Date | Event |
1991 September | School opens at Union Presbyterian Church, Los Altos 1stPrincipal is Jack McBirney.Jack graduated from Stanford University in 1951 with an engineering degree but left engineering 13 years later to become a missionary. After doing mission work in Newfoundland, he and his wife, Allegra, landed in San Francisco where Jack became the principal and founder of San Francisco Christian School. 1st School Board:Jack McBirney, Clif and Marilyn Davidson, Chris and Janet Haugen, Carol Morton, Paul Spates, Hank and Jeanette Voss, and Lincoln Westcott made up the original board. They elected Paul Spates to be the first Board President. |
1991 September | Home School Program Initiated (Later called ISP- Independent Student Program and then PSP for Private School Satellite Program.) |
1993 April | 1st Mexico “Servant Safari” Trip: The first Mexico trip was a crew of 27 led by Paul Spates during the second year of school at Union Presbyterian. They built one house and held the first “Kid’s Club” for the Mexican children in the area. |
1993 September | School moves to former Sunnyvale High School site.The old Sunnyvale High School campus was occupied by Westinghouse and a church. When the church left, The King’s Academy moved in to part of the site. A barbed wire barrier separated the area that was TKA from the area that was Westinghouse. The students and staff started calling the area beyond the barbed wire “The Promised Land.” |
1993 Spring | 1stmusical, The Music Man |
1994 May | 1stJunior-Senior Banquet:This event was held at Dennis and Sharon Sheehan's home. The juniors wanted to put on a special dinner to honor the seniors. This tradition continues today each spring but is usually held at a hotel. |
1994 June | George Parsons becomes Dean of Students |
1994 Fall | Acquired wings already named “T,K, A” from Westinghouse |
1994 Fall | 1stboys CCS Championship team: Varsity Boys Soccer |
1995 May | TKA Mission Statement created:THE KING'S ACADEMY is a Christ-centered college preparatory middle and senior high school for students who have teachable hearts and coachable spirits. We offer a loving, family environment where students are encouraged to grow in their relationship with Jesus, their family, teachers, and others. We are committed to developing God's best for each student spiritually, academically, morally, and socially through every program and activity. |
1995 June | 1stgraduation of regular TKA class (20 graduates) |
1995 Sept | 6th grade class added |
1997 June | School accredited by ACSI and WASC |
1997 October | 1stGala Fundraising banquet themed “God’s Fingerprints” |
1998 July | Steve Truesdell begins as 2ndPrincipal.Steve was the vice-principal and football coach at Gunn High School and met the Haugens (founders) who were Young Life Leaders at Gunn. When Jack McBirney was ready to retire as principal, Chris Haugen asked Steve if he would consider applying for the job. |
2001 Fall | 10thAnniversary of TKA and 5th TKA Gala: “Growing A Legacy” |
2002 Fall | TKA Football Team Started: The first play of the game was a 40-yard touchdown pass by TKA. The head coach was Bob Sykes who was the JV coach at Saratoga High. Of the 35 member squad, all but two of the initial players had never played contact football before. The Knights finished with a 7-3 record in their first season of football. |
2003 January | Dr. Rosé wins $20,000 prize for Pestilence course: Dr. Jason Rosé, TKA Chemistry teacher, received a $20,000 prize for winning the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation curriculum competition, a national competition among high school teachers, for his course called “Pestilence and Civilization.” This inter-disciplinary course studies the impact of infectious diseases on human history, such as the bubonic plaque and tuberculosis. |
2003 June | The Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs) were adopted during the second accreditation process in 2003.These are the only ESLRs the school has ever had. While the ESLRs have not changed, the details of the original ESLRs were reviewed and updated during the 2009 accreditation process. |
2003 June | 2ndAccreditation Awarded by ACSI and WASC |
2003 April | 1stTKA Tap Musical, 42ndStreet: According to theSan Jose Mercury News, 42nd street is “TKA’s best play.” |
2004 October | 1st Girls CCS Championship: Girls Cross Country |
2005 July | Bob Kellogg begins as 3rd Principal.Bob attended Stanford where he received a BA in History and an MA in Education. He seriously considered going into seminary right out of college. He had been involved in Young Life as a volunteer leader at Gunn and Menlo-Atherton and served as a high school teacher and coach atMilpitasHigh Schoolfor 35 years. |
2006-present | New Service Trips Added- Peru (2006), Kentucky (2007), Gulf Coast (2007), Malawi (2009), Los Angeles (2009), Japan (2010), San Diego (2011), Guadalajara-Mexico (2012),Philippines (2012), Costa Rica (2013), India (2015), Guatemala (2015), Silicon Valley (2015). Service trips are evaluated annually with new locations added and others removed, In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on local service. |
2008 October | ACSI Exemplary Schools Recognition. The King’s Academy service trips toMexico,Kentucky, and theGulfCoastwere recognized by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) as an Exemplary Program in 2008-2009 for Spiritual Enrichment and featured at the ACSI convention and in the monthlyChristian School Educationpublication. |
2009 June | ACSI and WASC Accreditations through June 2015 |
2009 July | 25-year lease signed with Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) |
2009 August | New Stadium lights erected at football field |
2010 August | TKA Enrollment reaches 900 students in Grades 6-12 |
2011 January | Dedication of Paul M. Spates Memorial Gymnasium |
2010-2011 | TKA Celebrates 20th Anniversary Year |
2014 March | TKA Installs All-Weather Track (to replace original dirt track) |
2014 October | "Rally for Quad" $875,000 Capital Campaign Results in New, Modern Quad and Lockers |
2015 June | Scott Meadows begins as 4th Principal. Scott served as 7th-12th grade Principal and interim Assistant Superintendent at Christian Unified Schools of San Diego.Additionally, he was the Principal of Grace Christian Academy (grades 6-12) and Head of School at Campbell County Christian Academy, both in Tennessee. Prior to that, Mr. Meadows founded Aletheia Christian Academy in Pensacola, Florida. |
2015-2016 | TKA Celebrates 25 Years! |
2015 October | Knights Legacy Fundraiser raises $182,000 for TKA technology, theater, and turf improvements as well as financial aid. |
2015 November | Knights Brigade's first WBA Class A Championship (with repeated wins in 2016). |
2016 August | New artificial turf installed on Kellogg Field. |
2016 August | TKA launches new one-to-one technology pilot program. Devices will be rolled out over a 3-year period of time until all junior high students have iPads and all high school students have MacBook Airs. |
2017 June | Tennis court project completed with 6 new courts. |
2017 July | TKA signs a new 25 year lease with Fremont Union High School District which gives TKA a 10-year out clause starting this year. |
2017 December | New artificial turf installed on softball field outfield and a new junior high multi-purpose field is created. TKA Theater named Cabot Theater to honor the Cabot Family contribution to TKA's theater program. |
2018 January | TKA's Board changed Scott Meadows' title from Principal to Head of School, to more accurately reflect his expanded duties which include developing relationships in the local community and fundraising to support TKA's strategic plan. |
| 2018 May | TKABaseballWins First-EverCCSTitle |
| 2018 November | Knights Football wins 1st CCS Championship. |
2019 January | New solar panel structure erected in front and back parking lot will bring electricity cost savings. TKA takes over lease for B,D,F wings from Kindercare and starts renovations to turn buildings into classrooms and offices with plans to move out of all the portables in back of school. |
| 2019 May | Knights Baseball Wins 2nd CCS Championship |
| 2019 November | Knights Football wins 2nd CCS Championship. |
2020 March | TKA transitions to remote learning on March 17 due to COVID-19 pandemic. |
2020 August | TKA installs Cisco PresenterTrack in all classrooms to assist with hybrid learning. Due to state and local public health mandates, TKA is required to begin 2020-2021 school year in remote learning. |
| 2020 September | TKA completes renovations of BDF wings. Ribbon-cutting ceremony held on September 2. |
| 2020 October | TKA opens safely in Hybrid Model during pandemic with two cohorts rotating weekly and one cohort fully remote. |
| 2021-2022 School Year | TKA celebrates its 30th Anniversary! |
| 2022 February | TKA received the highest level of accreditation by ACSI and WASC Commissions which grantedsix-year accreditation status through June 30, 2028 with a mid-cycle visit during the 2024-2025 school year. TKA renovation of baseball field complete with new natural turfand a new scoreboard. 67 new security cameras installed on campus along with gates atparking lot entrances. |
| 2022 October | School Board approved TKA's second Strategic Plan 2022-2027 The King's Academyselected as anApple Distinguished School for 2022–2025. |
| 2023 February | TKAKnightsWin 1stCCSBasketballChampionship! |
| 2023 April | TKA secured the lease for a two-story building,formerly part of Rainbow Montessori. The "V" Building is located across from TKA's Softball/Multipurpose field. Renovations are in progress tomake this a STEAM building(science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics)with a makerspace, junior high and high school robotics rooms, and 8 new science labs. The anticipated opening is August 2024. |
| 2023 July | Jeff Freeman, TKA's second Head of School, begins leading The King's Academy on July 5. |
| 2023 October | The King's Academy named to the Advanced Placement® Program (AP®) School Honor Roll, earning PLATINUM, the highest distinction (bronze, silver, gold, or platinum). TKA celebrates 20th anniversary of Knights football. |
| 2023 November | KnightsBrigadeachieved a second place finish at the Western Band Association (WBA) Grand Championships. After sweeping First Place and the Caption Awards for Best Music, Best Effect, Best Visual, and Best Percussion at the Class 1A level, theKnightsBrigadealso received inaugural caption awards at the Grand Champion level for the Best Visual and Best Music program. |
