Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Ten years ago this April, I had the distinct honor and pleasure of joining the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) staff in launching the Urban Schools Services Department to address the needs of schools targeting and serving urban, under-resourced, and minority students. In the late ’90s, I urged ACSI’s leadership to take a more aggressive role in ministering to urban communities through the Christian school movement. Interestingly, the Lord had placed the same concern on the hearts of ACSI’s leaders. I came on board in April of 2000 to establish the Urban School Services Department and develop resources to enhance the high-quality education of urban children, delivered by Christian schools and educators, to effectively prepare them for life.
In making the case for the department, I cited a report concerning the educational plight of urban children. The report stated the following:
- There were nearly 600 urban school districts in this nation. (An urban district was defined as “one in which 75 percent or more of the households served are in the central city of a metropolitan area.”) Not a single district was considered academically successful.
- Over 12 million children attended schools in urban districts.
- Some 43 percent of minority children attended urban schools, and most of those students attended schools that primarily, often completely, serve minority children.
- In most urban schools, more than half the students were poor (qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches).
- Two-thirds or more of poor, urban school children failed to reach even the basic level on national tests. “Urban students perform far worse, on average, than children who live outside central cities on virtually every measure of academic performance. The longer they stay in school, the wider that gap grows.”
- More than 500 ACSI member schools identified themselves as urban schools serving the population of students highlighted in the report.
And now, 10 years later, the most recent statistics report the following:
- More than 20,000,000 million students in this nation are poor (44 percent).
- Forty-three percent of students (nearly every other child) are identified as minority.
- Forty-one percent of children are born this year will be born to a single parent.
- Less than one-third of urban children read at a proficiency level.
- Christian schools targeting and serving minority and under-resourced children are declining. Between 1999 and 2005, nearly 1,200 faith-based urban schools, serving 450,000 students, closed. (Such closures will probably increase during this economic downturn.)
- It is estimated that faith-based schools are serving less than 5 percent of the nation’s poor students, and ACSI member schools are serving less than one-tenth of 1 percent.
- Less than 300 ACSI member schools now identify themselves as urban schools.
Sadly, as the needs continue to escalate, it seems that the resources available to urban Christian schools continue to evaporate. Over the past 10 years, I have observed a fatal hemorrhaging of Christian schools—primarily due to the slow exodus of students whose families can no longer afford the cost of Christian education. I have seen Christian educators struggling beyond comprehension because they are ill-equipped to meet the high-resource needs of their under-resourced students. I have witnessed children going without—although desperately needing—an effective education in order to have some semblance of a normal life. I have listened to very perplexed godly men and women who are absolutely certain of God’s call on their lives to serve as His educators, yet who languish in doubt because of the lack of resources to accomplish His purposes.
At the same time, I am encouraged by the miraculous as I witness schools engaging in kingdom education. As such, you are to be highly commended for your perseverance, dedication, commitment, and unyielding love for the children and families you serve. It remains evident that the love of God has been shed abroad in your hearts. As a result, your school remains a center of hope for children who have become all too acquainted with hopelessness and despair. Your school continues to prepare young boys and girls to grow and to become men and women of character because their lives are increasingly transformed into the image of Christ.
I was struck anew recently by this passage of Scripture:
Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.” … And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them. —Mark 10:13–16, NKJV
I have wondered what Jesus did and said as He “blessed” them. I thought that knowing this would show us, His people, how we in turn are to bless children. Recently, the answer was revealed to my heart. Whatever we do for children in Christ’s name and on His behalf is an expression of His blessing upon their lives. By this token, you and your school are expressions of Christ’s blessings on the children you serve. Every time they walk through the doors of your school, led by your administrators, taught by your teachers, prayed for by your staff, and nurtured and loved by you, they are being blessed by the Lord. You are indeed His pronouncement of blessing over their precious lives.
The great challenge before us now is keeping our schools successful, healthy, and viable while obeying His command to “Let [more] little children come” to Him so that He may bless them through His people. At the same time, we are faced with another compelling reality: Jesus is inviting all children to come to Him, but more than 20 million students have little or no ability to attend a private Christian school, simply because they are not financially able to do so. It is not feasible to anticipate that philanthropic dollars can be raised to provide financial assistance for these children to gain access to Christian schools. For example, to provide the average cost of tuition for just 1 percent of poor students would require raising more than a billion dollars ($1,100,000,000). As a result, poor children have extremely limited access to Christian schools—but Christian teachers have unlimited access to poor children in the public schools those children do attend. To help reach these children, the department is launching an initiative designed to identify and equip teachers who bring a Christ-honoring influence to bear on the educational plight of poor and disadvantaged children—whether or not those teachers are serving in Christian schools. Look for more details in the next issue of The Meantime.
Finally, I thank our heavenly Father for you and for all that you do. In the coming school year, you will receive a personal contact from our office. We want to hear from you about how we may better serve your needs. Until then, may the God of heaven richly bless you as you bless the children He has entrusted to your loving care.
Your Brother,
Vernard T. Gant
Director, Urban School Services