A former public elementary school in New Era, Michigan, is welcoming students again after New Era Christian School moved its grades 3–8 classes into the Hillcrest Avenue building. The change also made room for a new infant-and-toddler daycare at the school’s original campus. New Era Christian School’s current website lists grades 3–8 at 2752 Hillcrest Drive and preschool through grade 2 at 1901 Oak Avenue.
The Hillcrest building had served local families for decades before Shelby Public Schools closed it during a district consolidation. The Oceana Echo reported that the 20,000-square-foot New Era Elementary opened in 1963 and stopped holding classes midway through the 2023–24 school year, after the district shifted students to its Shelby campus. The empty building remained a familiar neighborhood landmark, and residents discussed ways it could continue to serve the village. A January Echo report also placed the closure within Shelby Public Schools’ move to a newer campus and said the village and district worked together so the former school would not remain unused. That transfer, rather than a district reopening, set the stage for its next educational use.
That discussion led to a new use for the site. In May 2026, the Village of New Era reached an agreement to buy the former school from Shelby Public Schools, according to The Oceana Echo. A donor then purchased the property from the village and gave it to the New Era Christian School Society.
School leaders faced a short runway before the 2026–27 school year. The Echo reported that the school had about 12 weeks to organize a daycare program and renovate two facilities for new uses. Board President Scott Meyers told The Echo that the work required a much larger budget than planned for the year. The school’s original building already met preschool requirements and needed fewer changes for daycare, while the Hillcrest campus needed work before older students could move in. Administrators kept daycare and preschool through second grade together at Oak Avenue, with grades 3–8 at the former elementary school.
The renovated Hillcrest campus now includes a science laboratory, library and media space, art and band rooms, a secured entry foyer and an outdoor classroom, The Oceana Echo reported. Crews also updated floors, ceilings and paint and added landscaping. These features give the school more room for its older students and add spaces for science, music, art and learning outdoors. The report did not give renovation costs, enrollment figures or a total amount of community funding, so those outcomes remain unreported.
At the Oak Avenue location, the new daycare serves infants through toddlers. The school’s daycare page lists Sept. 1 as its start date and describes care built around play, stories, music, movement and other age-appropriate activities. New Era Christian School identifies itself as a Christian school and describes the daycare as Christ-centered. The Echo reported that its broader early-childhood center includes daycare and preschool through grade 2, with before- and after-school care also available to students.
Contractors, skilled volunteers and community supporters helped prepare both sites, principal Jim Eppink told The Oceana Echo. The report said some residents who contributed had no previous connection to the school. It described the effort as a mix of practical help and community backing rather than a single renovation project: one campus reopened for older students while the original site expanded early-childhood services. No individual donor, contribution amount or volunteer total was identified.
The next step is to connect the changed campus with its neighbors. The Echo reported that New Era Christian School planned a public open house for Oct. 8, from 5 to 7 p.m., where visitors could tour the renovated Hillcrest building. The school also plans to begin construction on a full-size gym and performing-arts center this fall, with use targeted for the 2027–28 school year; that work is planned, not complete. For a building that stood empty after public-school consolidation, the reopening puts classrooms back on Hillcrest while the two-campus arrangement adds a new place for local families to find early care.
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