Take a quick
glance at the endangered species list, and you’ll see several types of rhinos,
the Javan Rhino being one of them. Do
you know what you will not see on the list that is also endangered? Christian schools.
Photo: juiceonline.com
This past
month, yet another Christian school in our area closed its doors. That is at least the third prominent, established
religious school to close its doors in recent years, with others on the brink
of folding. The reasons are many –
location, the difficulties of sharing a church campus, uncollected tuition, problems
balancing affordable tuition with teacher salaries.
And yet
there is one reason not being discussed – Christian schools have set themselves
up for failure by maintaining too narrow of a focus. Search for a Christian school and what will
you find? Phrases like “college prep,”
“entrance testing,” and “100% of our graduates are attending college.” All of these things sound great, but as you
take a deeper look, here’s what they are implying – “We are only designed to
educate advanced students who are headed to college.” Christian school leaders can deliver eloquent
speeches heralding the values of Christian education. However, when you ask what they are doing to
serve students with special learning needs, they quickly do an about-face. “Oh, we’re not set up for that.” Have a child with medical needs? “Um, we weren’t talking about you.” Social/emotional needs? “We don’t do that either.” Either Christian education is an important option
or it’s not. We cannot say that it is
relevant only for the top 5-10% of students – and not everyone else. Either it’s a valuable option for everyone –
or it was never really that valuable at all.
What’s so
wrong with being ordinary? When Jesus
walked the earth, the people he spent the most time with were fishermen and tax
collectors. Jesus Himself was a
carpenter. It was actually the religious
elite who had the most difficult time following Him.
I Corinthians 1:26-31 tells us, “For
consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly
standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God
chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in
the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the
world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that
no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you
are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and
sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who
boasts, boast in the Lord.’”
God often
uses the people the world labels as weak or ordinary to accomplish His purposes
– the very ones being excluded from our Christian schools.
My intention
here is not to debate the pros and cons of private school, public school, and
homeschooling. I have taught in both
private and public schools. My kids have
attended both private and public schools.
If homeschooling ever fit out needs, I would be open to that as
well. Each family has its own unique
circumstances, and only parents can decide what is best for their families at
any particular point in time. However,
my objective is to show that Christian education is not even a viable option
for many families – even when they would like for it to be. And if Christian schools are to survive, they
must widen their focus.
This is
coming from someone who has spent roughly half of her life in Christian
education – 13 years as a student, 6 as a teacher, and a few more as a parent (in
addition to my years in Christian colleges and universities). The problem first became apparent in my first
years as a teacher in a Christian school.
Then, it became personal when I had children of my own. I have been a voice for the need for
Christian schools to expand their services for over 15 years now. When I embarked on this journey, Christian
schools were still thriving and had little to no incentive to listen. However, the tide has now changed.
The
objections vary but the reluctance is often focused around cost. Private schools do not have government money
to back these extra services. “We can’t
afford it,” is the most common rebuttal.
However, I propose that at this point, Christian schools can’t afford
not to. While Christian schools that
provide special education and other service are a rare find in this area, it is
being done in other parts of the country.
How? Generally, all of the
students from a family will attend the same school/system. If you cannot meet the needs of everyone in
the family, then no one from the family will attend. But the reverse is also true. Meet the needs of the one child with special
learning needs, and the rest of the family will come as well, resulting in
overall fuller classes.
A recovery
plan can be put in place for animals on the endangered species list. So, here is my “recovery plan” for Christian
schools. First, before anything can be
done, a mind shift has to take place.
Everyone involved in the school (administration, faculty, and staff)
must buy in to this new way of thinking.
This is the least expensive (and yet possibly the most difficult) step. Some good resources include the CLC Network
and Key Ministry. Second, have general
education pathways options for graduates, and do not only provide classes that
are at the advanced level. Third, hire
resource teachers. By far, the greatest
number of students being served by special education teachers in the public
school are those with learning disabilities, ADHD, high-functioning autism, and
others who need only limited supports to be successful. They spend the majority of their day in the
general education classroom. Most are
pulled out 30 minutes to an hour each day to receive extra support in reading
and/or math. Having a resource teacher
opens the door for a large number of students (and their families) who are not
currently being reached by our Christian schools. Fourth, have a nurse on staff. This person can likely double as office staff
or in another capacity. There are some
students who do not need academic support but require someone with medical
training to be on hand. Fifth, there is
not enough time here to discuss the impending mental health crisis that must be
addressed in both public and private education.
We must begin discussing how to better help our students in this area as
well. If Christian schools would take
the lead in this area, they would be ahead of the game in addressing a need that
few are. There are other steps to be
taken, but if we would start here, we would be taking huge steps to revive our
dying Christian schools.
So now we
are left with a choice. Do Christian
schools stay on the endangered list with the Javan Rhinos – or do we do the
work to become like the bald eagles who were once on the verge of extinction
but made a comeback and are now thriving once again?
Janel
Photo: www.audubon.org
