Photo by Jesse Chambers.
Marvin Johnson with instructor Reba Cunningham.
Hansell Gunn, chancellor of Gunn Christian Academy in Ensley, has been a coach, teacher and administrator in elementary, middle and high schools for 44 years.
In fact, Gunn said he could have “easily retired” a few years ago and played golf but that God called him to help at-risk kids with personal or academic struggles who had been kicked out of public schools.
So Gunn, now 69, founded GCA in 2013. “That’s why I’m sitting here -- because I care about those kids,” he said.
GCA, according to its web site, offers a challenging curriculum designed to fully prepare students for college or success in the job market.
The faith-based school, which is located in the Green Acres Middle School annex, will mark the end of its fourth year with a graduation ceremony at Bessemer Civic Center on May 23 at 6 p.m.
Twelve seniors will graduate, along with 20 students who’ve completed GCA’s Independent Adults Study Program, which allows people 19 and over to earn their high-school degrees, according to Gunn.
GCA offers all 12 grades and will offer kindergarten in fall 2017.
Sixty-five students in the regular grades, plus 80 Independent Adult Study students, were enrolled in the spring, Gunn said.
“Children with challenges make up about 90 percent of our student profile,” Gunn said. “We want those students who have been expelled or who continue to be suspended.”
The GCA staff prepares an individualized plan for each student, uses extensive classroom data to measure student progress and even borrow corporate organization methods, according to the school’s web site.
But the curriculum also includes Bible classes, and students and teachers pray together. This emphasis on Christian faith is important, according to Gunn.
“It is empowering to be reminded that… we are all God’s children,” Gunn said. “Each of us should strive to give our best each day. Every child is important.”
Gunn experiences strong emotions at graduation ceremonies.
“The first thing is tears, because I know what (the students) have come from, because they share with me… and they’re tears of joy, because I’ve made a difference in the lives of those kids, and that’s priceless,” he said.
