Looking For A Good Christian School? Here’s Some Help!

It’s that time of year. 

Parents begin looking for a place to put their children for the upcoming school year.  Can you believe it is 2009-2010, and that it is upon us in less than a month in some cases?  Wow, how time flies.

We’ve already received several emails asking questions about what to look for when choosing a Christian school from parents who are looking to either move their kids, or enroll them for the first time.  We have some questions you can ask, and what you should be looking for, if your desire is to place your children in an environment where they will be taught by Christians who share similar convictions and values with you, who proclaim Jesus Christ as their savior and Lord, and who understand that the primary way to integrate Biblical principles into the curriculum is to live them out in the classroom as an example. 

Here are the pertinent questions:

1.  Is your school affiliated with a church or denominational group? 

This will tell you how the school is governed, and from what Christian perspective the curriculum will be drawn.  You need to find a school that is compatible with what your family believes, and with what you want to teach your children.

2.  What qualifications do you look for in your teachers, and what requirements must they meet in order to be hired at your school?

If the only answer is that they must be state certified, keep looking.  Teachers should be qualified by being able to articulate a sense of calling by God to teaching as a ministry, should be able to give a testimony that includes knowing Christ as their savior and involves having a daily, growing walk with the Spirit, and they should be an active member of a local church that believes the Bible is the written, authoritative Word of God.  They should have at least a Bachelor’s degree in their teaching field, and exhibit enthusiasm for continuing education that helps them improve their teaching. 

In recent years, I have personally encountered Christian schools which require teachers coming from a public school background to take a course in Christian school philosophy and to earn either CEU credit or college hours in Bible courses.  These schools are not hard to find, and they will generally be the ones that will provide you with the Christian influence you are looking for.  State certification is simply a secular government stamp of approval on a government dictated course of study.  It has little to do with educational quality, since in most states, earning a C average and passing an exam with a minimum score of 70% is all that is required to get one. 

3.  May I have a copy of your curriculum guide?  May I look at the curriculum materials you use?

“Curriculum” is not some brand name product that a school buys.  Abeka or Bob Jones Press is not the school’s curriculum.  They are publishers of curriculum materials.  The curriculum is found in the course objectives for each grade level and subject area taught in the school.  These objectives should be written by the school’s administration and faculty in collaboration, and should reflect the school’s overall mission and purpose.  State mandated objectives may be used to form the basis for requirements in some courses, but the school should work to exceed those standards, and eliminate those elements that are not consistent with the school’s mission and purpose. 

If a school does choose to use a secular textbook, or a curriculum resource from a secular publisher, there should be a reasonable explanation for doing so, and supplements with Biblical material should be available for parents to observe.

4.  What are some of the things your school does to encourage its students in their Christian faith?

Making instruction in the Bible a requirement at each grade level is basic.  If the school doesn’t have a way to do this, move on down the road to the next one.  Opportunities during the week to worship together are also vital to the spiritual life of the school.  At the earliest possible age, students should be invited to share in worship leadership, and all students should be involved in worship at least on a weekly basis.  Check to see if the school involves its students in external ministry and missions opportunities in the community. 

5. When your students graduate from high school, where do they go to college? 

This will basically tell you about the academic quality of the school.  If students are able to get into a variety of colleges and universities, then the academic quality is generally good, regardless of the accreditation.  Most Christian school agencies provide their member schools with accreditation services approved through various state departments of education.  Avoid schools that have sought regional accreditation like SACS or North Central because they also provide accreditation for public schools, and their commissioners often want to challenge the Biblical and spiritual philosophy of the school.

6.  How much of your operating cost comes from tuition and fees? 

Unfortunately, most Christian schools these days, particularly those associated with evangelical and conservative churches, are tuition driven.  That limits the variety of economic and cultural backgrounds from which they can draw their students, because the higher the tuition, the wealthier the families who send their kids there must be.  In most cases, teachers and school employees are making at least an equal sacrifice with regard to their salaries and benefits in order to help tuition and fees stay low and competetive.  Some schools are becoming more creative with regard to their fund raising methods.  Regardless, once you choose a school, you need to be committed to helping financially support it, both out of your own pocket, and with effort you can make to help keep the costs as low as possible.

If you have questions, please email the Kingdom Educator at kingdomeducator@yahoo.com.  Include your name and the city where you live and we will respond as quickly as we can.