July 2007 - Southern Adventist University

Kentucky-Tennessee FeatureRecognizing ExcellenceBy Marvin LowmanCarlyle Ingersoll (left), Salli Jenks, Becky Patrick, David Moore, MattHartman, Elise Harboldt, Lauren Day, and Don Mathis, HighlandAcademy principal, attended the awards banquet in Scottsdale,Arizona, to receive their $15,000 grant.Highland Academy and MadisonAcademy have been recognizedfor the high quality of the programthese schools offer. In 2006, HighlandAcademy received the AcademyAward For Excellence from theAlumni Awards Foundation, and in2007, Madison Academy was therecipient of the same award. Theaward is not only recognition of excellencein Adventist education, butcomes with a monetary grant as well.Highland Academy received$15,000 which was used to remodelthe school’s library. “Applying forthe Alumni Awards For Excellenceis a huge undertaking involvingsubmitting a tremendous amount ofinformation to the Alumni AwardsFoundation,” says Don Mathis, principal.“We submitted a three-inchbinder covering everything from ourmission statement to accreditationstatus, and certification of all aspectsof our program.”Over the last three years,Madison Academy has undergonea transformation—spiritually, academically,technologically, and with6 T IDINGS • J u l y 2 0 0 7respect to ethnic diversity—resultingin an increase in enrollment. “For allthose connected with the transformationof the school, the award validatedall the effort it took to reworkthe school and its program,” saysRob Stevenson, principal. MadisonAcademy received $25,000. Theawards are presented in Scottsdale,Arizona, during an awards presentationbanquet where a delegation ofstudents and staff from each schoolare present.Both academies are accreditedby the North American Division ofSeventh-day Adventists and SACS(Southern Association of Collegesand Schools), a nonAdventist accreditingbody. This is significant becauseit means, among other things,that our academies offer an educationprogram that is academicallysound. In fact, statistically, studentswho attend Adventist academies averagehigher achievement test scorescompared to students in publicschools. They also are more likely togo on to college and have a successfulcollege experience.Rob Stevenson (left), Madison Academy principal; SophiaKim, James Carpenter, Rachel Wilson, and Jimmy Closser,proudly display their $25,000 grant.But, the spiritual factor mustnot be overlooked. Bible classesand other religious activities providestudents the opportunity to knowGod, accept Jesus as their Lord andSavior, and commit their lives toservice. Mission trips at Highlandand Madison create opportunities toknow and understand other culturesand to serve others. Mission trips arelife-changing experiences for bothstudents and staff.“It’s a great honor to have bothof our academies receive the AlumniAwards For Excellence, back to back.This award is given to outstandingacademies in the North American Division,so this is a real honor for us,”says Larry Boughman, superintendentof schools for the Kentucky-TennesseeConference.The Alumni Awards Foundationexists to inspire and reward excellencein Adventist K-12 schools,educators, and alumni. Since 1995,the organization has awarded grantstotaling more than $800,000.