By Tony Madden
Hickman Mills United Neighborhoods met Monday evening for an early tour of the future Cornerstones of Care Education Campus at the former Archbishop O’Hara High School campus on James A Reed. Rd. The mental and behavioral health nonprofit will consolidate its education programs, including two day schools, at the campus in time for the 2026-27 school year, it announced in October.
The October announcement cited a need for more space at both campuses and costly maintenance issues at the Gillis Campus as reasons for the move. Cornerstones of Care has served children and families at the Gillis Campus for more than 150 years as various organizations. The earliest was the Gillis Home for Orphans established by Mary Gillis Troost in 1870.
Both day treatment campuses — the K-8 Gillis Campus at 8150 Wornall Rd. and the 9-12 Ozanam Campus on 137th Street — will close to students after the 2025-26 school year as a result of the consolidation, according to Cornerstones of Care. The Ozanam Campus will remain open as an office building.
The two day treatment schools are among programs serving 46 school districts in the Kansas City metro. Students served have individualized education plans, mental or learning challenges, and/or autism diagnoses.
The new campus will have a capacity of about 150 students with approximately 100 students enrolled for the 2026-27 school year, according to Dr. Angela Danley, who serves as senior director of education for Cornerstones of Care. The Education Campus can expect 12-13 teachers with class sizes of about 10-12 students in its first year. Each teacher will also have a full-time paraprofessional in the classroom, Danley added.
Alongside the day treatment school, the new campus will host Build Trybe, the organization’s hands-on vocational workforce program. The campus will also host the Behavioral Intervention Support Team, a group of consultants that area schools with behavior management resources and solutions.
Sarah Sharinger, chief administrative officer at Cornerstones of Care, added the campus will offer community resources such as training for relationships, trauma-informed care and foster parents.
Improvements to the building are extensive, Sharinger said. They include enhancements to the cafeteria, commercial kitchen, bathrooms, classrooms and therapy spaces. Walls have been knocked down to create larger classrooms, and a studio is under construction for employees to film digital training sessions. The former administration office will become a therapy suite employed by licensed clinical social workers, and the old dormitories are being transformed into offices.
Two classrooms will be devoted to Build Trybe’s Seed to Plate program, the culinary and agricultural vocational training path offered by Cornerstones of Care (students can also choose from wood and metal working or conservation landscaping).
The campus courtyard will house a farm and garden where students will plant and harvest food. Food from the garden will be incorporated into the cafeteria and sent home with families, according to Theo Bunch, founder and director of Build Trybe. Bunch added the community can expect orchards, goats and chickens.
Security is also being improved on the campus as Cornerstones of Care installs more security cameras and badged access at all entrances. The school will also employ a student resource officer, and the nonprofit has been in talks with the St. John Francis Regis Catholic Parish next door about being a good neighbor.
“I’ve always wanted to open a new school,” Danley told Hickman Mills United Neighborhood Members during the tour. “So I’m living my dream a little bit with the help of everybody.”