages community members who support its efforts to make their voices heard.

The LCEA Board has awaited the former Garfield Elementary property to be listed for sale. LCEA is confident that using the building for its intended educational purpose will allow the Cedar Rapids School District to maximize the resale value with a fiscally responsible competitive bid, exceeding the current significantly undervalued sale price.
"Education is the foundation of a strong and vibrant community," said John Garbes, Vice President of LCEA. "By working together, we can ensure that this valuable asset continues to serve its intended purpose and benefit generations of students to come.”

About Isaac Newton Christian Academy
Isaac Newton Christian Academy was started in 1989 in the former Adams Elementary School. The LCEA purchased the building from the Cedar Rapids Community School Board, as it was no longer being used by the public school district. Isaac Newton began as an elementary school, and in 2016, the high school was added.

Isaac Newton Christian Academy is accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). First accredited in 2013, the school was unanimously approved by the ACSI Regional Accreditation Commission for a full 5-year renewal of accreditation again in 2019. This accreditation establishes Isaac Newton Christian Academy as an educational institution which meets the high standards necessary for quality education in an authentic Christian setting.

As the school has grown, a number of facility expansion projects have been done, most notably the expansion of the original Adams Elementary building in 2000, the addition of The Patriot Center (gymnasium) in 2015, and a significant renovation in 2017.

Linn Christian Education Association Board of Directors, Dba Isaac Newton Christian Academy