TKA History
Committed to Strong Academics & Biblical Principles
In August 1990, six home-schooling families with seventh-grade girls hired a teacher to help provide the type of education they felt would best honor God. They did not want to have to choose between a school with an excellent academic record and one that nurtured a Christ-like attitude. The families were convinced that God was leading them to pioneer an educational setting that would aspire to both and encapsulate all they envisioned.
At the same time, Jack McBirney, principal and founder of San Francisco Christian School (pictured left), and his wife, Allegra, felt the Lord’s call to begin another Christian school in the South Peninsula.
Founded in 1991
Through the hand of God, their visions were linked and together they created a school specifically designed to meet the needs of their adolescent children - a school marked by quality academics and a strong commitment to biblical principles. The King's Academy was founded in 1991 by a group of parents and Jack McBirney, our first principal.
These founders wanted to create an independent school in the Bay Area where families could feel confident that their children would be well educated as well as loved and supported.
Named to Honor The King, Jesus Christ
The independent school opened its doors with 29 students (grades 7, 8, 9) , three teachers, a secretary, and a principal while renting space from Union Presbyterian Church of Los Altos. Because academy implied strong learning and to signify that the school belongs to The King, Jesus Christ, the school was named “The King’s Academy.”
TKA's First Teachers and Students at First Site
Union Presbyterian Church - Los Altos
Moved to Former Sunnyvale High School Campus
The next year, the school grew to 100 students and filled the facility to near capacity. In 1993, the Lord miraculously provided a site that was beyond the dreams of even the starriest-eyed supporters of TKA: the old Sunnyvale High School campus. The old Sunnyvale High School campus was occupied by Westinghouse Electric Corp. and a church. When the church left, The King’s Academy moved into part of the site with 200 students. Portables were set up, and The King’s Academy had full use of the athletic facilities. A barbed-wire barrier separated the area that was TKA from Westinghouse. The students and staff started calling the area beyond the barbed wire “The Promised Land. In the fall of 1994, the school acquired the wings already named “T, K, A” from Westinghouse.
Called to Serve
Service was central to TKA’s mission from early on. In 1993, TKA planned the first “Servant Safari” trip to Tecate, Mexico. Twenty-seven students, led by one of the founders and school board members, Paul Spates, built one house and held the first “Kid’s Club” for the Mexican children in the area. TKA has continued the Mexico service trip; students, staff, and parents have built 388 houses as of 2020.
Increased Enrollment
The King’s Academy has grown to 980 students in grades 6-12, reflecting the cultural and economic diversity of the Bay Area. The overarching purpose of The King's Academy has not changed: to transform lives through Christ-centered education. Additionally, TKA has retained the warm, family atmosphere and small class size where students receive personal attention. Although a relatively young school, TKA is thankful for the excellence it has achieved and for which the school continues to strive. The King’s Academy accomplishes this through a challenging college preparatory program, a spiritual life program that fosters a mentor relationship between teacher and student, a well-known visual and performing arts department, and competitive athletic teams with a myriad of league and division titles. Students who graduate from TKA have gone on to attend colleges and universities such as MIT, Stanford, Harvard, and University of California campuses all over the state, in addition to the various U.S. Service academies and international universities such as The University of Oxford. The King’s Academy is fully accredited by ACSI and WASC.
Improved & Expanded School Facilities
The school continues to rent from the Fremont Unified High School District (FUHSD) and has a twenty-five-year lease for the site through the 2033-2034 school year. Scott Meadows became Head of School in 2015. Under his leadership, The King’s Academy has strengthened its relationship with the school district. In 2018, The King’s Academy added three pre-existing buildings to its lease. These are the B, D, and F buildings adjacent to the area already occupied by The King’s Academy. In August 2020, the classes previously held in portable classrooms were moved to the newly renovated classrooms in B, D, and F Buildings. In 2023, TKA secured the lease for a two-story building, formerly part of Rainbow Montessori. The "V" Building is located across from TKA's Softball/Multipurpose field. Renovations are in progress to make this a STEAM building (science, technology, arts engineering, and mathematics) with a makerspace, junior high and high school robotics rooms, and 8 new science labs. The anticipated opening is August 2024.
Distinguished by Relational Ministry
The distinguishing feature of The King's Academy is, and always has been, its commitment to a different standard of student character development. The King's Academy is striving to achieve this by providing students with a wider array of opportunities to develop meaningful relationships with mature Christian men and women. The expectation is that teachers and staff will seek out students, both inside and outside the classroom, and that students will see Jesus in the lives of those around them. The goal is to attract kids to Christ through this relational ministry.
Transformed Through Christ-Centered Education
The overarching purpose and goal of The King's Academy is "to transform lives through Christ-centered education." This concept still fuels all that occurs at The King's Academy. All those employed or involved in leadership believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom this school is dedicated, would expect nothing less than the full energy of all involved working towards the common goal.
We live fully expecting that miraculous things will occur in the lives of students as they invest their time here at The King's Academy.