Heritage: Founding The Academy at King
In 2005, King College was approached by a number of individuals and community leaders about the idea of founding a private high school to be located on the College’s campus in Bristol, Tenn.
Dr. Greg Jordan, president of King, along with the Board of Trustees of the College, recognized the benefits to the Bristol community for a private high school. Students would be educated in an academically rigorous setting, leading to meaningful lives of achievement. The College set forth researching the concept to determine its feasibility.
Based on this research, the Board of Trustees voted to lease 1.5 acres situated on King’s campus to The Academy at King to locate the private high school. King’s Board of Trustees soon appointed a separate Board of Trustees to oversee The Academy – a body that began immediately working to locate a temporary site for the Academy at King.
Mrs. Sue Melkowski, an educator with 30 years experience, filled the position of Head of School for The Academy at King in May 2008 and renovations were soon begun on a temporary building, a former church located on Old Jonesboro Road in Bristol, Tenn. This site served as The Academy’s home until the completion of a permanent facility on King College’s main campus. Under the direction of Mrs. Melkowski, the Academy placed many of the area’s brightest and most promising educators on its staff.
The school’s inaugural student body, consisting of 16 students, began classes on Aug. 11, 2008. Classes were held in the location on Old Jonesboro Road for three years, during which time The Academy administration and staff honed their mission of “empowering students to reach full potential.”
Construction on a new state-of-the-art facility commenced during 2010 and was completed in July 2011, just weeks after The Academy’s first graduating class received their high school diplomas. Today, the Academy at King is proud to have built on the original ideas set forth by the community and its founders and is centered on an integrated approach to learning. Students of the Academy are offered a unique opportunity to participate in an educational experience with a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio, access to King College events, experience international travel, and enroll in courses for dual credit at the College.