Kornerstone School, Incorporated is a 501(c)3 public tuition-free school serving grades 8-12 in the Kimberly Area School District.
How Kornerstone Started
After trying several innovations in CORE Charter School, Lead Teacher Michael McCabe proposed the possibility of a new unique charter school in the Kimberly Area School District. On May 15, 2009, Michael McCabe pitched the following idea to KHS principal Mike Rietveld:
- A probject based-learning school with a maximum capacity of 75 students
- A new stand alone school to serve students in grades 8 - 12
- A Community Mentorship Program to get student's involved into a specific work field
- Infuse technology into a small school in a way which is very difficult in a large school
- Establishing long-term relationships between students and staff
Mr. Rietveld gave his consent to proceed with the project. A planning team of KHS staff was formed. The planning team included Tom Krause, Brad Klitzke, Phil Yunk, Mike Rietveld, Katie Heling, and Marcia Van Hout.
A social network was formed to inform people about the new charter school and gain feedback. In November of 2009, the Kimberly Area School District's Board of Education was informed about Kornerstone School. The board provided informal consent to proceed with the venture. A community forum was held to inform the constituents of KASD and gather feedback. Several people in attendance strongly favored the year-round school model that was presented. One issue brought to the attention of the planning team was aligning the school day with the circadian rhythms of adolescents.
In March of 2010, the KASD Board of Education authorized the submission of the Kornerstone School planning grant to DPI. In August of 2010, Kornerstone School was awarded the first of three $175,000 grants from DPI.
There is a backstory to Kornerstone. The Kimberly Area School District places a high emphasis on professional development. While Michael McCabe was attending conferences and getting trained as a new teacher in CORE Charter School, he kept hearing about Project Based-Learning, Service-Learning, benefits to year round school, benefits to school starting late, and relationships. The conferences and monthly in-services left an indelible mark on Michael McCabe and sparked Kornerstone.
Kornerstone is built on relationships. Students know other students in a different way than they would in a high school with 1500 students. Students and staff are able to connect and push towards the next level of achievement in a steady, consistent way.