27-03-2025
Ground broken for Christian school's new elementary facility
princeton — Students eagerly accepted shovels and broke ground Wednesday on a new elementary school which will stand next door to a Christian middle school and high school that opened its doors last year.
In the fall of 2024, Johnson Chapel Baptist Church started the Summit Christian Academy, a new middle school and high school along Halls Ridge Road which replaced the former Mercer Christian Academy. A crowd gathered Wednesday morning for the groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of the academy's new elementary school.
Kathy Hawks, the academy's administrator and principal, welcomed guests to Summit Elementary School's groundbreaking. Future students joined the Mercer County Commission and other dignitaries in breaking ground for their future classrooms.
'We are so grateful for your presence and support,' Hawks said. 'This project is an investment in our community, and we believe it will bring numerous benefits to the families of southern West Virginia. This building represents more than breaks and mortar. It signifies the opportunity to educate children in a Christ-honoring environment where academic excellence is paramount. It denotes a choice; a choice parents have as they consider educational opportunities for their children. It symbolizes hope, hope for future generations of students.'
Summit Christian Academy enrollment numbers have been increasing, Hawks said.
'At the end of Aprll, at open house we had 79 students enrolled for this current year,' she said. 'However, by the time school started in August 2024, we had 119. The numbers continued to increase to our present 142 students with 94 additional students who have submitted applications to start Summit fall 2025. With enrollment still open, it is expected that applications will continue to be accepted, putting projected admission well above 200.'
Hawks said the elementary school project became a reality with help from the Hope Scholarship and the efforts of Johnston Chapel Baptist Church's members and leadership, its board of directors, area businesses and individuals in the community.
'It is a testament to the power of prayer, hard work and a dedicated team,' Hawks said. 'But mostly, it is witness to a loving God who can do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we ask and think. And it is to Him we dedicate this school.'
Creating the new elementary school has been a challenge, but now the plan is coming to fruition, said Bill W. Harvey, chairman of the academy's board of directors.
'We're just humbled and overwhelmed to have the Lord bless this,' Harvey said. 'It has been stressful, short timeline to get it done but we think we have seen literally miracles to affirm what we're doing here to create an institution to impart knowledge to young minds. And I can assure you that is through an unwavering commitment to education excellence in all subjects – math, language, the arts, world history, American history, civics.'
State Treasurer Larry Pack said he was serving in the Legislature when the Hope Scholarship was created in 2021, adding that he was glad to see the school and church's commitment to investing in the future of children.
'The tuition of the Hope Scholarship, it really helps a lot. It helps pays the operating expenses, but it doesn't help pay for the building, so thank you so much to everybody at the church and the school that's allowed that and has been able to do that,' Pack said.
The fact West Virginia has the Hope Scholarship gives the state's parents more options for their children, he said.
'So many people in West Virginia do not have the financial resources to even consider an option for some other different path, an educational path, for their children and this is what it's all about,' Pack said. 'So now we're able to return some of your money back to you and you're able to make the decision that you think is best for your children.'
Contact Greg Jordan at
gjordan@
