THE ALLIANCE FOR CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

                          

High School Template Summary

 

The Alliance for Christian Education began in September of 2004.  The mission of The Alliance is “To support and offer superlative quality Christian education at every level, for all who desire to attend.”   We began this mission to be of service to children and young people through Christian education.  While we began with supporting existing Christian schools and working with the public schools, after laying the groundwork, we began to fill the void in our community…a Christian high school.  From the beginning, this vision was not limited to our community.  It is our hope and prayer that this mission would be carried across our nation and throughout our world.  The following information is shared with the desire of being supportive to those around the globe who are considering building Christian schools.  We openly share our successes and our failures in an effort to expand Kingdom work.  At the end of this template, please find the phone number to call should you have additional questions.

 

Depending on your unique set of circumstances, our path may be very different from what will be successful to you.  If there is anything that is helpful to you, please take and use it.  Please disregard the parts that would not be beneficial to you. 

 

The Alliance for Christian Education is a 501c3 that began in and is based out of Santa Barbara, California .  The obvious void in Christian education in Santa Barbara was that there had never in its history been a Protestant Christian high school.   For decades people in the community had been praying for a Christian high school and ten years earlier members of the community planted powerful seeds that have now blossomed into Providence Hall High School . 

 

In 2004 two individuals who did not know each other and unbeknownst to each other began writing letters to all the churches in Santa Barbara and the surrounding communities.  The letters were in effort to learn if the churches would be supportive of a Christian high school and would they help existing Christian elementary and junior high schools.  When these two individuals were introduced, along with an additional advocate of Christian education, The Alliance for Christian Education was born.  Each of us involved was there because we felt led.  We whole heartedly agreed that Jesus Christ must be the foundation of all that we do.  We agreed that we would begin each meeting with prayer.  We shared the belief of the inerrancy of Scripture and committed that the Bible would be our guide as we moved forward.

 

One of the first things that was done was determining where the current Christian schools needed support and would they be strong feeder schools to a Christian high school.  The next thing that took place was developing a mission statement that clearly reflected the goals.  We worked to develop a mission statement that we could easily commit to memory…that would be at the tip of our tongue at any given moment.  With our mission, we knew we needed to support those existing Christian schools.  In our community, pre-school through 8^th grade was being offered in the form of Christian education.  We also knew we needed to be of service to public schools.  We were aware that even when full scholarships are offered, there will be some families who choose public school.  We have some excellent public schools in our community and it is important that the students being served there have access to what we are able to support. 

 

This group of three knew that it would take more to get this mission fulfilled.  We would need to determine if our community felt Christian education was essential and a board would need to be formed. 

 

We wrote more letters to the churches.  We didn’t want any one church to dominate the mission.  We invited the pastor of each of the churches to select two or three representatives if they could not be present, to attend the first meeting for The Alliance for Christian Education.  A friend, who soon after became a passionate board member worked at Westmont College .  He offered a large room at the college to host this event.  We had learned through life experience that it is helpful to feed people when you are asking for help.  The three of us chipped in for dinner.  Our community does not always respond to rsvp requests.  We did not know what kind of turn out to expect.  We had also learned through life experience that an event will gain more excitement if it is well turned out.  We set the tables for far less than we expected with more tables and chairs ready nearby in case we needed them.  We were thrilled when over 70 people showed up and over 20 churches were represented.  We had our mission statement on a large banner on the wall behind us as we spoke.  We wanted this brand, The Alliance for Christian Education to make a powerful first impression.  You only get one chance at first impressions.  We chose a bold, dark blue and bright white for our colors.  As guests arrived we gave name tags and gathered their contact information as well as their level of interest in what we were working to accomplish.  We used this list to determine who in the community should we ask to join our board. 

 

The three individuals spoke about the mission of The Alliance and the vision for superlative quality Christian education in our community and throughout the world.  We took questions.  The void of a Christian high school was the preeminent topic of conversation.  Some of the questions we had discussed and had answers for.  Others were areas that we would have to learn together.  Someone asked the question, “Doesn’t Christian education isolate children in a bubble?” and “Don’t Christian children need to be salt and light?”  We shared that our vision was that Christian education would not isolate, but prepare children for the world.  We shared that it was our goal that children would be equipped to be independent thinkers.  That they would be able to be exposed to different beliefs in a safe and nurturing environment.  That differences could be discussed.  That students would be equipped to articulately communicate and when necessary, defend their faith.  We talked about our belief that there are some children who are strong enough to be salt and light in the world.  We also talked about the fact that even as adults, it is difficult to be salt and light when we are immersed in situations that are in conflict to our values.  We talked about our belief that children will have plenty of opportunity to be salt and light in their lives, but at school, where they are spending 30 plus hours a week, we believe that these precious years are the time when their values are being formed.  We shared our belief that especially during the high school years when rapid change is taking place, when young people often have impulsive behavior, when parents have less influence and children are becoming more independent…this is the time for them to be equipped to be salt and light.  We talked about the importance of children having teachers that serve as mentors.  We talked about people of Jewish, Catholic, Mormon and Islam faith who understand the need for their children to be educated according to their values but for some reason, the Christian community is not as supportive of raising its young people. 

 

The event was overall very successful.  By the end of the evening we had a list of people who expressed interest in being involved.  The three of us discussed our desire that the high school that we would eventually work to build, as well as the board, would accurately reflect the throne of God.  The throne of God is made up of every tongue, tribe and nation.  While our community doesn’t fully reflect the vast diversity of our world, we put a board together that was diverse, that was made up of people who were walking in their faith with a strong passion for Christian education and that represented different gifts that would be needed to move forward.  Something we learned from the event that we might have done differently would have been to include more people at this initial meeting.  We later learned some feelings were hurt from those involved in education who were not invited.  We left it to the pastors to do the inviting and in doing so, we missed critical input from valued members of our community. 

 

The initial board was more of a focus group.  We were able to learn valuable insights from this group.  As we progressed, we learned who was truly committed to this vision and mission.  The official board was formed.  The steps were taken to form a 501c3.  We began working to support the Christian elementary and junior high schools.  We learned that what they most needed was more enrollment.  We hosted an event at a local college that celebrated these schools.  We developed marketing materials advertising these schools and this event.  At the event each leader of the schools spoke about their distinct styles and offerings.  The Alliance had a drawing and sponsored a scholarship for one year to the Christian school of choice for the winning family.  We had a board member work to build relationships with the different Christian elementary schools.  We worked with an organization called Gateways for Better Education.  This group works with the public schools.  Teachers are given the tools to understand that not only are they allowed to teach the Bible, in California it is expected.  Not to indoctrinate students, but to share Bible history.  The Alliance hosted an appreciation luncheon for pastors in an effort to show appreciation for this hard working group and to build relationships.  We knew we needed the churches to come together in order to support the dream of a Christian high school.  The Alliance conducted focus groups to determine the desire for a Christian high school.

 

After two years of laying the ground work, the decision was made to move forward with a high school.  We visited The Oaks Christian School in Thousand Oaks .  The headmaster, Jeff Woodcock was and continues to be very kind and very supportive.  He gave us a tour of their facility.  It is an extremely impressive school.  It gave us something to strive for.  We talked with a Catholic high school about finding a way to respect each others differences, not compromise and work together.  They are a wonderful school and they chose not to move forward with adding a Christian non-Catholic tract. 

 

The next step we took was hiring a consultant to help us find a headmaster.  Jeff Woodcock gave us some leads.  While this was helpful in giving us a pool of candidates from all over the nation, sometimes finding people from your own community has its benefits and this can save a group a lot of money.  One of the benefits of a local leader for a school is that they know the community.  They have relationships and will likely be able to serve in development in a more powerful way.  It can take years to learn a community.  Before a headmaster was hired, our board discussed issues about the high school that we felt were imperative.  We learned as we went into the community talking about the concept of a Christian high school, that sadly,many people associate Christian education with mediocrity, oppression or a place you send kids after they have been kicked out of every other school.  We whole heartedly agreed that because this school was a Christian school, it had to have a culture of joy.  We acknowledged the tremendous responsibility of having Christ’s name attached to the description of the school.  We agreed that it had to be a school of excellence.  We agreed that while this school would have Jesus Christ as its forever foundation, if students of any other faith or those with no faith wanted to be there, they would be served.  We agreed that we would work to have a healthy endowment so that economics would never be a reason for a child not being able to attend.

 

After prayer and fasting, a headmaster was hired.  He was brought in a year before the school would begin.  During that year the board worked with him to develop the mission for the school, the name of the school, the further vision for the school and a curriculum. Our board gave our headmaster a time and action calendar so we could keep everything on track for the opening of the school. We received a gift from someone that was designated for us to hire a full time athletic director.  This individual shared that if he had been exposed to athletics as a child, he might have made healthier choices in his life.  This wonderful gift led to the hiring of an athletic director who has also been very helpful in recruiting students.  In the early years of the school, while enrollment is small, this athletic director finds kids from other schools, organizations and home schooled children to join the team.  Many of these kids join the school as a result.

 

Months before school opened, the board met with potential students to learn about their hopes and dreams for their education and high school experience.  Learning what they were interested in helped us to reach out to our contacts to make these dreams a reality.  A board member connected with local business helped with an intern program.  A board member with a connection in music got backstage passes to a local Chris Tomlin concert.  A board member with marketing expertise learned how important athletics were to some of the students and this board member designed incredible uniforms as well as a logo for the Providence Hall Lions. 

 

A week before school opened, the board hosted a beach day for the students and faculty.  A local church was invited.  The pastor shared the Word and encouraged these brave pioneer students.  There was worship on the beach and the youth leaders took the kids surfing and a picnic lunch was served.  The idea was for the kids to get to know each other before the first day of school. 

 

Providence Hall opened its doors September of 2007 to 30 incredible students.  Our founding headmaster had agreed to serve for two years before moving to the east coast.  Towards the end of that first year of school, our board needed to look for a replacement. After a headmaster selection process, one of our newer board members stepped out of retirement and into the role of headmaster.  This is a local man with a tremendous amount of experience in Christian education and many strong relationships in the community. 

 

Providence Hall is now in its second year and is currently serving 43 students with plans to grow about 20 students each school year.  For our community, we anticipate growing to about 200 students.  The school enjoys camping retreats, field trips to museums, ice skating parties, beach days.  The students have attended Tony Hawk’s Stand Up for Skate Parks event twice.  Heisman Trophy winner and committed Christian, Tim Brown spoke at a community event for the school.  He made it possible for Providence Hall to give the Tim Brown Athletic Award to the male and female athlete who possess the most character, work ethic and grace.  He is planning to come back for the next awards ceremony.  Nick Vujicic, the founder of Life Without Limbs spoke with and greatly encouraged the students of Providence Hall.  Dennis Miller spoke with the Providence Hall students recently and encouraged them to be independent thinkers.  Students enjoy activities for physical education like surfing, golf, sailing, climbing, track, pilates and dance.

 

The academics at Providence Hall are rigorous.  Study Hall is available and board members have found people in the community to donate their time to tutor students.  Our hope is that the students would discover and develop their God given gifts and talents…that they would be on the path God has for them…that they would be equipped to enter the best colleges and universities. 

 

Service is a distinctive of Providence Hall.  Our academic dean is excellent at identifying opportunities for our students to serve our community and our world.  There is a project taking place where the students will work to identify needs and address them.

 

As a board, we trust the running of the school to the headmaster and the team he has put in place.  Our job is to fund this school.  We are thrilled that the majority of our students receive tuition assistance.  Once we have enough students who are able to pay tuition, our fund raising efforts will be more normal.  It will likely take a few years until that happens.  During these bridge years, we anticipate needing to raise a substantial amount of money each year.  This takes a solid and committed board.  We are telling everyone we know about Providence Hall and asking everyone to please invest in this school.  The students love this school.  It is exciting to experience young lives being transformed.  God’s hand is all over this school.  There are days that are difficult.  We face constant rejection in our fund raising efforts.  Being part of a start up school is not easy.  Is it worth it?  Absolutely!  We are seeing the miracle of this school in the lives of the young people it serves.  As we continue on this journey, we will continue to share what we learn along the way.  If you have any questions in regards to starting a Christian school, please call 805 962-4400 to schedule a conference call with our board of directors.  Once a month we will host a free call to anyone who would like to ask questions about embarking  on a Christian school.

 

Thank you for your interest and God bless you!