A building that for many years was known as the Three Rivers Medical Clinic and served more recently as a real estate office is now home to Heartwood Renaissance Academy, a Christian school that began in Sturgis in 2000.
The Ambassador Committee from the Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the facility, located at 117 Spring Street – across from Scidmore Park – on Wednesday (June 20), in advance of an open house slated for Saturday (June 23) from 1 to 3 p.m.
Gretchen Anderson (4th from left), director of the Heartwood Renaissance Academy, wields the scissors during a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce and its Ambassador Committee at the Christian school's new quarters at 117 Spring Street in Three Rivers. (Click on photo to enlarge)
During a pre-ceremony interview with the River Country Journal, Gretchen Anderson, director of the Academy, explained that it is a school for children in grades 7 through 12 with “a full-course program, just like in public schools.” She noted that it is a Christian Academy “so we teach the Christian morals and values to the children and prepare them for their adult life and the goals that they are seeking when they become adults.”
Anderson indicated the building will provide classrooms, offices for each of the schools staff members, lunchroom and kitchen – “basically what any normal Christian school would have.” Regarding the history of the building, she said, “We’re getting all kinds of wonderful stories about what it used to be and what people were doing here and what they came for and some of the doctors.” (Gretchen Anderson audio clip – :36)
Anderson said the Academy was looking for a place to locate permanently and “found Three Rivers welcoming us with open arms.”
The upcoming school year for Heartwood Renaissance Academy will begin August 20, 2012 and will end June 7, 2013. School hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and all courses meet state standards. Teachers are certified, holding Bachelor and Master Degrees and the Academy is “a state-certified private school.”
As noted earlier, the open house will be held on Saturday (June 23) from 1 to 3 p.m.
For more information about Heartwood Renaissance Academy, call (269) 273-0160, e-mail heartwood.academy@gmail.com, or stop by. Summer hours – through August 2 – are Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. To visit the school’s Facebook page, click here.
For additional insights on this topic, click on the following link to hear the full interview with Gretchen Anderson, recorded by Bruce Snook of the River Country Journal: Gretchen Anderson interview (5:57 – 5.45 MB).
