Concordia High School, originally named Concordia College, and subsequently Concordia College High School until 1997, was created with the purpose of preparing young men to attend the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. Once ordained, they would return to the

Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

to open up new Lutheran churches. Concordia was established in 1921 with a first class of eighth grade boys. In the 1940s the school became

co-ed Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

and became an academic prep school. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the high school continued as a grade nine to twelve program. In 1987

Concordia University College of Alberta Concordia University of Edmonton, is a publicly funded independent academic institution in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; accredited under the Alberta ''Post-secondary Learning Act''. Concordia offers arts, science, and management undergraduate degre ...

was granted degree-granting status. The history and growth of the university are largely attributed to a small academic high school that gradually added junior college courses to its program, eventually evolving into a full-fledged university college on the same campus and gradually replacing the original high school program. Many students as a matter of course received their

high school diploma A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...

and took university courses at Concordia until either graduation or in order to transfer to the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

. Some of the university faculty were also former students or teachers at the high school. In 2000 the high school program was fully detached from the university program. Concordia High School was incorporated as a separate entity with its own

board of governors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

separate from the governance of the university. In 1997 the high school moved to the north edge of campus at 112 Avenue and 73 Street in Edmonton, where it remained for 14 years. In July 2011 Concordia High School moved to 830 Saddleback Road (the former

Taylor College and Seminary Taylor College and Seminary is a private Baptist university and seminary in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of Kairos University. It is also affiliated with the North American Baptist Conference. History The college was established in 194 ...

campus) in the south end of Edmonton. Concordia High School permanently closed on August 20, 2012. The school's board of governors issued a statement saying they had been informed, in an unanticipated development, that the facility lease would not be renewed and that they had been unable to find an alternative facility for dormitory and classroom space; however, the landlord company stated that the school had defaulted on its lease in January 2012, and the lease was later terminated when the school informed the landlord that they were insolvent and would not open for the 2012–13 school year.

References

{{reflist Educational institutions established in 1921 Educational institutions disestablished in 2012 High schools in Edmonton Private schools in Alberta 1921 establishments in Alberta 2012 disestablishments in Alberta Former schools in Alberta Defunct Christian schools in Canada