Cascade Christian School is preparing to make a move to Brooks Avenue from its Young Road location.The newly renamed independent school will re-open inside the Salvation Army Chilliwack Community Church on Brooks Avenue next September.”The move will take place over the summer,” said Cascade principal Ryan Morrow, adding that some renovations  will have to be done first.The school formerly known as MEI Chilliwack had been in the same location for 19 years, inside the Chilliwack Christian Alliance building on Young Road.Enrollment in the past ranged from 80 students up to 170 several years ago. But Morrow expects to start out in the fall with about 80 students from Kindergarten to Grade 9.A change of affiliation recently ended the school’s relationship with MEI, and it is currently under a new authority, renamed as Cascade Christian.The timing for a shift was just right, according to officials. Church officials had indicated to the school that they wished to use the space for church purposes.”As those changes were happening, we were evaluating everything about our operation, including our lease with the Alliance Church,” Morrow explained. “We understood it meant they are moving forward in the direction they are heading in, and it allowed us to do the same.”They still have a good relationship.”We also knew the Salvation Army had a facility that would be able to house a school,” Morrow said. The school’s parents are becoming “very enthusiastic” about the move, and “it fits with our new start,” the principal said.The Sally Ann’s Community Church property on Brooks is “beautiful” with a large playing field and green space in the back.”I think Cascade will fit in very nicely here,” said Salvation Army Major Larry Farley, who is senior pastor at the Salvation Army Community Church.Creating ways for the church to reach out and connect with the larger community was underlined as a ministry direction by the congregation in 2007, he added.So when the Cascade opportunity surfaced, it was a chance to fulfill that direction.Since then they’ve obtained the support of their community council to move ahead with the plan to take in the school.”It’s been a long process, and we’ve had several meetings to ensure things move along in an appropriate fashion.”They’ve never had a school housed inside the church building on Brooks before, but they do have a day care, which will continue to operate from that location. “We believe it’s a good match, and the move will be very good for the Salvation Army, for Cascade Christian, and for the whole community,” he said.

Chilliwack Progress