The first day of school is just around the corner.

Take a few minutes to pray for your school, and its staff.  Christian schools are ministries, hopefully they see themselves as primarily discipleship ministries of local churches.  So pray for the people who work to operate them just like you would pray for the vocational ministers of your church. 

It also means that many teachers and school staff are involved in in-service.   The Kingdom Educator can do inservice presentations for your school in many areas.  Contact us by email at kingdomeducator@yahoo.com and see what we can do for you.  There’s a blog article in the archives here that lists the titles of sessions we offer, and our rates are very reasonable.  We want to work with you to get your staff trained and not be a strain on your school’s budget. 

We wish every Christian school student a great first day and a great year!  May the Lord bless you this year.

The Kingdom Educator utilizes a number of sources to keep up with what is happening regarding Christian schools and the various laws and regulations that affect them.  We’ve discovered the same thing that many of our sources have discovered–that it is sometimes difficult and frustrating to keep up with everything, and that things can change in a heartbeat.  But if you are a parent with children in a Christian school, or a teacher or administrator, or even a staff member of a Christian school, you need to become an advocate for anything that leads to the complete independence and freedom of your school to function as a discipleship ministry of Christ’s church. 

As a Christian educator, it is my personal belief that parents are held accountable by God for the training of their children.  It is the job of any Christian school to help them if they choose to utilize that particular tool to assist them in their responsibility.  The school, therefore, must be able to do their best job, under the authority of the Holy Spirit, and by the written Word of God, and in order to do that, it must be able to make decisions, build a curriculum, find teachers and administrators, and perform its responsibility without the interference of the state. 

So how can you help?

First of all, monitor websites and read through the newsletters and information that comes from the Christian school organization to which your school belongs.  Most of them have people who serve either as lobbyists or who keep an eye on the legislative situation that affects Christian schools and they will alert you if there is a problem.  Many times, writing to your elected representatives will give them a perspective they didn’t have before, and it does not take many letters from constituence to influence them.  Most political decisions affecting schools are made on the state level, so a dozen letters from parents and teachers in a particular school may have a positive effect. 

Second, when the opportunity arises for you to be an advocate for your school, step up.  It may be speaking to community leaders in clubs or other gatherings, in your church, or simply volunteering some time when you have it available.  You never know who might be listening to you.  At the very least, you might encourage another family to try your school.  

Those of you who live in states where Christian schools have a lot of freedom need to work to keep things that way.  We have always felt that academic excellence is the ticket to freedom and it should also be the byproduct of educational ministry that is striving to honor Christ and serve the Lord.  Stay aware and alert, and help keep your school free from encroachment and regulation by the state by not giving them a reason to be concerned about what is happening in your school. 

Though the situation can change in a heartbeat, there does not appear to be anything particularly threatening going on at the moment.  The California situation with regard to the requirements to make home school parents get state credentials is being monitored closely, and you can read about it with several sources.  Just google it on line and you can get a clear picture.  The President has exercised his freedom of educational choice in sending his daughters to a private, parochial school that integrates religious values into its curriculum. 

We would advise Christian school administrators and parents to be wary of voucher programs that may seem harmless enough, or even helpful, but which place limitations and restrictions on the religious aspects of a school.  Government money never comes without strings attached.  Sometimes, discoveries of onerous rules and regulations are not made until the money has been accepted and spent, and it is too late to do anything. 

Stay the course.  A Christian school education is well worth the time, effort and money you and your child will invest in it, and it is an investment.

The Kingdom Educator has recently encountered the idea of the university model Christian school.  This is basically a schedule variation where the students attend regular classes two or three days a week, and then work with their parents for the other portion of the week.  The classes meet on a “university schedule” which provides the basic classroom instruction, but it also allows the parents plenty of time to work with their children on academic pursuits.

We are currently in the process of reading some material on this model of Christian education.  It is a basic, Biblical principle that parents are ultimately responsible for their children’s education and that Christian schools are simply one means, a tool if you will, of helping them to deliver that education.  Many parents choose the home schooling option, though that is not something that everyone can do for a wide variety of reasons.  It appears that a university model school, which provides opportunity for a broader scope of parent involvement, is a viable option.  It has been around for a while, though we are just now encountering it. 

Perhaps some of the readers of this blog are familiar with it, and would like to provide some comments regarding how it works and what their experiences with it have been.  Feel free to do so.  We’d love to hear from you.

For many private, Christian schools, February is re-enrollment time.  Though my observations are strictly anectodal, I have seen that many Christian schools are facing the financial pinch.  Enrollments are headed downward in many parts of the country, and schools are struggling with ways to keep students coming through the door.  For most families, loss of a job by one working parent makes the difference between staying in or having to leave.  If you are facing some tough financial choices, you are not alone. 

I’ve not seen any national statistics on the effects of the economic downturn on private, Christian schools.  What I have seen are several schools around me have to consider some tough budget choices in order to make the budget belt reach around the school’s need.  Several area schools have frozen their payroll and kept tuition the same, taking reserve funds to balance the difference.  If you have strong capital reserves, you may be able to do this and weather the storm.  Hopefully, by the time the next re-registration period rolls around, the economic outlook will be better.  At least one school that I am aware of has dropped a couple of expensive athletic programs.  Some schools are hoping that tuition insurance will help with the decline of their student population.  What has been heartwarming to observe, at least in this particular area, is that most schools, while not planning to add new personnel to replace those who are leaving at the end of this year, are also not planning to lay off staff members if they can possibly avoid it.  It certainly helps to have a Christian philosophy governing your conduct of business, to the point where staff cuts are a very last resort.  That certainly says something about the character of your school.

There are some things you can do, as parents, administrators, and even teachers, to help out.

1.  Pray.  We know God answers prayer, and when Christians pray in Jesus’ name, essentially in the will of God, he answers the prayers.  Sometimes, we do not have because we do not ask.  So ask. 

2.  Teachers, administrators and school staff can determine to live without a raise in salary.  We know you probably deserve it, and you can certainly use it.  But in trying to work with everyone to come to a solution, it might be the right time to say, “not this year.”  Down the road, when things bounce back, people will remember the sacrifice you made, and so will the Lord.

3.  Administrators and boards can be creative in financial matters.  Look for places where you can eliminate things that might not be absolute necessities.  How can the board reduce costs?  What kinds of things can administrators do to trim the operating cost of the school?  Where are the things that could be considered “extras” or “luxuries”? 

4.  If you are fortunate to have capital reserves, think about what percentage of what you have on hand can be applied to operating expenses to help keep the school going and avoid cutting payroll, layoffs or tuition increases. 

5.  Increase your fundraising efforts.  Not just the sale of some kind of product, but give the business community an opportunity to step up to the plate, especially those who can. 

6.  Parents who are unaffected by layoffs or cutbacks can remember to put a little bit extra in their tuition check each month. 

7.  Remember the Biblical principle that says “to whom much is given, much is required.”  Those families who have an abundance, here is an opportunity for you to graciously help things move forward as much as you can.

8.  Whenever you have a gathering, say, grandparents day or a school program, or even an athletic event, pass the plate.

9.  Let the students come up with creative ideas for fundraising, then allow them to implement their ideas.

Gee, I wanted to come up with ten, but nine will have to do.  There are a lot of ways you can make every dollar work as efficiently as possible. 

Prayer is the key.

During the recent election, many Christian school advocates expressed concern that a presidential administration headed by Barack Obama might undertake actions to regulate education in such a way as to deprive Christian schools of their independence and autonomy, and in a worse case scenario, might favor the passage of legislation that would bring private, Christian schools under closer government regulation and scrutiny.  Events since the election have convinced me that this might not be the case. 

The Obama family’s decision to enroll their children in the prestigious, private and parochial Sidwell Friends School, founded and operated by individuals of the Quaker faith, was a matter of freedom of educational choice, an act which Obama himself has said that he favors.  And while Obama has advocated for increased funding for Charter schools as a means of expanding the educational choices of families, it does not appear that he has any kind of interest in regulating or interfering with the operation of existing private, Christian schools.  Though Sidwell Friends is not typical of the kind of Christian schools that The Kingdom Educator generally addresses, a faith statement, and the faith values of the Quakers who influence the school, is a focal point of the curriculum and community.

As long as Christian schools are committed to excellence in education, something which should be part of their DNA related to the practice of their Christian faith, there is no reason for the government to regulate or control them.  Academic excellence is one of the keys to Christian schools remaining independent and autonomous, and completely free to provide the kind of education those who enroll their children are seeking and expecting. 

The standards that we employ to achieve our goals should exceed those of the state departments of education and the public school system.  Our methods of evaluation should be superior to those used by government schools, and our results should show that we are doing more with less.  We should be self-policing with regard to our standards and expectations, encouraging each other to achieve the kind of excellence that we are capable of producing, and which pleases God.  As long as students can come our way and receive an education that is superior to that offered by government operated school systems, we will avoid state regulation. 

There is still a great need for improvement, and a lot of room for it.  “Kingdom Education” is really not related to the Kingdom if most of its citizens cannot take advantage of it.  High tuition and excessive fees eliminate all but a small percentage of Christian families from being able to exercize their educational freedom.  And while I agree that “God will make a way if you have enough faith,” I also can clearly see that most schools put the burden of complete dependence on God for providing tuition money on the families, and accept none of the responsibility themselves.  That must change.  The time has come for evangelical Christians to open their pocketbooks and wallets, and fund their Christian school operations in a manner that is consistent with the teachings of scripture on the subject.  We must educate our churches to understand the value of a church operated and controlled Christian school, and in so doing, enlist its members in helping to underwrite the expenses.  In many cases, that means we might have to cross denominational lines and other barriers and work together to make Christian education accessible to all of the families in the Kingdom who want to take advantage of it.

Lift these schools and their leaders up in prayer.  We need independent, autonomous, distinctively Christian schools providing education for our future church leaders, whether they are professional ministers or lay leaders.

Though the topic of education has been overshadowed by economics in most election rhetoric in recent weeks, there are still issues to be addressed, and with the current state of most of America’s public schools, it will still be an issue for some time to come.  For those of us interested in education from a Christian worldview, which supports the basic philosophy that the discovery of the revealed knowledge of God, and discipleship by integrating the principles of his word into their applicable place in curriculum, it will always be an issue. 

Education is considered by our government to be a basic human right.  We would take that position one step further, and declare that it is the obligation and responsibility of parents to see that their children are provided with an education that introduces them to the God who created the universe, and teaches them how to understand what he has revealed to us through creation, through his word, and through the redemption from sin that he offers us through Jesus.  As a result of that philosophical view, Christians have developed an educational system that reinforces and undergirds that view. 

For many years now, Christian educators have advocated for a voucher system to help provide resources to Christian families who have the right to educate their children in an environment that supports their belief in God and his divine revelation.  The argument is made that parents should not be required to send their students to a school simply because geography dictates it, but that they should be able to choose a school that will not only provide a quality academic environment, which the school in the neighborhood might not necessarily do, but also one that is in agreement with their Christian worldview and basic philosophy of education.  Since public schools do not provide the latter, the belief is that parents should be able to take the tax money that would be alloted for their child to attend a public school in their district, and use it to place their children in a private, Christian school that supports their philosophy and belief system.  This would be done in the form of a voucher, with the determination of how much money is required for the schools in a particular district to educate one student for one year, coming from federal, state and local tax sources.  Parents would receive a voucher in this amount for each school age child, and could then place that with the school where they chose to enroll their child, whether it be the public school in their designated district, another public school, a charter school or a private school. 

It sounds simple enough, but there are problems inherent with the system, some of which have proven difficult to resolve.  Giving vouchers to parents solves the problem of tax money going directly to private schools with a Christian emphasis, which was an earlier difficulty, but money going directly to families puts such a program in the category of an entitlement program, which creates other difficulties.  Should families who can afford private school be receiving taxpayer money to subsidize their educational choice?  The amount of tuition and fees at most private, Christian schools now exceeds the average annual expenditure of most public school districts.  What if the voucher doesn’t cover the expenses?  Can the school charge additional tuition, and if so, what does that do to families who can’t afford to pay the difference?  Will schools that accept vouchers be required to take their face value? 

Then there is the fact that there are not enough openings in private Christian schools to accomodate all of those who would have access to them through vouchers.  If a school chooses to accept vouchers, how much of its independence and autonomy does it lose, particularly in the admissions process?  Existing laws would make selective admissions a thing of the past at Christian schools which accepted vouchers, since they would not be able to turn down anyone who came to them with a voucher. 

Some churches and Christian groups have established charter schools.  They are operating under the principle that the Christian operation of the school will be an “influence” of sorts.  These charter schools, however, cannot operate under a Christian worldview, nor can they integrate Biblical principles into the curriculum, nor can they teach Christian principles.  The Christian influence they can have is strictly limited.  The problem we have with public education is not merely the academic quality or the lack of Christian influences, the problem is that the basic educational philosophy is humanist, and that is part of the curriculum that is mandated by the state.  The basic problem isn’t solved.

Christians should continue to work toward finding a system that is fair, that recognizes the basic rights of Christian parents to educate their children in a Christian environment, and that gives equal consideration to the choices parents want to make.  We may not have the answers today, but if we continue working together, we can come up with a solution.  The future of the church in this country depends on it.

Clarification:  The Kingdom Educator is opposed to any kind of financing system that jeopardizes the independence and autonomy of a Christian school.  Any system that would place requirements on the school related to the content of its curriculum, its methods of qualifying and employing teachers and staff, its admission standards and qualifications or any other aspect of its governance and complete control over its operations is opposed by the Kingdom Educator. 

We believe there are ways and means of fairly and equitably allowing all families a choice in the way they carry out their biblical, God given responsibility to educate their children.  We believe Christian education should be an option for all Christian families who want to exercise it, and not just those with the means to afford it.  We believe that the Christian community, the church, should be an active agent in finding those ways and means, and that there is a system whereby tax dollars paid by parents can be used in the way those parents choose without penalizing the school where they choose to use them. 

Many Christian schools struggle with issues related to admission requirements for students.  Most Christian schools exist as ministries of a church, or of a group of churches, or with the mission to support and undergird the work of the church.  As such, providing education in a setting where the main philosophy that governs instruction is the belief that all truth is revealed by God and discovered by humans, and does not have human origin is focused on teaching revealed truth to students and is thus, a discipleship ministry.

The issue of admission then comes down to specific requirements.  Is your enrollment closed, meaning that a family desiring to enroll a student in the school must give evidence of their Christian beliefs and lifestyle, or is it open to anyone who comes your way?  If the latter is the case, then what percentage of your student body is made up of students who come from families with no Christian background?  At what point is the Christian atmosphere and influence of your school affected by the number of students from non-Christian homes in your student body, and how do you approach evangelism in your curriculum and in your school life?

I Corinthians 2:14 says, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things of God for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” [emphasais mine].  If you are teaching that God is the source of all truth, and that education is the process of having that truth revealed to human minds, and you are integrating these principles into your curriculum, it is difficult for those who are not Christians, and thus not indwelled by the Holy Spirit, to discern these things.  In many cases, this puts some students at a disadvantage.  There is a careful line to walk, continuing to teach the truth while at the same time avoiding the pitfall of frustrating and angering an unbeliever, and driving them away from the truth unintentionally. 

There is also the danger that a high percentage of non-believers in your student body would be a negative influence.  We have observed schools where non-Christian parents have succeeded in reducing the overall Christian influence in a particular school because there were enough of them to pressure administration and governance into doing their bidding because not to do so would risk losing families and their tuition income. 

Discipleship is the primary emphasis in a Christian school.  You are raising up disciples of Christ who are being prepared to live out their faith in the world, as well as to serve Jesus through his church.  Evangelism can be a natural byproduct of that.  Programming evangelism usually does not work, but if you are preparing young men and women to be Christ’s disciples in the world, they will be in a position to influence the non-Christian peers in your school, and evangelism will occur as it should, in a spontaneous manner by Christians who see it as their mission and ministry. 

That is not to say that evangelistic opportunities should not exist in classrooms, chapel services or in school life.  Those opportunities can be utilized in concert with the “natural” evangelism going on all around, to “draw the net” or to cultivate and gather interest in talking about, and desiring to change one’s spiritual condition.  The best thing to do is to systematically teach the Word and integrate its truths into all subject areas.  Evangelistic opportunities will abound if that occurs.

Seeing your school as a discipleship ministry supporting the church is the best emphasis you can have.  Desiring to produce educated “Kingdom Citizens” will result in genuine evangelism taking place.

The Kingdom Educator can provide someone to conduct inservice conferences for the teachers or parents at your school.  As the school year approaches, we have some experienced Christian educators who have a few openings in their schedule.  Fees are nominal, and we can work with your budget. We generally ask that you cover the speaker’s expenses, and provide a small, reasonable stipend. 

We can cover a variety of topics for your faculty, staff or parents.  You can contact us at kingdomeducator@yahoo.com . 

“Chatter” is one of those words that is gaining new meaning in this age of technology.  It generally means lots of talk in cyberspace about a particular subject, or group of subjects.  As The Kingdom Educator approaches time and readership milestones, and as this school year draws to a close, here’s a little bit of chatter about Christian education issues. 

Achievement Tests

We get a few emails (kingdomeducator@yahoo.com) asking questions about the purpose and value of achievement tests, especially at this time of the year.  With most states, and the federal government placing such a high emphasis on testing, parents are naturally concerned about them.  You need to ask your school administration how they use achievement tests to evaluate their student progress, as well as any other possible use for them. 

Occasionally, we get a parent who is concerned that their child only answered half of the questions on a particular test correctly.  If it is an achievement test, like the Stanford Test, and not a curriculum based test, like many of the state versions, the score you need to keep an eye on is the percentile.  This tells you how your child did compared to the rest of the students who took the test during the same time period, and against the test norms.  If their percentile score is 50% or higher, that means they did as well or better than half or more of the students who took the test.  Again, your school administration can give you advice on how to read these test scores, and how to evaluate them. 

Test scores are not the “product” of education.  They can measure achievement, compared to previous levels of study, and there are some who would argue that curriculum based tests can measure “mastery” of content, though it remains our studied opinion that an annual curriculum based exam on classroom content administered by the state is not the best way to measure mastery.  As a parent, your evaluation of your child’s progress should come in watching their every day progress, as they incorporate what they are learning into their thinking and applying the principles and disciplines they learn in school to their lives.  Observe them, and look for signs that their education is being applied. 

Bible Curriculum

We continue to get emails and comments regarding Bible curriculum used by various Christian schools.  It is the incorporation of the truths of scripture into every aspect of a school’s educational process that sets a Christian school apart from all other kinds of schools.  Not only should your students be involved in a systematic study of the Bible on a daily basis, but the school’s approach to teaching should reflect the Bible’s proven educational methods and philosophy, and the truths of scripture should be the means of measuring all other truth in all other subject areas.  If you don’t have that, you don’t have a Christian school.

The subject matter in a Bible course should be as challenging, academically oriented, and applicable as possible.  It is not the place to experiment with unproven teaching strategies just because some students may complain that the class isn’t “fun” or that it should be less challenging than other subjects because “if they weren’t in public school they wouldn’t have to take it.”  If your son or daughter goes to a state-supported college after high school, you can bet their secular philosophy professor will not dumb down his class because students or parents complain about its difficulty. 

Increasing Tuition

The time is upon us, as Christian educators, to get serious about the financial situation Christian education finds itself in.  As it is, only a small percentage of Christian families can afford to bear the costs of providing a Christian school education for their children, and I am continually amazed at the resistance to implementing a Biblical financial strategy to spread the costs out, so that those who are blessed by the Lord can share some of the responsibility of helping other families make it more affordable, a policy completely consistent with the operation of the early church in the Book of Acts.  If we are not willing to follow Biblical principles related to personal abundance, and sharing responsibility, then the influence of Christian schools, and the effect they could potentially have on our society for the cause of Christ’s kingdom will not be realized. 

Be part of the solution.  Help your school as much as you can.  Your willingness to sacrifice will be blessed. 

Please notice the two new links to the right.  One is in the blogroll, for Nurturing Faith, a blog that belongs to Christian Schools International.  CSI is an organization of Christian schools in the Reformed tradition, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  You can read the blog and find out more about Christian Schools International by clicking on their links.

Thanks to those of you who read this blog for spreading the word.  We have gone over the 4,000 hit mark recently, and have a growing group of daily readers.  Share the word with your friends, come on over to the Kingdom Educator to chat about Christian schools!