Our Story
Watch and See Why Children's Futures Can Be Changed
Take a moment to view why Cornerstone Prep has the potential to change the story of many of our children here in Memphis.
Our Location Is Intentional
Cornerstone Preparatory School is strategically located near the Binghampton Community. This location is based on two primary factors: a high needs neighborhood with great potential and deep relationships with partners who share a common goal of making Binghampton a healthy and thriving community.
Our Vision Is NOT Just Words - We Live It!
Cornerstone Prep utilizes academic rigor and a Biblical worldview to equip all students with the skills and character necessary to succeed in college and to become life-changing leaders in their community.
We Were Founded on Three Truths
The name of the school, Cornerstone Preparatory School, was created to reflect 3 truths:
1. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of all creation. “Come to Christ, who is the living cornerstone…” 1st Peter 2:4 NLT
2. Education is the cornerstone of a productive life.
3. College preparation begins in kindergarten.
These 3 truths combine to create the foundation of Cornerstone Prep. The combination of a Christ-centered view of life, a high regard for the critical nature of education, and the understanding that college preparation begins in kindergarten makes Cornerstone Prep a unique school.
These Five Characteristics Uniquely Define Who We Are
• College preparation begins in kindergarten
• High expectations support high achievement
• Every minute counts
• Only a Biblical worldview works
• Leadership matters
• Urban Students deserve the best
Cornerstone Preparatory School is strategically located near the Binghampton Community and is the result of more than 25 years of prayer and hard work. The following paragraphs reveal how Cornerstone Prep began on the heels of the vision of many individuals and organizations and how the school supports an overall community development strategy.
History of Missions
Christ United Methodist Church (Christ Church) has a long history of investing in missions in Memphis and around the world. More than 25 years ago, James Loftin and other leaders began to ask the Lord how to be more strategic and impactful in making Memphis a city known more for its assets than its racially torn past. After much prayer and research, the answer was clear: invest deeply in the people of the Binghampton community.
The Binghampton Community
The Binghampton community is located between two major east-west arteries: Summer and Poplar on the north and south, with East Parkway and Holmes the east and west boundaries. Binghampton began as an independent and racially integrated rural Memphis town in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Annexed by Memphis in 1919 when the city’s growth pushed to the east, Binghampton eventually came to be surrounded by more affluent neighborhoods. Binghampton proper has experienced shifting character because of development, various stages of racial segregation, and a transition from owner to renter occupied housing. The community began to suffer from severe poverty and lack of economic assets.
Because God is a restorer and reconciler, James Loftin and other leaders felt God’s desire was for Christ Church and others to build relationships, infrastructure and ministry in this community.
Meeting the Need
James and others began to meet the neighbors living in the community. As friendships formed, they began to ask this simple but profound question to the people in the community: “What is the biggest need of this community?” The overwhelming answer was “help with my house – I cannot maintain it anymore and it is collapsing around me.” The leaders of Christ Church sought to meet that need, organizing volunteers to repair one home in the community. Since that time in 1986, the work has grown from a two-week inner city missions experience into a year round Christian community development organization known as SOS, or Service Over Self. More than 10,000 SOS volunteers have worked along side needy homeowners, repairing more than 500 homes during these years. Past Executive Directors Tom Marino and David Montague built a foundation of great relationships in the community that still stand today.
Building Infrastructure and Relationships
Some pioneers began to invest more time and energy into the Binghampton Community. Roy “Soup” Campbell moved his family into the community and became the central figure around which the relationships between white and black, suburban and urban, and wealthy and poor began to emerge.“Soup” also founded Eikon, a ministry whose mission is to build urban leaders who will change the Binghampton community. This long-term strategy in building leaders was another part of the strategy to convert Binghampton into a vital community. Others began to catch the vision, and people like Nathan and Kim Cook, Damon Remagalo and others began moving into the community to build deep relationship with the people living there.
Others Begin to Come
Over time, God began to bring other people and ministries into the community. Christ Community Health Services, located on Broad in Binghampton, is one such example. Christ Community began as the dream of four medical students at LSU Health Science Center in New Orleans. David Pepperman, Rick Donlon, Karen Miller and Steve Besh met through a Christian Medical Dental Association small group bible study as first year students in 1986. Over the next several years, they stumbled along with a vision of using their medical training to honor God by caring for the medically underprivileged. After completing residency training in 1993, the founding four doctors settled in Memphis and began sharing their ministry and vision with anyone who would listen. Today, this organization is known simply as “the clinic”, with medical professionals providing needed services to the people of the Binghampton community.
Another critical piece of the strategy to influence the community is the Binghampton Development Corporation (BDC). Robert Montague, a highly successful businessman in the 1990s and early 2000s, began to feel God’s call to use his gifts in a different way. After months of prayer and seeking the Lord’s will, Robert left his executive position to invest all of his time and resources into the people of the Binghampton community. Robert became the Executive Director of the Binghampton Development Corporation, whose mission is to work to build a healthy Binghampton community by facilitating the revitalization of the community primarily through housing and economic development. In the six years since beginning operations in 2003, the BDC has purchased 66 properties, including 18 lots, 24 apartment units and 39 single family houses. Over this period the BDC renovated 16 single family houses, 24 apartments units and constructed 7 new houses for a combined housing acquisition and construction investment of $2.3 million.
The Next Step
By 2006, Binghampton included several ministry areas that define a healthy community:
- Improving housing conditions
- Community development
- Job training and assistance
- Elimination of problem properties
- Creation of jobs
- Leadership development
- Health care
The primary piece of the strategy that was not yet in place was a high-achieving school.
Need For Improved Education in Binghampton
In order for Binghampton to be a healthy community, strong schools must be present. Currently, there are three Memphis City schools located in the Binghampton community: Lester Elementary, Brewster Elementary, and East High School. Many local churches provide volunteer tutors, room moms, free consulting help, mentors, hall monitors, financial support, and other support to these schools. However, none of these support mechanisms can significantly influence the learning of the students. The statistics referenced below, along with many others, made a clear case that something had to be done to help the next generation of young people get better prepared to face the challenges ahead of them. The TCAP scores for Lester Elementary, the primary elementary school in Binghampton, in grades 3 through 8 for 2008 were:
- Reading Language – F
- Math - D
- Social Studies – F
- Science - F
Our Hearts Were Broken
Over the last twenty-five years, several folks with a heart for the Binghampton community saw bright children under-performing in school who then become a statistic that breaks all of our hearts. Children, who were capable of becoming our next doctors, lawyers, police chiefs, community leaders and more were failing to graduate from high school.
A Tiny Seed Was Planted
Out of this concern, a seed was planted that a key aspect of the community for change was not being developed. Several folks began to talk about establishing a unique school designed for this city’s urban children. The original vision was to prepare the next generation of young people to face the challenges ahead of them in their communities. Tom Marino, former Director of Missions at Christ Church and current Director of the Poplar Foundation, contacted then Church Administrator Drew Sippel about the possibility of starting a Christian school in Binghampton.
Local Guidance Sought from Residents and Local Community Leaders
Tom and Drew talked, prayed, and began to seek the Lord’s guidance on this pressing need in the community. Tom and Drew visited with Jo and John Walt about the history and needs of the The Neighborhood School, a Christian school located on Tillman. Drew and Steve Jackson, the Principal of Christ Methodist Day School, visited Brinkley Heights, a small Christian school and learned of their work in that community. Many others began to pray as Drew and Tom continued to talk to residents of the community and research the possibility of starting a new school in Binghampton.
Christ Church committees began to get involved in the discernment process, praying and discussing the viability of starting a school. Church members began to explore the possibility, taking a tour of New Hope Christian Academy, a successful school in the Frayser neighborhood.
The entire church prayed and sought the Lord’s will, meeting together in small and large groups to discuss the opportunity.
Very Specific School Vision Announced in February, 2008
After months of relationship building, research, prayer and conversation, a special task force formed to study the possibility made this announcement: Binghampton needed a high-achieving, God-honoring elementary school and members of Christ Church were called to launch such a school. Subsequently, in February of 2008, Cornerstone Preparatory School, a new Urban Christian School serving the Binghampton community, was born.
Children Should Not Receive an Inadequate Education
Executive Director Drew Sippel describes the intent behind the school: “The Bible tells us that God hates injustice and oppression, and I believe that it is unjust for a child to be destined to receive an inadequate education simply for being born in a particular neighborhood. A child born in the inner-city of Memphis has a 40% chance of dropping out of high school before graduating, and if the child does graduate, he or she will receive a high school education that equates to an 8th grade education of a suburban student. That is unjust and Cornerstone Prep is committed to bringing glory to Christ by fighting this issue every single day”.
Clear Picture of Success for Students
Drew also has a very clear picture of success for a Cornerstone Prep student. “Our school will be successful when a Cornerstone Prep student becomes a follower of Jesus Christ, graduates from the 5th grade, attends a challenging middle and high school, receives a scholarship to a prestigious university, and then returns to Memphis with a degree to invest his or her life serving this community as a leader in his or her chosen field, seeking God’s favor for the people of this city.”