Cornerstones of Care Says Goodbye to Gillis Campus

Cornerstones of Care bid farewell to the Gillis Campus with a celebratory event as team members move into new space at the Cornerstones of Care Education Campus, while others will eventually have offices on the Ozanam Campus.

The move has begun in time for the opening of the new Learning Academy, the K-12 day treatment education facility that will serve more than 100 students when it opens later this month. In addition, the Education Campus, located in south Kansas City, will be home to Build Trybe, Behavioral Intervention Support Team (BIST), and Collaborative Learning and Training, three education and skill-building teams that make the Education Campus a unique education and therapy space in the metropolitan area.

The Education Campus will open the Learning Academy to students later this month with 20 classrooms and five therapy rooms. Teachers and paraprofessionals will be on hand to support students who have been referred to the Learning Academy from more than 40 school districts or charter schools. The smaller class sizes and therapeutic support help students learn and find their footing when they haven’t thrived in a traditional school setting.

Cornerstones of Care is moving its headquarters to the Ozanam Campus beginning this fall. Executive Leadership and administrative support teams will have office space there.

The story of the Gillis Campus can be traced back 100 years. In 1926, the Women’s Christian Association purchased 26 acres of land at 81st and Wornall Road for a home for children and a residence for older Kansas Citians called Armour Oaks. While the Gillis Campus is closing, the Armour Oaks residence remains. In addition to the residential buildings that housed children until the late 2010s, the elementary school that served K-8 students was built in 1979 with an addition built a few years later.

Gillis playground circa 1930

On July 30, team members held a celebration of the Gillis Campus and its history to mark the sunsetting of a residential and educational space that served thousands of youth over the years. Current and former staff shared memories and took final tours of one of Kansas City’s landmarks.