Since the pandemic, we have seen a major increase in interest from parents in enrolling their children in a Christian school. Of course, the primary reason given by most parents for putting their children here has to do with the school's distinctive Christian identity and curriculum. We operate from an educational philosophy that acknowledges the existence of the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God of the Bible, and his plan for saving humanity from its sin through the sacrifice and resurrection of his son, Jesus the Christ. All of our curriculum objectives recognize this as fact, and recognize the need for each person to confess their sin at the point of conviction, repent, and turn to Jesus by grace in faith to be forgiven and restored to God.
The only social agenda in our instruction is the Christian life taught by Jesus and the Apostles, found in the Bible. This is integrated into every subject area. We encourage students and their families to be connected to a local church, which is the body of Christ, and our instruction will support and undergird that church relationship.
In Matthew 5:13-14, Jesus says, "You are the salt of the earth," and "You are the light of the world." He intended for his followers to testify to his existence, and to the salvation God offered through him, by the way they live their own life, in every aspect of their existence. Humanity is sinful, and that means that the culture and society around us live in spiritual darkness. The way our society is structured, children come into contact with the worldly nature of the surrounding culture at an early age, though their education, which, for some students, starts as young as age 3.
Unless children are influenced and taught the principles of the Christian gospel, starting with salvation, by social institutions that reflect a belief in God, in Jesus, and lead them to experience conviction of sin and repentance, there is a risk that they will remain in sin, and spiritually lost. So at MCA, we bring the Christian gospel into their learning experience, not merely giving students head knowledge, but actually integrating its principles into every subject area, showing students how to live according to its values and virtues.
Over the past few years, we have had an increasing number of parents bring their children to our school, telling us about classroom instruction which causes them to doubt their identity in spite of their physical gender, to be guided more by the way they feel than by any external authority figure, including their own parents, to develop their own values, based on those things which appeal to their senses, and to avoid guilt by rejecting societal, and religious, norms in developing their own determination of what is right, and to develop an antimoral perspective based on experience, feeling and human reason.
These objectives are present in every classroom, in the objectives of multiple subjects, and they include instruction in application of this perspective to human sexuality through gender identity and sexual orientation in which there is no opt-out for parents, except, of course, to find an educational alternative that supports their values.
Even aside from the religious perspective, these are things that parents, not a social institution, should be responsible for teaching their children. Those of us in Christian school education who have been seeing this for years, and have been trying to point out the differences to parents have been aware of this for quite some time. We've been working, not only to increase awareness so parents can make a good educational choice, but also to make it easier for them to access a Christian school so they can have confidence that their children are in a safe place both physically and intellectually, where their values can be supported.
There are some things that you should know in your decision to provide a Christian education for your child.
Your child's teachers, the administration, and all of the staff who support their education are making the same financial sacrifice you are making to pay tuition.
The training and education required for Christian school teachers and administrators are the same as those of public education. So our staff members are certified and qualified by the same level of education and experience as those in the public school down the street. However, because the payroll affects the school's budget bottom line, which affects the cost of tuition and fees, those who are called to this ministry are sacrificing what they could earn elsewhere. A family with two children enrolled at MCA pays just under $10,000 a year in tuition and fees. A teacher at MCA with ten years of seniority earns $15,000 less per year than the base, or entry level salary, of a CPS teacher, and $30,000 less per year than a teacher with the same degree and experience.
That sacrifice, along with church ownership of the property for which we pay no rental or lease, and which has been renovated for us to enjoy, keeps our tuition among the lowest for a private, religious based school in the city of Chicago. So while you're eating more meals at home and turning the thermostat down and driving a 2015 model car with 100,000 miles on it, hoping it lasts one more year, so are we. And some of our teachers are still paying their student loans back, and riding CTA to and from work.
Your child's teachers are trained and serve as ministers of the Gospel, not just as employees of a school.
In addition to their college degree, every teacher at MCA is an expert student of the scripture, is involved with the ministry of a local church which shares MCA's convictions, doctrine and theology, and understands their role as being that of a minister to their students, more than just a classroom teacher. They have a relationship with their students based on an order that comes from the Bible's principles and includes their role as a teacher, an authority on their subject matter and in the management of their classroom, not just merely a "facilitator of learning," and provides for the moral guidance of their students in the Christian gospel, as well as serving as an authority on the subject matter they teach.
MCA recognizes, and supports, the responsibility given by God to parents for raising their children under his nurture and admonition.
Biblical principle points to parents as being responsible for the education of their children. You have them, you raise them, you love them, you try to offer them opportunities to make good choices in life and you have to let them go to make their own way. Our role is to support you, to make sure that what they learn in school is consistent with your family values and leads to their own salvation and Christian life, as they live in the world, observe it, and prepare to live in it, but not be of it.
Over the many years that I have taught and served as a principal in Christian schools, I have heard many students talk about their school as a "bubble," an attempt to keep out worldly influences, or, as one student put it, a "sin-free zone from 8:30 to 3:00." They would be surprised when I would agree with what they intended to be a criticism.
Yes, indeed, a Christian school is a "bubble," and we deliberately filter out elements that are both worldly influences and simple distractions to focus. Perhaps that's one reason why students at MCA show average proficiency in reading, language arts and math that is almost 40% higher than their counterparts in the public and charter schools around them and why two-thirds of our students find themselves scoring in the top two quartiles of standardized tests. There is an advantage to a curriculum that focuses on developing skills without elements of a social agenda being required.
And that may also be why research shows that, across the country, students who are enrolled in and attend a Christian school for at least five years of their life are much more likely to remain as a faithful, participating member of their local church, or commit to serving as pastors, ministers and missionaries, and Christian school teachers, than those who don't have this opportunity. It's hard to miss an opportunity to be introduced to Jesus in a Christian school. They happen several times every day in every class.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father in Heaven. Matthew 5:16
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