Health and Science Education Center

The MCA Campus Vision Design

The Health and Science Education Center Reason and Purpose

The reason for this building is to provide MCA students, staff, and our community a Christian based Health Care and Science education, with service and instruction that can be applied throughout a lifetime.

The purpose of this building is to educate, support and attract the youth population and educational professionals within Minnetonka Christian Academy, Minnetonka Adventist Church, and our greater community, while providing healthy lifestyle services for the student, staff and community. With this building we will be able to provide health and medical services, and excelled science education with hands on applications for our students, staff, and community. We will do this using various educational and business uses within the overall structure.

But First, Why do we – Dr. Christina Just & Rob Just, Want To Dedicate Our Lives and Livelihood For Our Community at MCA?

We want the youth in our community to be a part of MCA and we want our children to continue attending MCA for the foreseeable future. We believe that when this vision becomes a reality, within two years, and with our ongoing donations, MCA will be one of the best schools in our community and in the world.

There is a sense of Peace within the MCA Community that we haven’t felt anywhere else in this area. Jesus is at work here and “here” just happens to be in the middle of the most prominent community in Minnesota, the Lake Minnetonka Area (LMA), and in our backyard. We love MCA, and our community, and we have a vision that will help spread peace to the youth and families here and around the globe. The youth of this community need the peace MCA offers. And when this vision becomes a reality, we can envision what it will be like here; using MCA’s prime location to offer peace to all who enter our doors, offering excelled education opportunities for our students and community, then bringing the gifts learned here to other doors in our community and abroad.

I grew up in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), a very inclusive and conservative synod. If one wasn’t born into the WELS, they probably have never heard of it. Adventists are similar in an inclusive and conservative faith based manner, however more prominent on a global scale. For Adventists and Christians at MCA, our location doesn’t allow us to be inclusive, nor inwardly conservative. This vision will help us reach out to our neighbors in a traditional method, by offering high level, faith based educational and health opportunities for our youth and their families.

In order to be a competitive Private School, and hopeful High School for our communities youth and our children, MCA will need to dramatically increase the student tuition fees. An increase to a level that supports the costs to educate our students above and beyond what the local public schools offer. Our research has led us to realize the only way a private school can do this is by providing the necessary educators, programs, and facilities that demonstrate to the community that it is truly a competitive choice for their families. The only way this is done is through private donors, ones with the vision, and the means, to add and support the necessary programs and facilities.

With this donation, the proposed facility, its education programs, on site professionals, and multiple services offered, MCA will be a truly competitive school in the most prominent area in the upper midwest, and one of the only Christian schools in The Lake Minnetonka Area. A great Christian School, with the best people, and the best facilities, full of God’s Peace, offering our neighboring youth the best faith based education and health programs in the world.

Why do we want to do this? We don’t have a choice. This vision, given to Chrissy and I, it isn’t something that either of us can come up with on our own. Our lives, our education, experiences, failures, knowledge, and wisdom, all given to us by God, has prepared our hearts and minds for this moment.

Thank you again for letting us be a part of God’s Peace here at MCA. We hope you enjoy and embrace the following vision for our youth at MCA and in our community.

The Health and Science Center Design

Multiple Uses

Applications for The MCA Cafe

School Cafeteria and Commercial Kitchen. After School Cafe & Lounge. Home and Farm Education Use. Economic and Finance Education for Operation of the Cafeteria and Cafe. On-site, and Co-op with Maplewood for Farm to Table Education Program. Community Use and Rental.

Event Center and Fitness Facility

School Gymnastics Team, Tumbling and Gymnastics Education Program for existing and potential students. School Basketball Stadium. Tonka Club Gymnastic Girls Team Home Gym, with a Boys Gymnastics and Tumbling Program. Community Recreation Gymnastics Programs. Event Hosting, Camps and Training Facility for School, Church and Community Use. Baseball Club Team Indoor Facilities with an MCA Education Program. School, Church and Community Use for Health and Physical Education Programs. Strength & Fitness Clubs. Professional Gymnastics Equipment Rental Use. Indoor and Outdoor Batting Cages. Outdoor Turfed area around the north and west perimeter.

A Physical Health Care Service that Supports On-Site Medical and Science Education, with Real Life Applications:

A Physical and Health Care Practice. Medical Training, Athletic Training, Science Programs & Laboratory Classroom Use for MCA Students, Staff and Community. A licensed Doctor, Nurse, Lab Technician and other Professionals will be on-site, on a daily basis, teaching the Students and assisting the Staff. Physical and Mental Rehabilitation for Students, Staff & the Community. Medical Residency Program and Medical Education Programs for Students. Student Exchange Program with Adventist Health & Physical Care Universities and Schools around the Globe. A Remote Location in Hutchinson for Educational and Training Will Be Introduced. 

Additional MCA Building and Education Uses

Post 8 Pre-Secondary Independent Global Study Program central location. Science Library and Lab Classrooms. Exchange Programs with other Global Adventist Schools, Including Maplewood Campus and Housing.

The Multiple Programs and Rooms Within the Structure, As Currently Designed, Defined:

The Field House is the general term for the entire building. It will serve as the central structure for the overall MCA Campus. It serves as the main structure for the students, staff and communities indoor and outdoor events, cafeteria, Health and science education programs, after school lounge, athletic clubs, farming and outdoor nurturing programs, grounds maintenance and care, exchange programs and more… A few of the smaller details include: Two locker rooms, with a dedicated outdoor entrance, can each house up to 25 athletes, with 2 showers and a “mud” area for the farm. Public restroom, basement classrooms, weight room, and commercial kitchen access is also nearby. Outdoor viewing to the Minnehaha marsh, beyond the baseball and football / soccer fields, are prevalent with the elevated coaching and spectating decks. This building will be the central use for all current and future indoor and outdoor school buildings and grounds activities.

The Welcome Center features a 20’ x 20’ lobby, large enough to transition students and staff to and from existing school buildings. The Welcome Center administration area is inside the main building and encompasses the overall outdoor campus and classroom concept of the current and future envisioned MCA Grounds. MCA uniform and apparel shop, history of MCA, student art display area, community pop-ups, are all possible within this large space.

The Garage, at 42’ x 20’, will be the home for the Shop and Farming Home Ec classroom. It will store outdoor and indoor property care equipment, a side by side ATV with plow, and an older Bobcat ‘skid-steer’. There is direct access to the Laboratory classroom and easy access to the science library and farming mud room. An additional rear vestibule garage, at 20′ x 30′, will support additional grounds equipment. It can be used for the Event Center equipment additions and removal, and future outdoor dome and field expansions.

The MCA Cafe supports the mental and physical health of the students, staff, and community. The primary function of this space will be the schools cafeteria and Home and Farm education use during school hours. After school hours, the community cafe will provide students and club participants healthy food options, and can also be used as a lounge area for all.

As a School cafeteria it provides education to the students, staff and community through sourcing, growing, harvesting, preparing, serving and consuming healthy meals, snacks and filtered water. A Mediterranean style theme will provide students, staff and the community healthy eating and hydration education for their current and future physical and mental lifestyle.

The cafe area is 55’ x 30’, with overflow of over 2,200 square feet in the Welcome Center and the Event Center spectator area. It has an open view towards the event facility for expanded events, education, spectating and coaching, and an additional serving and education area, 15’ x 20’, near the commercial kitchen. The commercial kitchen is 25’ x 20’ with a cafeteria style serving area, and multiple entries for basement, garage and outdoor serving opportunities.

MCA Cafe can present business opportunities to students, staff and the community:

– Running the school cafeteria is a great opportunity to teach, learn, and apply basic economics, math, statistics, farming, food sourcing, preparing, and sanitation, that is required in the real world.

– After school hours the school, or students, or community members, can house their own cafe and use the facilities as an education and profit making opportunity, while farming, sourcing, buying, preparing, serving, and operating a cafe with healthy local foods, on-site garden, and filtered water.

The Farm can be planted in a logical place on, or near, campus and the building will support it as described above. In addition, we wil cooperate with the Maplewood Campus. The Cafe operations, along with students, staff and community, can source the seed, plant, care, harvest, prepare and serve from the Garden. The Shop instructor can also be The Farmer, and lead the operations of The Cafe and HomeEc, while caring for the MCA Grounds.

The Event Center is a state of the art Gymnastics event center and practice facility for MCA students, teams, staff, the local Tonka Club Team, and community recreation programs for the youth. It will also be used for other activities and events for students, staff, the community, and building occupants. Some of the other uses include a rehabilitation area, strength and fitness training, indoor batting cages, events, basketball games, programs and community rental use.

The center is over 18,000 square feet with a seating capacity of over 600 people.

This will be the best private, club level, gymnastics event center in the area, and will attract thousands of families each year.

The Health Care & Science Building is nearest to Williston Rd and the proposed parking lot. It has multiple uses within the Family Medical Practice Education and Service Fields. It is a fully secured from the rest of the building.

– For education and patient applications, their is a secured 20’ x 25’ Laboratory classroom for Medical and Science training, with access to The Garage.

– A Licensed Doctor, Nurse and other professionals will assist in teaching the Students and helping the Staff.

– An adjoining, secured, Athletic Training Room for education and Physical Care.

– A Medical Clinic Lab Station that can be securely accessed from the Laboratory and Training Rooms.

– Four (4) Exam rooms for mental, physical and rehabilitation health care.

– Two (2) work offices.

– Reception area office for The Health Center and additional MCA administration.

– A large secured lobby with separate, secured bathrooms.

– A basement Medical and Science Library.

There will be many other less defined uses within the Center’s structure and Off-Campus coordination with the Maplewood Campus in Hutchinson, MN. 

This vision and facility fills all of the current needs that the existing MCA school building is lacking.

The Health & Science Center Design Details

The Professionals and Educators who will be on campus, on a consistent basis, will benefit MCA students, staff and the community. Here are a few defined examples:

The lead Physician for the Health Care service currently has two children enrolled at MCA. MCA will have a Christian Family Physician, on-campus, year around, who will operate a functioning Care facility and help instruct MCA students, staff and the community. Within this service, the care facility will employ an administrator (that the school can share, if needed), at least one licensed registered nurse and hopeful staff additions in the near future. The longer term vision also includes a rehabilitation service, additional medical professionals and educators, Medical Residency program, and strength and conditioning professional educator to be on-staff. Additional benefits these professionals will provide to MCA include On-site Lab Technician and services, medical equipment, athletic training, school nurse (doctor), and licensed Doctor, Nurse and other Medical professionals will assist in teaching the Students and helping the Staff.

Within the Event Center, the current Head Coach of the Tonka Gymnastics Club will be the primary coach and help operate the event facility. She is a faithful Christian and has over 30 years of coaching and championship Gymnastics programming experience. Her assistant coach, who is her husband, is a college Fire Safety instructor. Within this one program are at least 4 additional assistant instructors and educators. The Head Coaches current program, located in Minnetonka, consists of over 50 female youths. Within the 5 club teams, there will be over 50 local families who will be at MCA at least two times per week, throughout the school year and over the summer. In addition, this will start a Gymnastics education program within MCA. More on that and other curriculum below.

The Home Ec Instructor can also be the Farmer, Shop instructor, Grounds management and Cafeteria operations manager.

And Me, Rob Just. I currently volunteer at MCA as the basketball coach and helped start the club. We helped start the tumbling club. I help with Physical education instruction. I am the developer with this project, owner of a Real Estate Brokerage, since 2003 and other Real Estate related companies… My wife, Christina Just, myself and other hopeful interested partners, will raise the necessary funds for this building, with reserves to afford the mortgage payments. Our goal is to make it so MCA does not have to contribute to the development or construction of this building. And for its first 30 months, the use of the building is free. With the hopes that it is successful enough to continue that throughout its 99 year land lease and beyond.

A majority of the funds will be raised by selling ownership shares of the building itself. This is a building for MCA, the students, staff and the Community. One share, at $450,000, will provide 10% ownership of the Event Center and Cafeteria. If MCA has 100 students, they could theoretically split that one share into 100 shares and purchase each for $4,500. The students of MCA have the opportunity to have (future) ownership of their school building! Apply that to the staff, church members, the school and community members, and this is The MCA Community Building. The Health Care facility, our Real Estate income, Gymnastics programs, Events, MCA Outreach, and building lease incomes will support the buildings operation, care and mortgage expenses. Additional financial information can be found below and within each specific page listed in the menu.

Curriculum Details

Health & Science – Provides Elementary to Graduate School level education facilities.

Medical Clinic with functioning Medical Laboratory. Medical Library and Classroom. Lab Room. Athletic Training Room. Physics, Movement and Kinesiology education, equipment and rehabilitation center.

A Health & Science Education led by hands on professionals: Licensed and practicing Physician, Nursing Professionals, Laboratory Specialists and multiple MCA Staff members.

Post 8 Independent Global Study Program:

This program is designed to benefit students like my son, Carter Just, and the timeline is designed so the program begins in 2027. In a quick summary, this program will allow Carter to enroll in a 2nd 8th grade school year, so he can delay enrollment into High School by one school year. The year of 2026, Carter is scheduled to finish the 8th grade. However, he is the youngest in his class, a summer born child and we do not want him to enroll in high school that following year. Instead, I have created a curriculum for students like him, called “Post 8”. This will be an attractive program for many parents, and will help increase the enrollment at MCA. Students within this perimeter have active parents who are invested in their Childs education, and because of that will typically fall on the higher end of testing. This program will attract the best and brightest in our Community, to MCA.

This Program IS The Beginning of a Competitive MCA High School:

Once Carter completes his 2nd 8th Grade, that Freshman class, the class of 2031 will be the starting class for the new MCA High School. With this building, the additional services it allows MCA to provide, and the additional staff it will attract, we can start the High School without first building a separate high school facility. And MCA will be financially prepared to be fully staffed. Go through the “Professionals and Educators on campus” summary above, again, and all of the necessary instructors have already been on campus through the various programs… With the current 4th grade class of 2031 enrollment of 11 students, assuming 10 more will enroll before their 8 grade year, and at least 5 students will enroll in the Post 8th program the prior year, that Freshman class will almost reach 30 students. Which is the starting class size MCA needs to return the MCA High School.

The curriculum for Post 8 uses all of the educational opportunities mentioned above, on a Global scale. And will also be the beginnings of the Adventist Global Student and Medical Professional Exchange Program. The Adventist Global Student and Medical Professional Exchange Program is integrated within the Post 8 Program.

For an example and more info go to our HSE Education page.

When this program succeeds, we will need to convert “the shed” into a dormitory and most likely build another dormitory type structure. Many students and young adults will want to be a part of the MCA community. I will continue to work on developing this curriculum, along with the other curriculum mentioned below, with hopeful partners from MCA.

Shop, Farm, Home Ec and Cafe

Economics & Finance – From seed to school lunch. School run cafeteria. Robot Engineering. Farming. Coop with Maplewood Campus…

Gymnastics Education Program and Baseball Education Programs

This curriculum will ease the chaos of over scheduled gymnastics and baseball athletes in our community. It WILL NOT prioritize the sport, IT WILL prioritize the athlete, their faith, education and family commitment.

So, how do we get there? How can we actually break ground on this building in March of 2024?

From Vision To Reality

Below are current examples and a presentation of on-site applications that will demonstrate how we will implement this vision over the next 24 months.

2022-2023 Accomplishments and Failures

We will begin with what we have done this school year. We have implemented, or attempted to implement, numerous programs for MCA this school year, 2022-2023.

We began by starting a basketball team for MCA – the first athletic team in 11 years.

We started a tumbling club for Pre-K to 2nd grade during the 3rd quarter. Then offered to continue a safer opportunity for the 4th quarter, forming sort of a tumbling club team and using the Minnetonka High School gymnastics gym, and a coach of theirs, to increase the safety and skills taught. Within this club, Chrissy volunteered to help coach, Rob set up and took down the equipment each time, and we paid a gymnastics coach to help with spotting and safety. 

Beginning of the 2nd semester, Rob started volunteering as a Phy-ed teacher and Chrissy volunteered as the medical doctor resource for Health Lessons that coordinated with each weeks physical education lesson. Our virtual classroom can be found here: https://mcagym.org/classroom/

Rob attempted to start a baseball club for the spring, however the facilities I was hoping to rent at Williston Fitness Center just wouldn’t be adequate. We hope to host a couple pop-up baseball camps this spring, if the weather cooperates. And, we hope to start a morning walk / run club for students, staff and parents, once the snow melts.

Please accept that the above, and the following, is only intended to relay our commitment to the school.

This school year, since the start of the basketball season beginning of November, Chrissy and I will have dedicated over 150 hours of in-person volunteer time and at least an additional 25 hours of prep time for Phy-ed and Health lessons. Next school year, God willing, we will more than double this effort.

2023-2024 School Year Proposal

For the upcoming school year, we would like to increase our presence on-campus by continuing the Health and Phy-ed curriculum (still in proposal status). While we plan on continuing to create and host after school clubs, the majority of our time will be spent in establishing real athletic programs as well as creating the template for the Health and Science Education Center, assuming MCA is a willing partner. We will do this by introducing the following opportunities for the Students, Staff and Community on MCA’s Campus this coming school year and the following school year: 

Health Science & Physical Education

Athletic Director Duties

Real Estate Foreclosure Outreach for Minnetonka SDA

School Doctor Hours

Fundraising for Current Athletic Programs

Fundraising for the Health and Science Education Center

Further details on these immediate proposals will be given to the responsible parties within the school and church. If accepted, we will dedicate our time this coming school year on developing the necessary education and athletic programs with the hope to hand off the Health & Phy-ed and Athletic Director duties to an on-staff instructor beginning 2024-2025 school year. Then, we will focus on implementing our Health and Science Education and Facility uses, while the new structure is being built. Our goal is to have the facility completed by November 1st of 2024.

Specific Details for Each Use

Detailed information for each use can be found on each page listed in the top menu, or directly below. Reviewing each use, you will see how we plan to reach our goals, making each vision, become a reality.

Science & Health Education Details

MCA Cafe Details

Event Center

MCA Outreach

Health Services

Funding and Building Shares

Our fundraising concept was briefly mentioned; selling shares that would give community members 10% ownership of the building, with a value of $450,000 for each share. Breaking up the entire structure into two different “buildings” is visibly easy: Event Center and Cafeteria is the Community owned portion of the building. And the Health Care business will be in a privately funded portion of the building, yet it can still help service the Event Center and Cafeteria and vice versa.

Our bank will lend to us the necessary funds needed to construct the entire building, once we sell a minimum of 4 shares, or a total of $1,800,000 in donations, sales and commitment. We estimate the Event Center & Cafeteria’s building value to be, at a minimum, $4,500,000, which allows the 10 shares to be sold at $450,000 per share. Chrissy and I will contribute in cash, and loans from our bank, the necessary amount to build the Health Care portion of the building, which will amount to 3 shares. In all, the entire building will be valued at $6,050,000, 13 shares at $450,000 each.

Chrissy and I will purchase and own the 3 shares needed for the Health Care building and we will also purchase and hold 4 shares of the Event & Cafe building, an additional $1,800,000 contribution. We can sell these shares to pay down, or pay off, the initial construction loans if or when necessary. With the remaining 6 shares, we foresee at least one share being sold to community members that we know (and family). We assume the school and the church would each purchase their own share so they can hold positions on the association board – more on the association below and at the MCA Cafe page. We will sell one to the Gymnastics Club Program and the remaining two shares can be sold to various partners: staff, church members, parents, students, club parents and local investors. Another option we have, is to borrow from private investors, which we already have full commitments from, however their return rate is pretty high. Our preferred option is to raise the entire amount in donations or shares, and not have a mortgage at all.

The Health & Science building, with an estimated building cost of $1,500,000 for the 5,500 square feet building (of that 840 sf is the garage), a $270 per sf estimate, will be funded through the 3 private shares Chrissy and I will own. An estimated lien amount of around $1,200,000 will be placed as a mortgage on the building. This will be paid for through the Health Care services we will provide, and income generated by our established Real Estate businesses. See more details at the “Health Care” page.

The Event Center at 18,200 sf (plus additional catwalk viewing area of 3,600 sf) and the Cafeteria at 5,600 sf (plus the basement of 3,000 sf) will use the cash from 4 sold shares ($1,800,000) as a downpayment towards the estimated $3,100,000 building cost, or $130 per sf estimate. One of our shares will be a contribution in cash towards the building costs, which leaves a remaining mortgage amount of $850,000. This will initially be covered by us – Chrissy and Rob, our income, and from the leasing and events income, which will fully support the mortgage costs by the end of year 2. Chrissy and I can also sell one of our Health & Science building shares, if needed, to pay down the mortgage amount. Detailed financial information can be found at the Event Center page.

The Event Center and Cafeteria portion on the building will be managed by the association board. The two income generating entities will be the Health & Science Care business plan and the Event center leasing, use and events. However, by year three, we estimate that the Cafeteria will gross enough income through school lunches, cafe use, event leasing, home ec. and farming education programs, and additional space lease use by the community, to generate additional income that will be used to pay down the mortgage. Detailed financial information can be found at the Cafe page.

Conclusion

As mentioned in the introduction, there is no way we could have come up with this vision on our own. This is inspired by God, an answer to our prayers, as a way for us to dedicate our lives and livelihood towards spreading God’s peace through the youth in our Community.

Thank you for your future contributions, prayers, and help with Minnetonka Christian Academy and the Health and Science Education Center. Minnetonka Christian Academy has a great future with the Health and Science Education Center. MCA will provide the youth in our community the Physical and Mental Health Education and Services that strengthens and preserves our Youths Mind, Body and Soul for decades to come.

The Health and Science Education Center Design

The Event Center Design Details

The Health and Science Center Design Details