Scholarship Opportunities at MCA for 2024-25; Open House Thursday, February 29

One of the scholarship opportunities we have at MCA that is open to all parents, and can be used multiple times, is the one we give for family referrals.  If one of our current families refers another family to MCA, and that family enrolls their children for the following school year, the family making the referral receives a $500 scholarship.  This is the one scholarship that can be given in combination with other discounts, and can add up, as there is no limit on the number of family referrals that can be made.  

We give more referral scholarships than any other kind, except new family discounts.  In order to receive the scholarship, the new family needs to mention that they were referred to MCA and who it was that referred them.  Sometimes they are referred by more than one family, and if that's the case, we can split the scholarship between the families who were named.  

We have an Open House for Prospective Families scheduled for Thursday, February 29, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.  This would be a good time to invite your friends, fellow church members or even relatives who are looking for a good, academically sound Christian school for their children.  

You Have School Choice

Christian schools exist because, over time, court interpretations of the establishment clause of the first amendment as it applies to a tax-funded, public education system, have moved from religious neutrality to religious opposition and hostility.  At MCA, the primary belief at the core of our educational philosophy, is that an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God created the universe, and humanity, and his spiritual presence and power is the only means we have for salvation from our sin.  

The public education system, because of its position of "religious neutrality" mandated by the establishment clause, does not teach or acknowledge the existence of God at all.  The basic educational philosophy rests on the belief that human intellect is the highest power in the universe, and that the means to resolving all human problems, or as we refer to it, salvation from sin, is education of the intellect.  The natural extension of that belief into the curriculum is that science will eventually discover all of the answers to the origins of the universe, that mathematics is the only perfect system of measuring the universe, that the acquisition of language skills resolves conflict which results because of a lack of clarity in communication, and that social studies will remove the cultural, racial, religious and social barriers that create the inequity in economic prosperity that we see as poverty.  

Keeping in mind that children, from age 5 to 18, spend up to eight hours a day, five days a week, at least 180 days a year in a school classroom where this is systematically taught and reinforced.  If a child is part of a family committed to living out their Christian faith as part of Christ's church, they may spend as many as 3 hours a week with their church family, but most are engaged with the church, and consequently the spirit and the word, far less than that.  So when they make their own decisions, based on their own convictions, the primary influence they will have in their lives to give them a sense of direction will be their public school experience, not their church experience.  

That's why we exist.  

We want to teach our students that God exists, that he created them and that through the sacrifice he made through his son, Jesus, they can have forgiveness of their sin, and a purpose for their life.  Their worldview, based on the truths of scripture, will lead them to glorify God with the life that they live.  Of course, there are no guarantees, but at least the curriculum objectives, and the school atmosphere, will support the parents' desire that their children be raised "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." 

At MCA, You Already Have a "Scholarship" 

In Chicago, the cost of a year's worth of public school education is $30,000.  That includes the ability of the school district to provide everything a student needs to go to school and have a chance of meeting the objectives for one year.  It maintains buildings, pays teacher, administrator and staff salaries, provides materials, funds programs aimed at improving the quality of instruction, provides transportation, testing and psychological evaluation and counseling, and other educational necessities.  For all of that, fewer than 40% of the students demonstrate proficiency in math or reading, and two thirds of them score below grade level expectations.  

At MCA, the actual "cost" of a year's worth of education is about $14,000.  But the average tuition rate, per student, is less than $6,000.  That's possible because of several factors: 

• MCA is a ministry of Midwest Bible Church.  We do not pay a lease for the use of the facilities, since they are jointly owned, and debt free.  This results in a $2,000 per year savings.
• MCA's teachers all give a testimony to their teaching as a ministry calling.  They are making a sacrifice in salary and benefits equal to that parents make when paying tuition.  The value of the sacrifice teachers make to each individual student is about $3,500 in tuition cost, if our teachers earned just the minimum salary paid by the public education system. 
• We have a number of generous donors who provide for needs at the school that have, over the past five years, included renovation of the gym, addition of the playground equipment, facilities upgrades, including the art room and Pre-K classrooms, and the purchase of computer equipment. 
• Midwest Bible Church has contributed over $500,000 over the past five years to various projects, including the remodeling and repurposing of the main building, and the classroom annex above the fellowship hall.  

All of this combines to keep tuition costs low.  These things are worth about $6,500 per year, per student.  

So if your children and your family have been blessed by being at MCA, share the blessing with other families.  Our open spots are limited, in virtually every grade level from Pre-K 4 to 7th grade, with just one or two open spaces for new students.  Of course, Pre-K3 has openings at the present time, but we expect that to reach capacity this spring.