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transportation, and provided that For the better part of a year, the commit- ● Survey response data suggesting
current tuition structure and costs tee met regularly to drill deeper into the meaningful interest in the Caledonia
remained similar. above options that were suggested as site (land south of Hamilton) at levels
possible solutions to the capacity issues that could yield 70-120% capacity uti-
3. Surplus School Purchase - consid- of the school. Tasks were divided among lization at Caledonia within 1-3 years,
er the purchase of Mountain Sec- the committee members and reports were alongside other key information.
ondary School (a surplus public delivered back to the board based on
school adjacent to CCS). what we were discovering. Throughout Based on Hathway Stewart’s data, the
all this time, it was becoming increasingly committee determined a need for a sec-
4. Second Storey Addition - proceed clear that our options were being whittled ond campus, and the sooner the better.
with the plans for a second storey down to either southward development or
addition on the West 5th Heritage a partnership with the local Christian high The survey results and the summary
campus (CCS) regardless of other school. findings were shared at another town hall
choices. session and it was soon after this that the
The Compass Committee dedicated itself CCS Board of Directors recommended the
All the above were exciting options that to the exploration of available lands south critical next step of committing to a second
would require a deeper exploration of of Hamilton that could be considered campus option. The only thing to be
what would work best for our situation. It for a prospective second campus, while decided at this point was which option was
was also at this time where things took a discussions with representatives from going to best provide Christian education
significant shift, in that our head school Hamilton District Christian High began in for families in the greater Hamilton region.
administrator retired and a new principal earnest. Occurring simultaneously was
was hired: me. Suddenly I was thrust the decision to conduct a market research One exciting component of the process
into the lead role of providing direction project to make a formal determination was the opportunity to network with
and guidance in moving Calvin Christian of who lived in the greater Hamilton area leaders in other Christian schools as
School into the next stage of planning and and whether or not they were interested we considered how to share resources
development when it came to addressing in Christian education. We once again and wisdom to grow Christian education
our capacity concerns. turned to the experts: Hathway Stewart across this region. It was fascinating to
Management Consulting. A survey of fam- reach out to sister Christian schools to
At one of our first board meetings at the ilies in Hamilton and the surrounding area gauge their response to our plans, given
beginning of the 2017/18 school year, I was conducted and specifically targeted the fact that what we decided had the
suggested that perhaps it was time to ap- protestant church attending families. The potential to impact them, mainly by the
point a committee whose sole task was “to survey response data was compelling. It “competition” for students who bordered
present to the Board of Directors of Calvin revealed a number of key points, includ- our respective school communities. It was
Christian School a recommendation(s) to ing: also incredibly encouraging to receive the
respond to the School’s enrollment capac- blessing of these school organizations,
ity challenges.” From here the school’s ● High ratios of church attendance vs as there was the recognition that this was
Compass Committee was born. What I Christian school capacity within the a unique opportunity to grow Christian
appreciated about the Compass Com- greater Hamilton area suggesting education in the greater Hamilton area.
mittee was the fact that its membership continued pressure on the West 5th
consisted of parents and community mem- campus capacity moving forward. Not only were we engaging with sister
bers, members who could offer insight schools, we were also partnering with
and guidance based on their professional ● Population growth projections sug- Edvance Christian School Association, an
experiences, but also members who were gesting additional pressure on the umbrella organization of Christian schools
invested in the vision of our school. Hamilton site moving forward. in Ontario. We were thankful to the

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