King's Ridge gearing up for grand opening

by Jason Wright / Appen Newspapers / Milton Herald

May 10, 2007

There's a reason Kings Ridge Christian School doesn't look like your typical "brick box" institution, says headmaster C. David Rhodes III and director of admissions Lisa McGuire."This is more of a home for our students and their families," said McGuire. "We're a family here."

So it goes for the first phase of the $30 million school at the corner of Cogburn and Bethany Bend roads. Though the finishing touches are being put on the school, open house for the upper schools – those which educate middle and high school students – was held May 5 at the new location.Rhodes said the building is only the first phase of Kings Ridge's plans for their 70 acre campus, 26 of which have been developed. Next year construction will start on a $6 million, 36,000-square-foot field house for the upper schools. After that will come another $27 million building for the upper schools.

The current building will then house the lower school. So popular areKing's Ridge's programs that when the school does open, it will be past capacity, said Rhodes."We're having to turn students away. We just don't have enough room," he said.McGuire, who has been with the school since its inception, said the students that do attend will be situated in 30 class rooms – complete with windows. Because the school is now housed in a former grocery store on Ga. 9, the students can't see outside the building."They're very excited to have their windows," she said.

Rhodes, a 28 year veteran of Darlington, a private school in Rome, said everything from the planning to construction has been a community and family affair."Our contractors, New South and Brassfield and Gory, have been amazing to work with," he said. It's really in the details here – the pride and ownership they took in construction has been great."