Capstone Classical Academy begins construction of main campus

FARGO — The area’s newest Christian school has taken another step closer to fulfilling its goal of becoming a pre-K through 12th grade school in beginning construction of its main campus.

Hoping that the first phase of the 90,000-square-foot construction project will be completed before the fall of 2024, Capstone Classical Academy has raised $40 million of a $50 million campaign goal for the first phase, said Paul Fisher, headmaster.

Originally, the

goal was to complete the project’s first phase

at 43rd Street South and 64th Avenue South in the fall of 2025, but enrollment, funding and demand have expedited the process, Fisher said.

“Our first phase includes a fully functional campus. Completion could run as late as winter, but we expect to move into the main educational building for the 2024-2025 school year,” he said.

The new school will be complete with classrooms, a gymnasium, an art studio, a science laboratory, a chapel and more, Fisher said.

The second phase, which will feature varsity sports and arts complexes, is penciled in for completion sometime in 2029, Fisher said.

Enrollment is up 50% from last school year, the school reported, with 175 students to begin pre-K through eighth grade classes on Aug. 24 at the school’s temporary campuses on 25th Street South.

Shortly before the first day of school last year, Capstone reported they had

enrolled 114 students

in pre-K through sixth grade.

Each year, the academy plans to add a grade to its roster, ending with 12th grade before 2030. The goal by that time is to have at least 560 students enrolled in pre-K-12 classes.

“Enrollment is right where we planned. We have a six-year strategic plan, and enrollment is exactly where we want it to be,” Fisher said. “It’s a very controlled model. We don’t want to be growing ahead of our capacity.”

Capstone is the first private Christian Hillsdale College K-12 member school in the nation, Fisher said, adding that Hillsdale College has partnered with charter schools, but not with private schools before.

“We are the first in a batch of Christian private schools seeking to partner with Hillsdale,” Fisher said.

Hillsdale College is a private college of 1,400 students in southern Michigan that describes itself as a conservative liberal arts “nonsectarian Christian” school. Justice Clarence Thomas likened Hillsdale to a “shining city on a hill” for its devotion to “liberty as an antecedent of government, not a benefit from government,” according to The

New York Times.

Fisher attributed the school’s success and growth to a veteran board of trustees, dedicated faculty and administration, the community, and Hillsdale College curriculum and support.

“Normally, when a school launches, there is a really slow start. But all of this was launched from day one,” Fisher said.

The coronavirus pandemic was also an eye-opening experience for many families that prompted some to look for additional educational opportunities, he said.

“People are hungry for educational choice. We’re seeing a rapid growth of Christian schools around the country that was driven by the pandemic,” Fisher said. “Families were seeing what was going on in the classrooms from home, and the pandemic launched a period of growth of private schools.”

Some struggling private schools shut down during the pandemic, but others thrived, he said.

“Capstone came along on the heels of that, and the model is captivating. People are interested in something new, and the retention rate is so high — just the word of mouth has been positive because of that,” Fisher said.

He described the school as Christian but also

“rooted in ancient Greek educational philosophy,”

adding that with tuition assistance programs, he wants families from any social status to feel welcomed at the school.

The school’s mission statement states that the institution “engages students to acquire wisdom, cultivate virtue, and pursue rigorous academic study within a Christian worldview. Our students will study what is good, what is true, and what is beautiful for the purpose of glorifying God and benefiting their community.”

On Aug. 30, the Capstone Board of Trustees will host a reception and benefit dinner open to the public by ticket at the Delta Hotel in Fargo. The event will feature an address by Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn, with a question and answer session to follow.