Help! There Are No Classical Christian Schools Where I Live!

So you’re a Christian parent who is convinced that a classical Christian education is the most prudent way to administer academic paideia to your children, and you are ready to choose the right school for them. There’s just one problem: You live in a town where such a school does not exist. How do you choose a school for them? Below are some concepts and questions to consider if you find yourself in such an academic desert. 

We will consider several contexts for educating children, in the order of most to least ideal. Along the way I will provide a rationale for this order of educational contexts. The essay will conclude with a list of questions parents should consider before sending their children to school. 

Homeschooling: The Ideal 

Homeschooling is the ideal because God has ordained you, the parent, and nobody else firstly to administer paideia to your child. You are responsible for the outcome of your child’s understanding of God, His Word, your child’s basic academic education, and the moral trajectory of your child’s life. Moreover, the family unit is the first human institution God established—before government and schools. Naturally, then, parents are teachers and instructors of their children. Formal, academic education is no exception. 

By educating your child in the home, you establish yourself as your child’s magister (that’s Latin for “teacher”). She begins to look up to you in not only matters of faith, morality, and various life lessons but also for her algebra homework, her physics project, and why Dostoyevsky’s “The Grand Inquisitor” is so long. You become her primary source of knowledge for learning about and interpreting the world God made. 

Brick-and-Mortar Schools 

If for whatever reason your family cannot homeschool, then a brick-and-mortar school may be appropriate. Before you consider a brick-and-mortar school, you must consider your own heart in the matter. Why can’t you homeschool? Are those reasons legitimate reasons? Unfortunately, many parents do not homeschool for illegitimate reasons, such as wanting to have their spouse work another full-time job to maintain a more comfortable or even lavish lifestyle. I am not saying there are no legitimate reasons for sending your kids to brick-and-mortar schools (my own children attend one!); I am simply saying you must examine your heart and motives when making this decision. 

There are four options from which to choose: private classical Christian schools, public classical charter schools, private nonclassical Christian schools, and state-funded public schools. Let’s look at all of these brick-and-mortar options one at a time. 

Private Classical Christian: First Choice 

This is the preeminent option for brick-and-mortar schools since such schools are rooted not only in a Christian worldview but also the classical tradition. If government-funded schools were both explicitly Christian and rooted in the classical tradition, then perhaps one could craft a strong case for these schools, but alas, nothing like this exists. Classical Christian schools must necessarily be private because of the religious plurality mandated in our public schools.1 I believe this is a good thing. Private classical Christian schools have the freedom and flexibility to govern and administer a quality education to your children. 

Public Classical Charter: Second Choice 

You may be wondering, “How can you rank a public school as the second-best brick-and-mortar option above a Christian school?” The answer is simple. Most (though not all) nonclassical Christian schools are functionally run-of-the-mill public schools with a chapel thrown into the mix.  

Classical charter schools are schools funded by the state that have their own boards of government and a bit more autonomy than a typical public independent school district. Two leading classical charter schools in America are Great Hearts Academies and Founders Classical Academies. These classical charter schools are committed to the Trivium and wrap into their DNA the three transcendentals: goodness, truth, and beauty. What you can expect from these schools is a robust education all around from the grammar phase through the final rhetoric phase of the Trivium.  

Your child will receive just about everything he would receive from a private classical Christian school except for the explicit Christian worldview undergirding the entire education. However, in my experience, most of the educators at these schools are Christians, although you will find students whose families vary in religious background. For example, when I taught at Founders Classical Academy, I taught Christian students—but they were the minority! I taught lots of Muslim, Mormon, and Hindu students. I recognized as I taught these students that, though many of them were not Christians, they carried values of family and morality that overlapped with the Christian faith. 

Classical charter schools are better than private nonclassical Christian schools because the leaders are usually thinkers. In general, they think very deeply about their tasks and see their specific role in light of the whole of the students’ education. As a result, there is a set of academic and moral priorities set by the leadership that is unmatched by public independent school districts, which many nonclassical Christian schools simply emulate.  

Private (Nonclassical) Christian: Third Choice 

Unfortunately, I do not have many good things to say about nonclassical Christian schools. First, allow me to express what I do not intend. I do not believe it is impossible for nonclassical Christian schools to educate the whole child. I do not believe that nothing good can come from nonclassical Christian schools. I do not believe that if you teach or work at a nonclassical Christian school, then you are a subpar Christian. I do not believe that it is sinful to receive or promote a nonclassical education. 

I simply believe that nonclassical Christian schools offer a subpar education. Many of these schools have great intentions but execute their educational programs in a worldly manner. Moreover, sometimes nonclassical Christian schools try to operate like a church. A Christian school is fundamentally a school; therefore, the ultimate aims of the school should be educational. Of course, a Christian school should promote an atmosphere where spiritual health and growth thrive, but ultimately the school should teach students firstly how to order their loves and secondly how to think and learn for themselves. Too often nonclassical Christian schools emphasize a vague “discipleship” program or cheesy evangelistic outreach practices to the detriment of the ultimate aims of a school: to educate. What is promoted as a spiritually thriving atmosphere can turn out to be a culture of mediocrity and anti-intellectualism. 

Additionally, nonclassical Christian schools can easily become functional public schools with a Bible class or chapel sprinkled into the mix. Because a solid, historically rooted academic foundation is often lacking in these schools, they are often enamored by the glitz and glam of the public schools. Many of the “extras” that public schools afford (such as robust athletic programs and impressive nationwide STEM research projects) can be quite wholesome and edifying, but too often they are misplaced. Public schools do not place the “first things” first, which is a thoroughly Christian principle. And so, sometimes when nonclassical Christian schools follow suit, they’re just following subpar priorities. Therefore, I encourage parents to prioritize a nonclassical Christian school below a public charter school.  

Typical Public Independent School District: Last Resort 

Due to the current state of public, government-funded schools, parents should proceed with a lot of caution if they find themselves considering a public school. There are not many out there worth considering. An infection of explicit godlessness, undiscipline, and libertine morals plagues public schools all over America. Not only are the educational instructions educationally progressive—the moral fabric and worldview also devastate students’ lives. 

Sending your child to a run-of-the-mill public school should be an absolute last resort. Once again, I do not believe that nothing good comes out of these schools. However, I am saying that it is very rare these days to find substantial education that trains a child in the ways of thinking and learning how to learn for herself within a school culture that nourishes the soul. 

Some Exceptions to Consider 

Some practical matters and exceptions provide some nuance to these descriptions and suggestions. Parents often can afford private classical Christian school; yet they choose not to invest their money into this education because public schools are “free” (and, if they’re honest, they really like their summer beach houses and month-long vacations). This would be unfaithful.  

Additionally, it is imprudent to choose a public education solely on the basis of extracurriculars and “social exposure and development” when better classical options are legitimately available. However, there are many very specific scenarios that may preclude a family from choosing private classical Christian education and even classical charter schools (e.g., divorce and broken homes, sickly family members precluding the family to move to a better school, legitimate financial constraints, and so forth).  

This is the reason why I, in a recent online article, wrote, “Are parents unfaithful if they do not homeschool? Are parents unfaithful if they send their children to public school? Not necessarily!,” conceding the possibility that public school isn’t necessarily an unwise option.  

Questions You Must Consider 

To conclude, parents should ask themselves the following questions when considering the education of their children (in this order): 

1. Do I believe that God holds me entirely responsible for the education of my child? 
2. Is our family financially capable of classical Christian homeschooling? Can my spouse and I (if married) adequately teach our child? Do we have the necessary skills? (This second question is very important; it may be much better for your child to attend a brick-and-mortar classical school filled with professional educators if, to be frank, you are not the best teacher.) 
3. If not, then is our family financially capable of private classical Christian schooling? Are there any classical Christian schools nearby?  
4. If not, should we move to a city where a classical Christian school exists? Do the pros of moving to a city where a classical Christian school exists outweigh the cons? 
5. If not, is there a public classical charter school in our area that my child could attend? 
6. If you answered “no” to questions 3–5: Should we send our child to a local public independent school district?  
   • This answer depends upon the quality of the school. Legion are the American public schools that promote explicitly sinful worldviews, and few are the public schools that are overseen and operated by conservative Christians where prayer is held, the Scriptures incorporated into literature class, and traditional values maintained. They exist, but they are few.
   • If there are no adequate public schools in your area for your child, then you may need to move to a city where your child can receive a classical education. There are many factors to consider that could determine whether you stay or leave (e.g., family dynamics, church, and sometimes a job). You must plead with God for wisdom regarding this matter.
7. If you answered “yes” to question 6, then are you scrutinizing the public school’s school board, superintendent, principal, school leaders and teachers, handbook, and founding documents? 
8. Regardless of how you answered any of these questions above, the following questions apply to paideia in all forms of education:  
   • Do you regularly involve yourself in the academic life of your child, monitoring her assignments and filtering the books to which she is exposed?
   • Do you regularly guide your child through his relationships with both Christian and non-Christian friends, emphasizing that the friends we choose radically shape who we are as individuals?
   • Do you reinforce the fact that education is the study of God’s creation and that we can know God through the world He has created? 
9. These questions are exclusive to brick-and-mortar schools only—whether private or public:
   • Do you regularly interact with your child’s teachers, asking key questions about worldview, pedagogy, communication, and so forth?
   • Do you regularly attend board meetings and events on campus?
   • Do you regularly instruct your child to recognize worldview claims and inquire into the worldview being promoted at the school?  
   • Do you affirm, clarify, or even correct any worldviews taught at the school for your child?

In all of this, you must plead with God for wisdom and provision and be honest about your heart’s motives. Heed the words of Proverbs 3:5 (NIV): “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” He will guide you, and by your prayers He will supply what is lacking in your child’s education.