{"id":2108,"date":"2012-04-09T15:52:54","date_gmt":"2012-04-09T19:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/?p=2108"},"modified":"2012-04-09T09:17:29","modified_gmt":"2012-04-09T13:17:29","slug":"where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Should Christians Send Their Kids to School?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Sophie Widmer, Luke Avula, and two friends at Chimborazo Elementary School in Richmond, Virginia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

I have a new article for Christianity Today\u2019s magazine that is now available online: The New School Choice Agenda<\/a>. In it, I write about a group of friends who moved into a low-income neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia who have decided to send their children to the local public schools. I also had a chance to interview men and women across the nation, all Christians who have made similar choices. The article prompted me to ask the question\u2013are Christians \u201ccalled\u201d to send their kids to public schools? To struggling schools? Or perhaps we\u2019re called to send our kids to Christian schools or to home school or even to private schools? How should our faith and our desire to love our neighbors impact these decisions, which are often made based primarily upon what is \u201cbest\u201d for our individual children?<\/p>\n

For the rest of this week, I\u2019m going to be running a series of guest posts this week in which a variety of people share the choices they\u2019ve made. You\u2019ll hear from Abigail Liu and Elisabeth Klein Corcoran about sending their children to Christian schools, from Margaret Philbrick and her son\u2019s maturation in a public school setting, from Sarah Reimers about involvement as a parent advocate at her children\u2019s neighborhood public school, from Steve Garber about his children attending a private high school, and from Helen Lee and Marlene Molewyk about the choice to home school. If you\u2019re anything like me, you\u2019ll find yourself grateful for these many voices of parents who are trying to follow God\u2019s lead in educating their children.<\/p>\n

I should add that all of these come under the banner of Christianity Today\u2019s This Is Our City Project<\/a>, which is looking at five different cities and the ways in which Christians are seeking to bless their communities.<\/p>\n

For now, here\u2019s the beginning of the article for Christianity Today:<\/p>\n

\n
Chanan Wijesooriya in class at Chimborazo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Cheryl Burke first walked into the dark lobby of Chimborazo Elementary School, where she had just been appointed principal, she noted the distinct smell of urine. Outside, the playground was littered with \u201c40s,\u201d large empty beer bottles, and crack cocaine was stashed in one of the bathrooms. \u201cI just cried,\u201d says Burke, recalling that day in 1996.<\/p>\n

Sixteen years later, the brightly lit lobby sports two armchairs and a coffee table. Where black asphalt once surrounded the buildings, there is now green grass. Sterile white cinder-block hallways now vibrate with colorful stripes of paint. Over the years, \u201cMiz Burke,\u201d as she is known to staff, parents, and students alike, convinced the local faith community to pray for the school, raise funds, and counsel and tutor students. Chimborazo\u2019s scores on the state Standard of Learning exam have climbed, and now the number of students declared \u201cproficient\u201d in math and reading hovers around 60 percent.<\/p>\n

Still, 88 percent of Chimborazo\u2019s students are so poor they receive free or reduced-price lunches; with that poverty comes a litany of challenges for the PK-5 school. As bright and beautiful as Burke has made it, Chimborazo reflects its local community, with all its hurts and all its possibilities.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To keep reading, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a new article for Christianity Today\u2019s magazine that is now available online: The New School Choice Agenda. In it, I write about a group of friends who moved into a low-income neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia who have decided to send their children to the local public schools. I also had a chance to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,5,6],"tags":[38,316,261,411,412],"class_list":["post-2108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-faith","category-family","tag-christianity-today","tag-education","tag-public-schools","tag-school-choice","tag-this-is-our-city"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere Should Christians Send Their Kids to School? - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I have a new article for Christianity Today's magazine that is now available online: The New School Choice Agenda. In it, I write about a group of friends\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where Should Christians Send Their Kids to School? - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I have a new article for Christianity Today's magazine that is now available online: The New School Choice Agenda. In it, I write about a group of friends\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-09T19:52:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-04-09T13:17:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/files\/2012\/04\/sophie-and-luke-in-school.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amy Julia Becker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amy Julia Becker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/\",\"name\":\"Where Should Christians Send Their Kids to School? - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-09T19:52:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-04-09T13:17:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63\"},\"description\":\"I have a new article for Christianity Today's magazine that is now available online: The New School Choice Agenda. In it, I write about a group of friends\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Where Should Christians Send Their Kids to School?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/\",\"name\":\"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\",\"description\":\"With Amy Julia Becker\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63\",\"name\":\"Amy Julia Becker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amy Julia Becker\"},\"description\":\"Amy Julia Becker writes and speaks about family, faith, disability, and culture. A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House), and Why I Am Both Spiritual and Religious (Patheos Press).\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Where Should Christians Send Their Kids to School? - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","description":"I have a new article for Christianity Today's magazine that is now available online: The New School Choice Agenda. In it, I write about a group of friends","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Where Should Christians Send Their Kids to School? - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","og_description":"I have a new article for Christianity Today's magazine that is now available online: The New School Choice Agenda. In it, I write about a group of friends","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/","og_site_name":"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","article_published_time":"2012-04-09T19:52:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-04-09T13:17:29+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/files\/2012\/04\/sophie-and-luke-in-school.jpg"}],"author":"Amy Julia Becker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amy Julia Becker","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/","name":"Where Should Christians Send Their Kids to School? - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-04-09T19:52:54+00:00","dateModified":"2012-04-09T13:17:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63"},"description":"I have a new article for Christianity Today's magazine that is now available online: The New School Choice Agenda. In it, I write about a group of friends","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2012\/04\/where-should-christians-send-their-kids-to-school-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Where Should Christians Send Their Kids to School?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/","name":"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability","description":"With Amy Julia Becker","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63","name":"Amy Julia Becker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amy Julia Becker"},"description":"Amy Julia Becker writes and speaks about family, faith, disability, and culture. A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House), and Why I Am Both Spiritual and Religious (Patheos Press).","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2108\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}