By definition, when we use the term “distinctive,” we are implying that there are characteristics which set something apart from the rest of the objects in the category to which it belongs.  It’s more than just what’s in the name.  There are a lot of private schools which call themselves “Christian,” or which have a Christian history and heritage, but which have long since lost that distinction.  A school that is distinctively Christian is one in which the Biblical principles and practices of the Christian faith are an integral part of every aspect of the school’s operation, from the way the school is put together and governed, down to the smallest detail of classroom instruction, and the extra-curricular activities. 

These are the major aspects of a distinctively Christian school:

1.  The administration, faculty, support staff and governing board are all made up of people who have a testimony of a personal salvation experience of grace through faith in Jesus, and whose lives give evidence of their faith by their active involvement in the body of Christ through a local church with principles and practice of faith similar to the school’s expressed beliefs. 

The first element of integrating Biblical truth into the curriculum of a school is to make sure it is staffed by people who have a personal, living relationship with Jesus as their savior, and who are involved in a spiritual journey as a result of that.  It is important that everyone understand this, from the chairman of the board and superintendent down to the ladies who serve lunch in the cafeteria.  Every person who works for the school and who will come in contact with parents and students should have a living walk with Jesus, and be a mature, growing Christian, not perfect, but in the process of being made perfect in Christ. 

I’ve seen some schools maintain this posture with their staff, but fail to hold their governing board to the same standards in the interest of finding people who can “contribute” something to the school through their personal field of expertise or perhaps even their checkbook.  For example, I know of a Christian school who added a banker, a construction company president and an architect to their board prior to a capital campaign to raise funds for construction of a multi-million dollar facility.  Two of them were just nominal church attenders, and one claimed affiliation with a denominational background, but was not involved in a local church.  The school raised a good portion of the money needed, though it had to borrow to complete the project, and conflicts between at least two of these board members and administration over issues related to the discipline of their children resulted in the dismissal of two of the most respected administrators and faculty members in the school.  It also resulted in the departure of a number of families who knew what had happened, and the school hasn’t yet recovered the enrollment losses or the financial revenue. 

2.  The curriculum is based on Biblical truth.  All learning objectives support basic foundational truths of the Christian faith, and are not in conflict with Biblical principles.  All curriculum materials support these principles. 

What that means, in practice, is that your faculty and administration must work diligently to develop curriculum guides for every subject and every grade level to make sure this is accomplished.  Sorry, but you cannot depend on the state curriculum guides and objectives.  There isn’t a single state in the US that writes curriculum objectives based on a Christian philosophy of education or a Christian worldview.  Not one. 

For those of you who work in states that require you to follow the mandated objectives in order to be granted state DOE recognition, this means that you need to add a Biblical perspective to each objective.  It is a big job, an absolutely necessary job, but one for which there is an abundance of help.  Affiliate with a Christian school organization, either a state association or someone like ASCI, or even better, seek accreditation through one of them.  All of them offer assistance in this area that is tailored to meet the specific needs of schools in your state or region. 

It is also extremely important for you to make Christian-based textbooks and curriculum materials available to your students.  If the state mandates a particular text for a course, it is an added expense, but well worth it to have a classroom set of Christian texts available for use as well.  If there isn’t a state required list of textbooks, then you need to choose your own Christian publisher, one whose style and perspective with which your are comfortable working, and design your curriculum around their use.  There’s a lot of on-line help available, too. 

3.  Educate your families in the philosophy of Christian education when they enroll their children in your school. 

Don’t assume that the parents who bring their children to you are doing it because they know the kind of environment you offer.  Chances are, most of them don’t, and they are bringing their children to you for another reason, such as dislike of the environment at their local public school, or because they perceive that your school does a better job with academics.  Your parents need to be told up front that the difference between a distinctively Christian school and any other school is that you proclaim belief in a God who created the universe ex nihilo, and who rescued his creation from sin through the sacrifice of his own son, Jesus, on the cross.  They need to know that you believe God is omnipotent, omnicient and omnipresent, and that he is the source of all knowledge, and the power to sustain his creation, including humanity.  Lay it all out, tell them that these beliefs will be taught to their children as the truth, and that the end result of the education you provide is not necessarily a strong academic background to get them into a good college or get a job, but to make them into strong, effective citizens of the Kingdom and useful members of Christ’s church. 

Make sure they know you understand that they, as parents, are responsible before God for the education of their children, and that they are coming to you for your help and expertise in this responsibility, entering into a partnership with the school for the mutual benefit and growth of the student.  They need to know that you take your part of the partnership seriously, there will be no compromise, and that you are motivated to do what is best for the student, even though at times that may be difficult.  They need to “buy in” to your approach without exception. 

4.  Be a Christian community.

The school functions every day like a Christian community.  It prays.  It worships the Lord.  It teaches the Bible.  It loves each other with the unique form of agape love that Jesus modeled for us.  The atmosphere at a distinctively Christian school should be remarkably different from a public school environment, especially for the students.  Christlikeness should characterize the community.  Behavior that isn’t Christlike should be corrected in students firmly, gently, and with an outlook toward growth. 

You won’t be perfect.  That’s O.K.  Only Jesus was.  Just follow him, and keep going in that direction and it will make a difference.

5.  Be practical.

Now what in the world do I mean by that?

We are in the world, but not of it, according to the scripture.  As a result of that, we are called to live and work in the culture at large, not compromising our principles because of its influences, nor isolated from it so that we are invisible and off in our own world, but as salt and light, so that others can see Jesus in us.  It is very easy, when we create a Christian environment inside of our own walls, so to speak, to forget who we are and what we are doing.  Let me share a couple of practical examples, so you can see what this looks like.

When I see a school that requires all of its teachers to be state certified, and advertises that to the public as one of the selling points, it has compromised with the culture and lost its Christian distinctiveness.  There isn’t a state teacher certification program in the country that trains and prepares teachers for Christian school careers.  In fact, the state certification programs are build on a humanist educational philosophy that is counter to your school’s philosophy and basic values.  On the other hand, I’ve been in Christian schools where some of the teaching staff didn’t even have degrees in the subject they were teaching, and were put in the classroom because they could manage the students and they were good church members.  Your teaching staff should first of all feel a sense of spiritual calling to the teaching profession.  They should be able to identify the spirtual gift of teaching within themselves.  Those are two absolute requirements.  Earned degrees are a sign that the teacher is interested enough to become professional and develop their talent and gift, and every teacher on your staff should have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in the field in which they are teaching.  Continuing education is also a practical application, and the school should provide assistance for teachers to go on to a Master’s degree. 

Another example is in the area of test scores.  Achievement tests are important measurements of student progress, but they are not the end of educational achievement.  Use them for what they are intended to be used for.  Note areas of weakness and work with teachers to strengthen them.  But don’t go out of your way, or waste time “teaching to the test.”  That will skew the scores anyway, and make them worthless in the long run.

It’s all about Jesus.

Part 2 later.

It’s that time of year.  And as the economy seems to be improving, at least in some places, several websites which carry notice of employment opportunities for Christian schools have long listings of available positions for the upcoming school year.  The one you just read here is an actual ad from one of those websites, with the names changed to protect the innocent.  Or, perhaps I should say, the guilty. 

If this ad were for a school in your community, would you apply, or would you hesitate before contacting them?  And would you send your children to this school, knowing the requirements they have for their teaching staff? 

I wouldn’t.

First of all, there is the requirement that teachers must have a valid state teaching certificate.  Though the ad goes to great lengths to point out that the school is evangelical, and hires only those individuals who are members of churches which are compatible with its doctrinal statement, it inconsistently allows the secular state department of education to set the basic requirements for its faculty.  That’s right, that is exactly what requiring teachers to have state certification is doing. 

The state department of education in your state, or whatever department it is that is responsible for setting and maintaining teacher certification requirements, is doing so for the public school system.  They are based totally and completely on the philosophy of education under which the public school system operates.  If you’ve had any training at all in basic Christian school educational philosophy, you know that there is one basic difference between the two philosophies which completely separates them from each other in the way that education is done.  Neither the public school system nor the state department of education recognizes God as the creator and sustainer of the universe and the source of all knowledge and wisdom.  They do not recognize the Bible as the written Word of God, truth without any mixture of error.  And they do not teach that education is the process of discovering truth that is revealed by God through his son, Jesus, who is the Christ and the savior of humanity.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

So why would your Christian school turn to the state department of education and the public school system for its stamp of approval on the individuals who are hired to provide instruction in the classroom? 

I think, for some, it is a question of the school’s credibility.  It is a “stamp of approval” and in some cases it may be seen by parents, especially those who either don’t know better, or aren’t particularly looking for the “distinctively Christian” side of the school, as a sign of quality.  Think about that.  Public schools must hire state certified teachers, and if it were a sign of “quality,” wouldn’t all of them be doing a better job?  Also, there are some Christian schools in the whole spectrum of the ministry who, either for lack of adequate resources, or out of conviction, hire individuals who may see themselves as teacher, but who have no solid academic credentials, and in some cases, don’t even have a degree, simply to fill needs. 

I would suggest that “distinctively Christian” schools need “distinctively Christian” teachers, and that requirement makes state certification requirements, and ultimately state based curriculum requirements, irrelevant.  That doesn’t mean that a state certified teacher can’t teach in a Christian school, but that individual would need to meet requirements in some areas that state certification would simply not cover in order to be qualified. 

Here’s The Kingdom Educator’s Christian School Teacher Certification Requirements:

1.  A teacher must have a testimony of a born-again experience with Jesus, a spiritual transformation that occurred following personal repentance from sin, receiving the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for the forgiveness of sin, cleansing of the soul and restoration of the person’s relationship with God.  The teacher must be an active member of the body of Christ as it functions in worship, discipleship, ministry, evangelism and fellowship, described in detail in the New Testament. 

2.  A teacher must have the personal, spiritual maturity to lead students as their mentors in Christian discipleship.  Part of their obligation in this regard is their own involvement in regular study of the Bible through their local church.  In addition to this, teachers at this school must have received the equivalent of six credit hours in Biblical studies at the college level, or through some other recognized continuing education system.  This requirement must be met no later than the end of the first year of employment.  (Try to get your state department of education to implement this through their teacher certification program!)

3.  All teachers must present a certified copy of their college transcript prior to being considered for employment.  A B.A., B.S. or B.G.S. degree is required, and they must have a minimum of 24 credit hours in elementary education coursework in order to be employed at the elementary level.  Secondary teachers must have a minimum of 18 hours of college level credit in any subject which they will teach for one period each day, and a minimum of 24 hours of college level credit in their primary teaching assignment.  Applicants who have Master’s degrees in their subject area will be given preference.

4.  “Continuing Contract Teachers” are those individuals who meet the school’s specific continuing education requirements during the first five years of their employment.  This includes those specific to their hiring as listed above, along with annual participation in one continuing education event per year of at least eight clock hours of training specifically in Christian education, and earning the equivalent of six college level credit hours from an approved Christian college or university source.  Christian school Philosophy of Education can be considered as meeting part of this requirement. 

There are some states in which accreditation goes hand in hand with requiring teachers to hold state teaching credentials, and that certainly creates some difficulties for Christian schools who are trying to hold the line and operate as distinctively Christian institutions.  Some have made the sacrifices that go along with abandoning the accreditation process anyway, while others do their best to make certain that their teaching staff is consistent and compatible with their philosophy and approach.  In this writer’s experience, those individuals who clearly understand that their teaching career is a ministry calling make the best teachers, and many of them have either been educated in other fields, or come from other professions as they are led by the Lord.  And in all fairness, there are those who have this calling in their life who have determined not to allow the process of obtaining a piece of paper which carries the state’s approval of their coursework to be an obstacle to their ministry.

Over time, however, the “distinctively Christian” environment that had attracted the Tanners to the school began to fade, and they noticed subtle changes in the curriculum, the staff, and the overall atmosphere of the school which eventually led them to decide to choose another school for the education of their boys.  Jay and Beth share this perspective in the hope of helping other parents, and perhaps other Christian school administrators, see things from a parent perspective. 

The school where we originally enrolled our son in kindergarten, and eventially our siblings as well, identified and advertised itself as “distinctively” Christian.  They explained that this meant several things.  First, all of their teachers and staff members had a personal testimony of being believers in God’s plan for the redemption of humankind through the sacrifice of Jesus, and held deep convictions about his saving power, his virgin birth, sinless life, vicarious death and literal resurrection from the dead, as well as other principles and doctrines compatible with evangelical Christian theology.  Second, they operated from an educational philosophy that recognized God as the creator of the earth, and education as the process of discovering knowledge that God has already revealed.  Third, they not only talked about “integration” of Biblical principles into the curriculum, but emphasized their belief that the Bible’s truths are the foundational elements of all learning, and are part of the curriculum.  Fourth, they recognized the need for textbook and learning materials that fully supported the Christian mission and purpose of the school.  Fifth, they believed that academic excellence was a byproduct of teaching students to be fully and completely obedient to the God who created them.  Sixth, though they recognized the need for accreditation, and for hiring qualified and well-trained teachers, they believed that their accreditation needed to come through an agency familiar with the philosophy of Christian education, and that rather than seeking a state-approved sanction for their teachers, they would look at individual spiritual gifts, experience and a level of formal Bible training. 

Of course, no institution is perfect, but we were pleased by the way this school operated.  There was simply no comparison in the academic level of the school, and the public schools where our boys had attended, and of course, with regard to the relationships that developed with teachers, and the atmosphere in the school, it wasn’t even close.  Praying before class, before lunch, having a weekly chapel service, going to Bible class in addition to everything else contributed to remarkable progress.  First one, and then all four boys were on the honor roll.  There was a motivation to participate and become involved in school life, and even to do homework!  Grades improved and so did attitudes at home. 

So what happened to change all of that?

When the superintendent retired several years ago, the school had difficulty finding another one, and went for quite some time with a vacancy.  Eventually, they hired a man who came from a public education background.  He was a professing Christian, but had no real experience in a Christian school environment.  That was probably the turning point.  The changes were subtle and slow, but over a two year period of time, made a tremendous difference.  In spite of parent involvement, the new superintendent always had a way of explaining what he wanted to do, and why it was necessary.  The bottom line always seemed to be opening the school up to a broader constituency and helping increase the enrollment, and we finally figured out that meant “more money,” which is why the majority of the board went along with it.  Our eventual response was to find another school that reflected the values and the kind of Christian education we desired for our family.

The first thing that happened was in the curriculum.  Some of the Christian textbooks the school used were pronounced “weak” in certain areas, particularly math and science.  Faculty and administrative committees, without parent input, made selections of textbooks used by the public education system.  They got around the opposition by declaring that the teachers would still make sure the Christian principles were integrated into the curriculum.  Within a year, almost all of the Christian textbooks once used by the school on the secondary level were gone, replaced by those from secular publishers in line with the state-approved textbooks, and even on the elementary level, in math and science. 

The second thing that happened was the school’s seeking accreditation from SACS.  I don’t know a lot about the three and four letter acronyms for educational accreditation, but I did know that ACSI, which was the agency through which we were already accredited, was recognized and approved by the state education commission.  SACS is the same agency that provides accreditation to public schools, which tells me immediately that it doesn’t operate at the same level as a private school organization that works exclusively with Christian schools.  The rationale offered by the administration was that it would “improve” the ability of our students to get into the colleges and universities they wanted, as well as the ability to transfer from one school to another.  Our graduates already had a 90% acceptance rate to their first choice school, and were attending schools like Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Duke, Northwestern, and a whole list of other colleges, without SACS approval.  Now, we are subject to accreditation team visits with people who have no knowledge of a Christian philosophy of education, and from schools which do not operate from a “distinctively Christian” approach.  I was told that, during the initial visit, the individual who was evaluating our high school English curriculum laughed at our “sanitized” required reading list, and suggested that we get in touch with the public high school down the street to get theirs, so our kids could get back to reading in the real world. 

We had a great faculty, more than half of whom had master’s degrees, and the list of schools from which they had graduated included some of the finest Christian colleges out there.  In addition to several from Liberty University, and a scattering of graduates from Columbia International, Pensacola Christian and Wheaton, most of the rest went to local Christian universities.  But when new faculty were hired during the new administrator’s first year, and during the SACS accreditation process, they came from state universities with state teacher certification.   Every teacher on the staff had once been required to have at least 12 hours of Bible courses on the college level, but the new faculty members were required to hold a state teaching certificate.  State universities do not offer formal Bible training, and their “religion” courses aren’t trustworthy.  Every prospective teacher with a degree from a Christian college was turned down on the basis that they didn’t have state certification, even though all of them would have qualified for ACSI’s certification standard.  The quality of instruction in the classroom, especially of the new crop of teachers, declined noticeably.

Inevitably, the admission standards also suffered.  In order to appeal to a larger constituency, the admissions test was “dumbed down,” and eventually, though it was still given, it was rarely taken into consideration.  The enrollment did reach capacity, and the money came in, but the cost was high.  At the end of the second year, with further changes coming in curriculum, and another group of state certified, secular educated teachers coming on staff, we moved our boys to another school which still valued a Christian philosophy of education.

What is so remarkable about this is how quickly the process moved.  One administrator, a slight shift in board perception, a different accreditation process, and much of what made the school “distinctively Christian” had been removed in favor of bringing it closer to operating like a public school.  It’s been three years since that happened, a new administrator has been hired, and I’ve been told that the school is struggling with enrollment because most of those families interested in a distinctively Christian education have left. 

Thanks, Jay and Bethany, for writing this.

The link above will take you to an article entitled Ten Ways to Harden a Child’s Heart Toward God, from Perspective, a publication of Cherokee Christian Schools in Woodstock, Georgia.  It is an excellent article.

The author contrasts ten principles taught in Christian school with their counter-teaching in the public school system, and then explains what harm can be done to a child’s relationship with God as a result of teaching them to accept premises taught in public education that go against scriptural truth.  He is right on target.

And yet, in spite of these very clear differences which set Christian schools apart from their public school counterparts, we still have Christian schools which seek after the same accreditation from the same agencies that place their stamp of approval on the public education system, and they still use the state department of education’s standards for teacher certification to determine whether or not their classroom teachers are qualified. 

Trying to be like the public school system will not help you accomplish your goals.

Dear Kingdom Educator,

I’ve been teaching in the same Christian school for 22 years.  During that time, I’ve followed directives from the administration, earned a master’s degree in my subject area, mentored two student teachers, and received several honors.  I have never received an evaluation that was less than excellent from the four different administrators who have served as head of school during my tenure.  In years when our administration came to us and told us that finances wouldn’t permit a raise for the next year, I’ve graciously accepted that, and helped other teachers to do the same. 

Over the past couple of years, with several new Christian schools opening in our community, and the economic downturn, our enrollment has declined.  A week ago, the principal came to me and informed me that he did not have a position to offer me for the next school year.  I was shocked and surprised, and no reason was given when I asked why.  I suspect that money is behind the decision.  The other teacher in the department who will be assigned to teach my classes is in her third year of teaching, and only has a bachelor’s degree, which, on the salary scale, represents a difference of more than $20,000.  Also, our school pays health insurance premiums on a sliding scale, and after five years of service, they pay 100%.  She was hired by our current administrator, while I was hired four administrators ago.  When I asked the board chairman to have the opportunity to address the board regarding this issue, I was told that they couldn’t discuss employment matters, and refused an appointment.  I do have a job for next year, thanks to one of the other schools in the community, but I will be losing my insurance benefits and taking a large pay cut.  I was wondering if you have heard anything like this before, and how other people handled this.

J.A., Texas

Yes, we have heard this before and it is unfortunate that many Christian schools look at the bottom line of expenses and dollars, rather than placing a value on the service and dedication of long term employees.  Of course, we do not know all of the circumstances involved here, but if the description of the situation is accurate, this school is making a calculated error in judgment.  This is the kind of thing which led to the growth of teacher’s unions and legal requirements keeping schools from laying off senior personnel in favor of those just out of college who get paid much less. 

In situations like this it is hard to take the high road and be gracious, but that is the best course of action.  It is not likely that the administration or board will relent, and rehire you, but keep that door open anyway.  Don’t compromise your character or your principles, even though the school seems to have done exactly that.  Put your perspective in writing and send a letter to each individual board member.  Avoid criticism of administration, but simply make your case.  If your school has a written grievance policy, follow it to the letter in expressing this as a grievance, noting that the board may have violated it by refusing to see you. 

Be careful in your conversation with parents, especially those to whom you are close.  We have seen situations like this result in families withdrawing their children, and even though those decisions are made independently, you may be blamed for it and you don’t want that to happen.  It would be appropriate to set down the facts of your case, without personal speculation, in a letter addressed to any Christian school organizations of which your school might be a member, as a point of information more than anything else. 

Rest assured, if your school’s board and administration follows this kind of a policy regarding loyal, long-term employees, it will not be long before it experiences a very negative effect.  Attracting and recruiting new staff members will be made much more difficult.  Who wants to work at a school where there is no job security, and hiring decisions are made arbitrarily?  And while the administration and board may think they’ve saved a few dollars, the parent community is well aware of what has transpired, and there is a negative effect on enrollment. 

There are many states where the school, even a private, Christian school, would not be able to take such an action, or at least where the employee has some recourse to appeal.  Unfortunately, Texas has some regressive “at will” employment laws that essentially remove any employee protections and render employment contracts worthless.  There are hundreds of Christian schools in Texas which have the integrity to issue employment contracts, and which value the work of long time employees who share the school’s Christian values.  Unfortunately, there are a few which see themselves as a business, and compromise their principles when money is tight.

The school that exists there today is quite different.  Rather than coming from the immediate neighborhoods, which are still full of working class families, the average commute is from further away.  The church no longer subsidizes the school budget, so tuition and fees provide the bulk of the school’s operating expenses, along with a few private contributors.  Tuition exceeds the $10,000 per year mark.  The vast majority of the families who send their children to school there do so to escape the public school environment, and as a result of that, and the fact that the aging congregation has lost its original vision for the school, and has few, if any, of its own families involved in it, there is almost no Christian influence on the campus.  The school has become a tennant, the church is dependent on the rental income from the use of the buildings.  A paradigm shift has occurred.

Tuition driven Christian education was the model that most schools employed when the movement began showing exponential growth beginning in the late 1970′s.  But even then, there were voices warning that to continue on that path would be to eventually come to a dead end, arriving at a point where only the wealthiest families would be able to afford Christian based schooling for their children.  There was a time when families, especially those who were deeply committed and understood fully the value of a Christian school education, could cut back on expenses and still provide Christian schooling.  I know many who were willing to live in a smaller, less expensive home, drive the wheels off their vehicles, and carefully budget their entertainment expenses in order to have the money to pay tuition for two, three, even four kids to go to Christian school, but in recent years, when it costs $10,000 a year for one child, the dollar amounts are just too high for good family budget management to make much of a dent. 

I’ve heard the cop out phrase, “If God wants your kids in Christian school, he’ll provide a way,” just a little too often, especially when the school doesn’t make much of an effort to be part of God’s provision.  There is a clear and distinct difference between the basic educational philosophy of the public school system, and Christian school education and it is as simple as the recognition that God exists, that he created the world ex nihilo, and that he chose to redeem his creation by the sacrifice of his son, Jesus.  The traditional Christian school model, the tuition driven school that takes the same general approach as public education, is showing signs of decline in terms of enrolment and accessibility.  It is time to get out of the box, and look at some alternative models.  Some things are going to have to change.

The trend for many schools up to this point has been to construct their own facilities.  Most don’t raise the total amount they need in advance, so they borrow to build and then a portion of the construction cost comes out of the tuition and fees.  On the other hand, most church buildings stand empty six days a week.  Yes, we know that there is a certain level of prestige and prominence associated with having your own building, but as Christians, we are taught to share, and the fact of the matter is that algebra is just as hard in a church classroom as it is in one that is only used to teach algebra, but it costs a whole lot less to do it when you don’t have to build separate space.  Modifying and remodeling existing church space to meet fire codes and accomodate school classes is a whole lot less expensive than constructing new facilites. 

Christian education is a ministry.  Some denominations, including the Catholic church, and some Lutheran groups, see the provision of classroom education as an integral part of leadership development and they provide a substantial portion of the school budgets.  Most evangelicals, representing a more independent, autonomous church community, prefer to go it alone with their schools in terms of governance control and ownership, wary of denominational differences and outside influences.  There are some successful models of cooperative schools, where several churches have pooled their resources to operate a single school community, set aside their petty objections to each other’s doctrinal views, and have learned how to efficiently and effectively operate a school.  They have determined that guarding their children’s minds against the influences of secular humanism is more important than guarding them against differences of interpretation of scripture.  Ten churches, committing $100,000 a year to a school in exchange for a board seat represents $1 million, and that, in turn, is a sizeable reduction of tuition and fees for a school that has a $2.5 million budget.

The Christian business community has yet to get on board with regard to Christian school education.  It is time that changed as well.  Why not help support a system that is providing a steady supply of future employees with ideas for development and progress, by contributing to the system’s operation?  Unfortunately, many Christian business leaders do not see the value of a Christian school, or the difference between what is taught there or in a public school environment.

How much change will come in the next decade to Christian school education?  That is hard to predict.  However, if the schools remain unimaginative, and unwilling to help families find ways to enroll their children and pay for their education, it is clear that there will be fewer Christian schools available by the time 2020 rolls around.

The content of the speech itself is not a problem.  Released days before it was to be delivered, for most people it is not a matter of the content, but of who is delivering it.  Political polarization in this country has, sadly, made it impossible for the President of the United States to do anything without having one side or another attach political motivation to it and interpret it in that light.  Schools are looked upon as captive audiences, and parents, or at least those who are part of the polarized constituencies, look at everything through the lens of partisanship, their own motives as well as what they perceive from others. 

Sadly, the pressure to be politically correct caused some Christian school administrators to determine that the speech would be censored from their schools.  Perhaps they heard some shrill voices from influential parents, which, unfortunately, is often a decision making factor in Christian school communities.  Perhaps they could not stomach the thought of a politician they dislike, and disagree with, having an audience in their school classrooms.  Perhaps they just considered it another unnecessary disruption in a school day already filled with unnecessary disruptions.  Whatever the reason, you can bet that students in schools where the speech was not shown found a way to either read it, listen to it, or watch it at some later point.  In fact, I would venture to say that students at schools where a decision was made not to show the speech would probably be more likely to listen or watch it, and do so with more intention and interest than they would have done if it had been part of their classroom day. 

As a former civics/government/economics teacher in Christian and public school, presenting the whole scope of government debate, the politics, the arguments, the moral and ethical issues, and from a Christian perspective, how to integrate and apply Biblical principles, was always a classroom exercise.  Rather than shielding students from politics, and from views with which we may disagree, I always considered it a whole lot better to expose them and teach them how to apply critical thinking skills with a strong Christian philosophical basis, grounded in the teachings of scripture than it was to either silently ignore the issue, or try to censor it from the classroom.  I also found that it was a whole lot more effective to facilitate students in their own discovery of the Biblical principles and how they applied them than it was to simply lecture and spoon feed that material to them. 

In this particular case, nothing the President said was political or controversial, at least, that would be my own evaluation of the speech.  If they were able to watch it in your classroom, that means you were present, and you could have been a guiding influence in the evaluation process.  If they simply go watch or listen to it by themselves, on their IPod, or YouTube, they won’t necessarily have that. 

Telling your kids what to think, when it comes to politics, is not effective.  Teaching them how to apply Biblical truth to their thinking, and encouraging them to discover things on their own, with your guidance, may not guarantee that they will think exactly like you, or that they will always agree with you, but if they have to think through an issue, and they are taught how to apply Biblical principles to their thinking, they are put in a position of having to make a choice, based on the truth.

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.

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.

We are planning to enroll our two children, grades 6 and 3, in a Christian school in our neighborhood.  We’ve looked at several and are now thoroughly confused over the “alphabet soup” related to accreditation.  We’ve heard from one admissions counselor that it really doesn’t matter, and from another that a particular kind of accreditation is necessary if our kids want to have a choice of where they go to college.  We finally figured out all of that stuff where we used to live, and now we have a whole new and confusing tangle of issues to deal with.  How do we know what is legitimate, and what isn’t? Amanda K., Houston, Texas

Well, Amanda, is many places it isn’t easy.  But you live in Texas, and that’s easier than it is in some places.  The most important “alphabet soup” designation you need to know there is TEPSAC, which is somewhat of an acronym for Texas Private School Accreditation Commission.  They have a website, http://tepsac.org which is very helpful.  Basically, since the Texas Education Agency (TEA) got out of the private school accreditation business back in 1986, TEPSAC has been responsible for oversight of private schools.  It authorizes various school organizations to elect commissioners who, in turn, are responsible for granting accreditation to their member schools.  So to answer your question, simply find out which organization granted the accreditation to the school you are looking at, and then find out if it is a member of TEPSAC. 

Accreditation is not necessarily a sign of a quality education.  What it means is that the school which is accredited adheres to a specific set of standards related to its course content and instruction.  It mainly does two things for the schools, students and teachers involved.  First, it assures that coursework taken at an accredited school will transfer to another school without difficulty.  Second, in Texas, it allows teachers who work in private schools to count their years of experience toward salary steps and raises if they move to another school.  In Texas, TEPSAC, acting as an umbrella organization for private school accreditation commissions, allows Christian schools to have their course content and operating procedures evaluated by individuals who come from a background that understands their philosophy of education, their convictions and the integration of Biblical principles into the curriculum.  Though some Christian schools have opted to seek accreditation from SACS, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, this is a secular agency that also accredits public schools.  That should tell you that their standards are neither any more thorough, nor higher, than those of the TEPSAC member organizations.  In fact, at The Kingdom Educator, we advise parents to give much closer scrutiny to the Biblical, spiritual element of Christian schools that have SACS accreditation before enrolling their children in them, since they are a secular body, and schools which engage in the accreditation process with them are submitting themselves to the evaluation and scrutiny of people who do not understand a Christian school educational philosophy, or who might not even be from a Christian background. 

Some Christian schools opt not to seek accreditation, but prefer to remain completely independent.  This does not necessarily mean that they are offering an inferior education.  If you check out where their graduates are admitted and attend college, and look at indicators of student achievement, you can tell a lot about the quality of education that takes place there.  Sometimes, graduates of unaccredited Christian schools do experience difficulty getting into a college, particularly if it is a state college where the admissions counselors are not familiar with the school, but there are ways around that.  In some cases, the local colleges and universities are aware of the school, having encountered former graduates.  And college admissions boards also look at other student achievements, including the SAT or ACT scores.  We are aware of several Christian schools in Texas who have arrangements with local colleges for dual credit courses that transfer, even if the student opts not to attend the college that is granting the credit. 

Outside of Texas, you can check with your state education agency office and find out how private, Christian schools are accredited in your state.