Key Points
- Bishop Wade Moore Jr.’s Christian Faith Center has moved to a new location.
- The church has opened a second campus for Urban Prep Academy at the new site.
- The school faces accreditation threat due to not administering state standardized tests.
Bishop Wade Moore Jr.’s Christian Faith Center has sold the former church building at 1130 S. Broadway and moved into a new space, the former Grace Lutheran Church at 3310 E. Pawnee.
At the new site, Moore has also opened a second campus for his Urban Preparatory Academy.
“We used to be just down the street on East Pawnee,” Moore said. “Then we moved to Broadway and now we’ve moved back again.”
His goal was to find a location with enough space to expand the enrollment of Urban Prep Academy in a new part of the city.
The K-8 school has about 140 students enrolled at both campuses. The original school – North Campus – is located in the former Mueller Elementary School building at 2821 E. 24th St. N.
Christian Faith Center leases some space at the North Campus to Stephanie Stovall for Aspire Academy, a pre-school and day care center and McAdams Academy, a private school that works with students who have been expelled or face long-term suspension from regular classrooms.
Moore said it was always his vision to open a second campus but he didn’t know how to make that happen.
Winning Yass Prize
Last year, Urban Prep was “blessed” with a $500,000 Yass STOP Award. The award for
Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding and Permissionless education was established in 2021 to reward, celebrate and expand schools who deliver a best-in-class experiences to underserved families,
“Of more than 2,700 applicants in 49 states, Christian Faith Center finished in the top eight to qualify for the grant,” said Moore. ““Through that prize, we were able to open a second campus.”
Christian Faiths Roots
Christian Faith Center is a non-denominational Pentecostal Church that Wade started more than 23 years ago.
“I’m originally from Arkansas, and I came here by way of the U.S. military,” he said.
He was stationed at Fort Riley and drove down to visit some friends in Wichita and was impressed by the opportunities it offered.
The city has more than fulfilled his expectations, Wade says.
Growing Programs
Urban Prep Academy is committed to maintaining a 1-to-15 teacher ratio, with a teacher and sometimes a para or aide in the classroom.
In addition to traditional classroom courses, all students take a course in financial literacy and learn about entrepreneurship. Each school day begins with an entire school morning motivation, where students listen to devotional studies and inspirational speakers.
Even though it’s a small school, all students participate in sports. Outside of in-school sports, the school offers tackle football and cheerleading opportunities in the Mid-States League that includes 49 participating schools.
Urban Prep Academy is also one of only a few schools that offer summer classes.
McAdams Academy, housed in the North Campus building, offers unique services for students who have gotten into trouble in the standard school system and face long-term suspension or expulsion.
“What you get for that is a student who has lost interest in school and in getting an education,” he said. “That student is in grave danger of winding up in the juvenile justice system and then in the prison system.”
In public schools, Moore says many times, students are suspended for failure to show up for classes.
“Suspending them is like a reward. I don’t do that. If I have to suspend a student from a class for acting up or whatever, I make it an in-school suspension where he still has to be in school and do all his work.”
He said his approach is working and he’s seeing students improve their performance.
Accreditation Status
Urban Prep Academy has not administered state standardized tests, something that has threatened its accreditation by the State of Kansas, which requires schools to administer tests to be eligible to get tax-credit grants.
Moore said that didn’t come to his attention until last spring when there was only a month left in the school year.
“We didn’t have time to get the computer setup established nor even really to administer tests,” he said. “We are getting positioned to do that. Although, we are also working to get accreditation through the Association of Christian Schools International.”
He called the threat of denial “politically motivated” and said that too often testing results in teachers teaching to the test rather than to the actual progress and success of the students. He said he believes that the number of educators fleeing public schools are a testament to the failure of the current system.
The state postponed a final decision last month after Moore suffered health problems.
“We get zero dollars in state money,” he said. “We are here because of the generosity of citizens and private donors.”
Urban Prep has space available for students at both campuses with the exception of sixth grade at the North Campus, which is full.
