Christian Liberty Academy
Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox school Christian Liberty Academy (CLA) is a private Christian school serving about 500 students, located in Arlington Heights, Cook County, Illinois. The school serves families who live in 69 surrounding cities. CLA has grades preschool through twelfth grade and was founded in 1968 under the auspices of the Church of Christian Liberty. The church provides oversight for the school as one of its ministries, though students and parents are not required to be members or attend the church.
Overview
CLA is accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International and the National Association of Private Schools.<ref name="ACSI"/><ref name="NAPS"/> By choice, it is not a state accredited school, but despite this, it is a member of the Illinois High School Association.<ref name="FAQ's">"Is Christian Liberty Academy an Accredited School?" - FAQ's. Christian Liberty Academy. Retrieved April 28, 2015.</ref>
History
Christian Liberty Academy was founded in 1968 in the basement of Prospect Heights, Illinois' Church of Christian Liberty.<ref name="History">"History". Christian Liberty Academy. Retrieved June 18, 2021.</ref> Its first year, about 60 children attended.<ref name="History"/> According to the school's official website, the school was founded "as the result of the dissatisfaction of the church with government education and the desire for Christian education."<ref name="History"/> The original headmaster was Paul Lindstrom.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Jasper1987"/>
At first, only classes for kindergarten through ninth grade were provided. However, within three years, the school also opened to high school-age students.<ref name="History"/> The school quickly became too large for its location; in 1985, the school was moved to the former location of Arlington High School.<ref name="History"/>
A satellite school was established in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin in 1970.<ref name="Janka">Janka, Rick (March 16, 1977) - "Pupils Toe The Line at Liberty Academy". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 25, 2015.</ref> The first headmaster was John H. Vouga.<ref name="Janka"/> The school moved to larger quarters in Brookfield, Wisconsin in the fall of 1972.<ref name="Janka"/> It ceased operations in 1989.Template:Citation needed
In the 1970s, CLA established Christian Liberty Academy Satellite Schools (CLASS), a homeschooling program where the school sent its curriculum materials to homeschooling parents across the United States and the world.<ref name="Jasper1987">Template:Cite magazine</ref> According to Paul Lindstrom, the number of participating students grew from around 100 in 1976 to 22,000 in 1987.<ref name="Jasper1987"/>
Notable alumni
- Rachel Dolezal (1996), activist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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