After Years in the Wilderness, Conservative Christian Education Is Being Born Again Post-Pandemic – By Vince Bielski (RealClearInvestigations) / Aug 17, 2023
New, state-funded school choice programs make it easier for students from poor families to afford tuition. Above, student athletes at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy, serving mostly Latinos on the south side of Tucson.
Conservative Christian education is being born again.
Arcadia Christian Academy, which opened in Arizona on Aug. 8, is one of dozens of Christian micro-schools popping up across the country, offering a hybrid in-class and at-home education to keep costs down and the odds of survival up in an increasingly competitive K-12 sector. What’s more, many long-established Christian schools are growing their enrollment after years of stagnation.
The recent post-pandemic rebound in Christian education, prompted by parental anger over public school shutdowns and the expansion of school choice programs, comes after a prolonged period of plunging enrollment and shutdowns since the mid-2000s. Behind that decline were dismay over unaccredited schools and an emphasis on preaching the gospel over teaching rigorous courses, according to interviews with Christian school leaders, parents, and national associations, as well as religious education scholars and consultants.
