CORNERSTONE ACADEMY

Cornerstone Academy opened its doors in 1994, in the Chicago Austin neighborhood, as a response to the staggering 70% high school dropout rate of the time. In 2000, we moved to the new Cornerstone Center on the Near North Side of Chicago where we shared a space with other not-for-profit organizations that supported our students: Young Life, which provides after-school programming, camping, and Bible studies; Cornerstone Children’s Learning Center, which provides Work Study internships; and LaSalle Street Church, which provides pastoral leadership and care. Most recently, in 2021, we relocated to Oak Park to establish a centralized location for serving both city and near-West side students. In a sense, we’ve come back to our roots. Our mission is to provide a supportive Christian education for students who may benefit from personalized attention as they work toward a high school diploma while developing tools for self-sufficiency and a Christian life ethic.