The King's Academy is a National Blue Ribbon, Christian college-preparatory preschool, elementary, and secondary school located in West Palm Beach, Florida. The school serves families with students from age one to twelfth grade on campuses located in Palm Beach County. Established in 1970, it is run by an independent board of governors.
History
The King's Academy was founded by a group of Christian business leaders in August 1970 and opened on the campus of Belvedere Baptist Church in West Palm Beach, Florida. In 1971, the school purchased a 20-acre campus on Cherry Road where it remained until the 2004 school year. In August 2005, The King's Academy moved to its current 60 acre location at Belvedere Road and Sansbury's Way in Palm Beach County, Florida. In 2010, the school opened a second high school location on Caribbean Avenue in Clewiston, Florida. In 2017, this high school was sold to Clewiston Christian School.
Since 1970, four presidents have overseen the day-to-day operations of the school: Kye Harris (1970â€"74), M. Nelson Loveland (1974â€"99), Jeffrey M. Loveland (1999â€"2016), and Randal L. Martin (2016â€"present). Since the school's inception, six chairs of the board of governors have served: M. Nelson Loveland (1970â€"74), Lloyd Prouty (1974-75), Stanley F. Frederick (1975â€"87), Gene Martin (1987â€"93), David Fiebig (1993-2006), and Clyde S. Meckstroth (2006â€"present).
National awards and recognition
The King's Academy has received a number of national honors, including:
1986: The school received national recognition for excellence in education from President Ronald Reagan and U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett as one of the top 60 private schools in the country.
1988: The band performed at the White House during President Ronald Reagan's term.
1989: On January 20th, the school's band students were selected to play for President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle at their inaugural parade.
2007: Christian school researcher Dr. Gene Frost cited the school as one of the seven best Christian schools in America in his book, Learning from the Best: Growing Greatness in the Christian School.
2014: Dr. Frost reiterated the school's top seven national ranking.
2014: Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education for President Barack Obama, named the school a National Blue Ribbon School as an Exemplary High Performing School; one of 50 private schools to receive the honor.
2015: The National Football League named the school to its Super Bowl High School Honor Roll.
2016: The school's musical theater program was named one of the nation's five best by the American High School Theatre Festival, winning the award for its performance of "Jekyll & Hyde."
2016: The school's boys golf team won a national championship at the Antigua National High School Golf Invitational in Scottsdale, Arizona; defeating the Utah state champion team by 11 strokes, the Arizona champion by 15 strokes, and the Illinois winner by 25 strokes.
2017: The school's choir and dance students were selected to perform for President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at their inaugural concert.
2017: The school's competitive cheerleading team earned National Grand Champion honors, defeating all teams, at the Fellowship of Christian Cheerleaders ("FCC") National Championships in Orlando, Florida.
Academic profile
The King's Academy offers a college preparatory program for students from preschool to 12th grade. The King's Academy is fully accredited by four accrediting bodies: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, AdvancED, the Association of Christian Schools International and the Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. The school's most recent re-accreditation study was completed in 2013 and resulted in an extension of the school's accreditation through 2018.
Elementary school
The King's Academy's elementary school educates students from pre-Kindergarten to 6th grade. The school's elementary students’ average scores ranked in the top 15 percent of private schools nationally for 2013 and 2014 academic standardized testing; qualifying the school as a Blue Ribbon Elementary School according to the U.S. Department of Education. As a result, the school was named a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School. In addition to academic subjects, the School's elementary program provides instruction in art, band, cognitive development, Latin, music appreciation, physical education, Spanish, science laboratory, technology and vocal music. Optional after-school extracurricular activities are offered for athletic and fine arts development.
Athletics
The King's Academy's Lions athletics program competes in the following sports: Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Lacrosse, Swimming, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field, and Volleyball.
As a full member of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), the school fields approximately 50 boys and girls teams in 23 FHSAA-sanctioned varsity sports. In 2014, The King's Academy joined the independent Southeastern Football Conference for football only.
Team championships
In 1992, The King's Academy's baseball team defeated Tallahassee Maclay for the school's first Florida state championship, and won another state title in 2001. The King's Academy volleyball team won the Florida state title in 1993, in 1994, and again in 2006. The King's Academy competitive cheerleading team won five consecutive FHSAA state championships from 2010 to 2014.
In 2016, The King's Academy's boys' golf team won the school's first national championship at the Antigua National High School Golf Invitational in Scottsdale, Arizona. The school's competitive cheerleading team earned National Grand Champion and FHSAA Public School Champion honors at the 2017 FCC National Championships in Orlando, Florida.
In all, varsity teams competing for The King's Academy have won 112 FHSAA district championships, 35 FHSAA regional titles, 10 FHSAA state championships, and 2 national championships:
(*) National title. (**) State runner-up. (^) FCC Division championship. (^^) Southeastern Football Conference championship.
Athletic facilities
The King's Academy's football, soccer and lacrosse teams play home games on campus at Kahlert Stadium, a lighted, natural turf facility with seating for 1,500 fans. Lion and Lady Lion volleyball and basketball teams compete in the M. Nelson Loveland Athletic Center's gymnasium, which houses a game court and two practice courts and has seating for 800 spectators. The School's property also contains lighted baseball and softball fields, a track and field facility with seating for 300, six competition tennis courts and a USATF certified 5-K cross-country course. In 2015, the school built the Full-Page Aquatic Center, comprising a 25-meter competition swimming pool and pool house, for use by its swimming teams.
On-campus athletic training facilities include a field house with weight and athletic training rooms, a covered basketball and volleyball pavilion, a golf practice facility, and three prescription athletic turf practice fields (football, multi-purpose and lacrosse). In all, The King's Academy maintains 15 acres of natural turf fields for its athletic program.
Notable alumni
- Heath Evans, NFL player and NFL Network host
- Emmanuel Lamur, NFL player
- Sammuel Lamur, AFL player
- Lauren Jelencovich, singer
- Colt Morton, MLB catcher
Notable faculty
- Keith Allen, STEM faculty chair and head football coach
- Brad Wilkerson, head baseball coach
Campus
The King's Academy is located on approximately 60 acres at the northeast corner of Belvedere Road and Sansbury's Way in Palm Beach County, Florida. Most of the campus was constructed in 2005 and consists of 15 buildings (Lower Elementary, Administration, Upper Elementary, High School Administration, High School Science, High School Education, M. Nelson Loveland Athletic Center, Elementary Music, Cafeteria, Rosemary Beaumont Library, Field House, Bus Garage/Maintenance, Events Center (completed in 2012), Full-Page Aquatic Center (completed in 2015), and Page Family Center for Performing Arts (completed in 2017)) encompassing approximately 215,000 square feet.
In 2015, the school added Studio 70, a television broadcasting facility.
Remote locations
The school also operates The King's Academy Preschool at remote locations in Boynton Beach, Greenacres, Loxahatchee, Palm Beach Gardens, and Royal Palm Beach, Florida; at the Boynton Beach Community Church, Church in the Palms’ Community Center, Trinity West Church, Cross Community Church, and Connect Church of Royal Palm, respectively.
Online learning
In 2010, The King's Academy established an internet-based school for middle and high school students called The King's Academy Online. The online program offers approximately 140 courses, with advanced placement courses and dual enrollment credits from Christian institutions including Indiana Wesleyan University and Taylor University.
During the 2012-13 school year, two of The King's Academy Online's students, in 6th and 8th grades respectively, completed a 67,000 mile trip to all 50 American states and five of 10 Canadian provinces while enrolled. Their accomplishment was featured on the Today show.
Publications
The King's Academy publishes student-produced elementary (EL) and high school (HS) yearbooks (both named The Sceptre) annually, monthly student-written newspapers (Roar, formerly The Lion Ledger and The Scroll) and semi-annual magazines (The Chronicle). During the school year, the school also issues a weekly online edition of TKA E-News.
From 2014 to 2016, the school's yearbook program was named a Jostens National Yearbook Program of Excellence.
References
External links
- Official Website: The King's Academy - West Palm Beach