Yolanda R. Molina serves in Texas as the principal of the Christian Academy of San Antonio, an urban Christian school in the inner city. The school is in the neighborhood where she grew up. She has devoted 35 years to serving urban children and teachers. Her professional experience in the United States has been primarily in the areas of teacher training and consultation services for African American, Latino, and Native American educators. Her passion has been to promote positive change for parents and children who come from low-socioeconomic homes.
Just as it is essential for children to have food and shelter, it is essential for urban children to have a haven in the form of an urban Christian school. Urban children, unfortunately, live in communities with high percentages of the following:
- Low-performing schools
- Dropout rates
- Juvenile probation cases
- Students with low standardized tests scores
- Infant deaths
- Single-parent families
- Domestic violence cases
- Child abuse and neglect cases
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Teen pregnancies
It is unfortunate that another characteristic of urban communities is the low number of Christian schools in the inner cities. The question then becomes, Are urban Christian schools essential in these communities? The answer is a resounding yes! It is the duty and responsibility of those of us who are disciples of Christ to plant urban Christian schools in communities where the residents have little hope for the future. Urban children need the opportunity to see Jesus every day through the example of their teachers. They need the chance to study His Word and know Christ as their personal Savior. They need to have the privilege of being taught by Christian educators who believe in their potential and who have high expectations for their academic achievement.
It is not that children who live in urban communities do not have the capacity or the ability to learn; it is that they are not afforded the opportunity to be students in a private Christian school. Traditionally, Christian schools have been located in suburban areas for students who are blessed to live in Christian homes and whose parents can afford a private Christian education. Urban Christian schools—especially in the inner cities—are few and far between, and the only recourse for urban students is to attend a public school where God is not welcome. These students spend the majority of their waking hours in a system that does not allow mentioning His name, let alone praying to Him in public. The only avenue of providing urban children with the opportunity to learn about God through a school requires the commitment of Christian educators who are dedicated to honoring Him through serving His children in an urban community.
You might ask yourself, Is an urban Christian school essential enough for me to consider it my calling? First of all, we are called as Christians to minister to the least of His, as explained in Matthew 25:40 (NIV): “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” It is our duty to bring light where darkness and helplessness prevail. Answering God’s call requires Christian educators to depend on the Holy Spirit and to have a mission-minded attitude. Christian educators must accept the call with an open heart, must have a desire to understand the culture of poverty, and must accept the characteristics of an urban community with a nonjudgmental Christian heart, a heart Christ taught us about by His example.
Urban children need the opportunity to see Jesus every day through the example of their teachers.
All Christian educators aspire to follow the example of the Master Teacher, Jesus Christ. The Master taught in the street, on the mountaintop, and wherever people were ready to listen. Many educators do not wish to teach in urban communities; they would rather teach close to their homes in the suburbs. Consequently, many urban communities are surrounded by older and less attractive schools. Many of these urban public schools are low performing, and they hire marginal teachers; so urban students have little or no choice about being taught by this type of teacher.
The turnover rate of teachers is high because they often leave when the opportunity arises to move to another school district, so students are repeatedly left with a feeling of abandonment and a need to readjust. Urban students deserve to have Christian educators who are not just minimally prepared and committed. These students need exemplary teachers who love the Lord, love their jobs, and know how to teach students who live in the inner city. These educators must also possess the ability to implement diagnostic and prescriptive instruction to accommodate individual learning needs. Historically, urban children come from low-performing schools where minimal expectations and low test scores are the norm. Teachers in urban Christian schools must possess instructional expertise and a Christian heart that will take below-grade-level students and find ways to help these students progress and reach beyond their grade level.
Christian teachers must see all children as God’s image and likeness. It is essential that urban children be seen through the eyes of Jesus, as only Christian educators can see them. Urban children have been born in an underserved, forgotten environment that in many cases has not even provided for their basic needs.
Because urban children, for the most part, are living in a world that expects them to fail, they must be provided with urban Christian schools that expect them to succeed. Urban Christian schools must be proactive. They must instruct the parents and students to expect more of themselves because they are worthy of that expectation. These parents and students must learn that they can break the cycles of the soaring teen pregnancy rates, dropout rates, and crime rates. Christian educators need to teach urban students in a way that will equip them with the academic skills and the solid Christian worldview they will need in order to succeed. It is essential that urban Christian schools help change the devastating statistics that reveal the failures of urban children.
Lastly, the urban Christian school can provide hope to the urban community. Providing hope for eternal life, for the ability to succeed, and for a better future is a powerful way that Christian educators can serve the Lord. Many times the only compassionate heart that parents and students experience is that of an urban Christian educator. Their many emotional and spiritual needs can be laid at the foot of the Cross, so again urban Christian educators can help make a real difference in God’s kingdom. The Lord said in Matthew 11:28–30 (NIV), “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” So my question to you is, When will you come to the table and join hands with us as we serve the least of His in an urban Christian school?
Why Christian Urban Schools Are Essential 8.1