2010-11 Annual Report

annual report

R CH

ISTIAN SCHO

CHARLOTT

L FE

XC EL

LEN CE

1950-2010

CE

O

E

60 O

LEB

RATING 60 YE

AR

S

2010-11

letter

From the Head of School and Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Dear Charlotte Christian Community, Thank you for your support during the 2011-12 school year as we celebrated 60 years of excellence in Christian education. We are blessed to have a community of trustees, employees, volunteers, parents and students who devoted their time and financial resources to maintaining the mission of our school. These pages showcase the generosity of many and our mission being fulfilled.

After Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River into the Promised Land, he instructed (as God commanded) that one member of each of the 12 tribes take a stone from the river. Joshua then set up the 12 stones prior to conquering Jericho and he said to the Israelites, “in the future when your descendants ask their fathers. ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground…He did this so that all the peoples of earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.’” (Joshua 4:21–24) In 1950, a small group of pioneers in South Charlotte crossed their own Jordan River as they established Charlotte Christian School. The stones they picked up from their river during the building of our school’s foundation were labeled Christ-centered, college preparatory, and educating the whole child. We would surmise our school founders could not have imagined classrooms with SMART Boards and laptops which, when connected to the internet, house an untold amount of information. We would further believe that those pioneers would have had a difficult time predicting a student body of more than 1,000 students who daily enjoy a myriad of co-curricular opportunities while being challenged by a rigorous academic program.

We thank God for those who came before us and established the tremendous foundation of Charlotte Christian, one that all our children benefit from. We collectively pursue excellence not to win state championships or place first in fine arts competitions or gain admission to prestigious colleges. Those earthly achievements are great and worthy of our pursuit, but they are not the ultimate prize. The desire of our hearts is that each student will always fear the Lord our God, know that His hand is powerful, so that they will walk in His will and impact the culture for Christ.

May the Lord’s mighty hand of blessing and protection be upon Charlotte Christian School for another 60 years.

God Bless,

Barry Giller Head of School Jamie Harris Chairman of the Board of Trustees

fiscal year ended June 30, 2011

Net assets (at June 30)

total debt outstanding (at June 30)

$12.0

$10.0 8.0 6.0

$9.6

$8.8

$8.5

8.0

$7.2 $6.3

$1.0

$0.9

$1.4

$1.7

$8.4

$2.2

$8.1

$7.8

$7.4

6.0

$1.9

2.0 2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

swap

$7.0

4.0 Millions

Millions

$1.5

10.0

4.0

$

Bridge Loan

bonds

2.0 $

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

• Net assets increased $.821 million due to positive operating margin and designated giving for capital improvements.

• SWAP mark to market liability increases as interest rates decline and will decrease as rates move up.

2010-11 Operating revenues

2010-11 Operating expenses Salary/Benefits - 60% Tuition - 93% Other Fees/ Revenues - 4% Contributions - 3%

Plant/Operations - 16% Tuition Assistance - 13% General Admin. - 4% Interest on Debt - 4% Instructional Costs - 3%

• Plant/operations increased from 2010-11 due to outsourcing cleaning and grounds operations. enrollment trends 2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

Lower School Middle School Upper School Total Enrollment

419 252 383 1,054

403 261 387 1,051

442 250 395 1,087

390 238 374 1,002

385 243 361 989

Retention Diversity

94% 10%

93% 11%

91% 13%

90% 14%

92% 15%

• Enrollment trends based on August data.

Questions on the financial data in this annual report or on other aspects of the financial operations of Charlotte Christian School may be directed to Terry Efird, Chief Financial Officer, at terry.efird@charchrist.com.

The financial results for Charlotte Christian School are audited on an annual basis by an external audit firm and presented to the board of trustees for review. A copy of the audited financial statements may be obtained by sending a written request to: Charlotte Christian School • Attention: Terry Efird 7301 Sardis Road • Charlotte, NC 28270

impacting Student Achievements: • 56 AP Scholar Awards were earned, with 77 percent of the 182 students receiving a score of 3 or higher on AP exams taken in May 2011.

• Journalists in grades 4 and 5 began publication of the new lower school newspaper.

• Middle school math team named to National Math Olympiad Honor Roll for the fifth consecutive year.

• More than 37 percent of fourth graders and 57 percent of fifth graders were recognized through the Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP).

Approximately 70 percent of all seventh graders have qualified for Duke TIP over the last three years, with seven qualifying for state recognition in 2010-11.

• Chemistry Club C4 won a $5,000 grant from Dow Chemical Company.

• 36 students in grades 3-8 competed in the ACSI Math Olympics, winning a total of 20 honors for both math computation and reasoning.

• Students earned awards at the 60th Annual NC Junior Classical League State Competition and were also awarded multiple honors on the National French, Latin and Spanish Exams.

Over the past 18 years, more than $5.6 million has been given to the annual Quality Plus Fund (QPF), providing students, teachers and coaches with additional resources that enhance many of the educational and co-curricular resources that allow our students to excel. Your giving in 2010-11 totaled $430,060.

• 19 fifth grade students received the Presidential Educational Excellence Award and 21 received the Presidential Educational Achievement Award.

Academic Environment Since the founding of Charlotte Christian School in 1950, there has been a tradition of generous supporters partnering with the school to provide exceptional programs and opportunities for current and future students. In its 60th year, Charlotte Christian graduated 107 seniors, the largest class in school history.

This group of seniors received more than $4 million in college scholarships and included two National Merit Scholars, six Commended Scholars, and 14 that graduated with recognition as an AP Scholar. Here are a few ways your giving made a difference:

• 66 laptops for lower and middle school faculty laptop program • 9 new SMART Boards for lower school, 3 for middle school foreign language classrooms, 3 for upper school, 1 for fine arts, and 1 expanded SMART Board for upper school science • 2 video cameras for Knights Knews broadcasting class • 1 set of exterior doors upgraded to glass entrances

• Upper school curriculum added Business, Senior Western Civilizations, Sculpturing, and expanded Chapel Choice electives • New cabinetry in second grade classroom • Restroom upgrades for lower and middle school • New roof for Middle School Building

Co-Curriculars

equipping

Educating students to succeed in today’s world goes beyond learning in the classroom. By developing and equipping strong co-curricular programs, students are challenged to excel with all of their gifts and talents and grow as leaders. Support given to QPF provides equipment, uniforms, competition fees, and the cost of maintaining facilities that allow for 45 athletic teams, 48 fine arts courses, and five main stage productions. In 2010-11, your support provided the following improvements for Charlotte Christian’s co-curricular activities: • New bass clarinet and tenor sax purchased for the music department • Rented and repaired headphone microphones for use in fine arts classes • Macbook Pro purchased for use in fine arts classes • Studio curtains for fine arts classroom • Stage lights and music stands for use in chapel and concerts • Composition and recording software • High resolution printer for use in visual arts department

Student Achievements: Athletics • 11 varsity teams advanced to NCISAA state postseason play • 14 student-athletes signed national letters-of-intent • 27 student-athletes named as NCISAA All-State athletes • 39 student-athletes named as CISAA All-Conference athletes • 2011 NCISAA All-State individual champions in swimming, wrestling, and track and field • 2011 CISAA All-Conference champions in varsity men’s basketball and varsity baseball

Fine Arts • 2010 North Carolina Theatre Competition (NCTC) state winners • National Shakespeare Festival Competition second place individual honors • 54 placements in university honor bands • 40 visual art Scholastic Art & Writing Awards including eight gold keys, 11 silver keys, and one National Scholastic Art Award currently on display in Washington, D.C. • Top honors in the Congressional Art Competition, Junior Women’s Club Art Festival, Matthews ArtFest, and Patriotic Art Competition • American High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall individual selection

integrating

Campus Improvements Each year QPF provides necessary support to integrate continuous improvements that impact our entire campus and make our facilities safe and inviting. This year, your contributions allowed development of a new website and provided for installation of new campus signage.

The innovative and newly designed website provides a state-of-the-art marketing tool for the school and helps showcase the outstanding academic, athletic, spiritual life and fine arts programs at Charlotte Christian.

By partnering with Finalsite, a website development company, information has been restructured into portals that allow user-friendly access for both current and prospective families, employees and alumni.

New exterior signage was installed in the summer of 2011 to assist families and visitors in navigating campus. The newly designed signage features the school colors and logo and provides directional guidance at key locations.

The signage upgrades were part of Phase 1 of a signage improvement project and were made possible through QPF contributions, donations from the PTF Boosterthon Fun Run, and a generous grant from the installer, Southwood Sign Company. Phase 2 of the project will feature new building signage.

Thank You For a complete list of donors, please go to www.charlottechristian.com/annualreport.

developing

special gifts

Special gifts play a valuable role in developing our students and building on their God-given gifts and talents. During the 2010-11 year, Charlotte Christian School received several designated gifts from families and donors that allowed for considerable improvements in multiple areas on campus.

• Athletic stadium improvements including new fencing and landscaping • Softball field re-alignment and improvements • Weightroom improvements and equipment upgrades • Fine Arts costume closet shelving and organization

• Baseball Clubhouse addition including press box seating, game day suite, team room, coaches’ locker room, public restrooms, dugout, and players’ locker room

• Lower School Computer Lab additions including a SMART Board, new training keyboards, kid sized computer mouse upgrades, and new chairs • New tile in lower and middle school restrooms provided by an in-kind gift

donation trends Cash Receipts 2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

(Lighting The Way, Bigger and Wider, Other improvements)

Capital Improvements

$1,629,754

$1,186,457

$1,031,180

$457,518

$294,515

Annual Fund - Quality Plus

530,617

400,638

484,109

475,315

423,160

Parent Partnership

122,428

119,593

118,956

93,640

53,245

Miscellaneous

166,613

341,848

215,759

242,268

482,882

Total Cash Receipts

$2,44,412

$2,048,536

$1,850,004

$1,268,741

$1,253,802

board of trustees 2010-11 Paula Banks Bill Blank Andy Calhoun Julie Deuink

Erica Donnalley Greg Gombar Jamie Harris Iris Hubbard

Steve Israel Jim Kallam Tony Norwood John Putnam

Christy Reid Charles Saleh Mike Seelig Steve Smith

Kathy Trotter Rick von Gnechten Marty White