A Brief History of North Hills Classical Academy
By Peter H. Vande Brake, M.Div., Ph.D.

North Hills Christian School was officially established in August of 1994 by a small group of parents only a couple of months after Tri-Unity North had decided not to continue their satellite school on the northeast side of Grand Rapids. The parents who had students at Tri-Unity North wanted to try to maintain a Christian school on the northeast side of town and hired Matthew Maloley to be the headmaster of their new school.

Mr. Maloley brought with him the revolutionary educational ideology of the classical and Christian school that was just beginning to take hold in the United States at that time. The parents embraced the new pedagogical model, and North Hills was inaugurated as the first classical and Christian school in Western Michigan.

The new grammar school started with approximately 30 students and met at New Life Christian Fellowship at 2777 Knapp NE. North Hills was no longer affiliated with any one denomination and quickly became an inter-denominational school that drew students from a broad range of Christian backgrounds. A year later, the name was changed to North Hills Classical Academy so that the name of the school more accurately reflected the type of education offered.

In 1996, a secondary school was added that served 7 full-time students in grades 7-10. The secondary school met in classrooms provided by Cornerstone College (now Cornerstone University). Several new staff members were added and the school began to grow.

In the fall of 1997, the secondary school moved to Oakhill Presbyterian Church at 1930 Leonard NE, while the grammar school remained at the New Life location. Matthew Maloley left the school in January of 1998, and after a year-long search, Peter Vande Brake, a secondary teacher at the school, was hired as headmaster. In May of 1998, North Hills had its first two high school graduates. They went on to school at Hillsdale College and Azusa Pacific University.

In the fall of 1998, the expansion of the student body required spillover into a third facility at New Community Church at 2340 Dean Lake Rd. The school had two more graduates in May of 1999, who matriculated at Aquinas College and Wheaton College.

A construction project in the summer of 1999 added four new classrooms to the New Life facility, and the school was eventually able to house itself in two facilities once more (New Life and New Community). There were seven graduates in May of 2000 and they went to Aquinas College, Cornerstone University, Covenant College, Grove City College, Notre Dame, Valparaiso University, and Virginia Military Institute. The sole graduate of the class of 2001 matriculated at Grand Rapids Community College.

North Hills continues to grow in its commitment to excellence in classical and Christian education. We look forward to the challenges and triumphs ahead as we strive to mentor young people to their full potential in Jesus Christ. Soli Deo Gloria.