Narrative Statement Coram Deo Academy (CDA) is a pre-K through eighth grade Christian, classical school in Carmel, Indiana,
that serves Northern Indianapolis and Hamilton County. Since our founding in 2008, we have assisted
parents in their duty of biblically training their children by offering academic instruction that is distinctly
and consistently Christ-centered and classical. We have a saying memorized by our students: “ Non
scholae sed vitae ,” which means “not for school, but for life.” To that end, we strive to develop the
following characteristics that will enable students to succeed in all aspects of life after school, collectively
known as the Portrait of the Graduate: 1) Contagious Christian, 2) Lifelong Learner, 3) Critical Thinker, 4)
Compelling Communicator, 5) Legacy Leader.
For the past 14 years, CDA has been a tenant and cohabitant to a local church. This was always meant to
be a temporary solution, and now CDA is ready to acquire its own facility as a long-term, established
home in which to continue its mission. This new facility will accommodate CDA’s growth to offer grades
pre-K through twelfth grade, and it will convey stability to our parents and the surrounding community.
CDA will add grades nine through twelve each year as our current eighth graders progress, so that by May
of 2026, we will graduate young adults that have been well-educated to be thoughtful and knowledgeable
citizens in our community. One of the differentiators in grades nine through twelve is a planned
apprenticeship model. It actually makes good sense that this new facility is located in a corporate center,
where hardworking graduates will spend the majority of their lives after they leave school.
As an Academy, we aim to be a good citizen and better neighbor. Prior to COVID, we would go sing to
seniors at assisted living facilities in Carmel. Last year, we went door to door in the neighborhood around
Carmel Friends Church and sang Christmas carols. We do field trips to local businesses and parks
demonstrating how we partner with neighbors to help educate our students.
The City of Carmel has demonstrated well the importance of offering the best education. Great
educational options draw best-in-class workers, families, and investment. Just in the last few months, we
have met a new family that was looking for Classical, Christian education for their children when moving
here from Seattle. Another family who toured our school is moving to Carmel from the United Kingdom.
Even in the midst of the very best school system in the State of Indiana, there can be interest in CDA and a
place for it alongside other great organizations and institutions.
The parents and grandparents at CDA (many of whom work in business, healthcare, and public service in
Carmel), know the importance of raising up a capable and committed generation to which we can “pass
the torch.” We all want to see this wonderful city thrive after we are gone. We are preparing the next
generation to value and care for the people and things around them. What we sow today, they will reap
after us. If we sow sparingly, they will reap sparingly. So let us be generous with the resources that have
been entrusted to us in this moment, and they will reap bountifully in the years to come.
One such resource is the building and land at 525 Congressional Boulevard. CDA would be honored to
steward this resource as the long-term home for our mission, and CDA would be thankful for the City of
Carmel’s support in a use variance to make this possible. We have a deal structured with an individual
who already has investments in Carmel to accommodate CDA initially as a tenant, with a path to being the
sole owner of the facility over the next several years. CDA is ready to convert this unused office building
into a vibrant academic institution that demonstrates how Christ-centered and classical education can
strengthen a community.