For centuries, churches and homes were at the forefront of education in Europe. The early settlers brought those traditions with them when they established colonies in the New World. From colonial days through the mid- to late-1800s, children were often educated in local churches or at home.
In 1852, Massachusetts passed the nation’s first compulsory schooling law. Other states followed suit, and by 1918 every state had compulsory schooling laws. With most of the public schools incorporating non-denominational Protestant teachings, the Protestant majority largely went along with the new system rather than paying for tuition on top of school taxes.
The increasing secularization of public schools has resulted in a growing disconnect between religious parents and the values that are being taught in public schools. Parents who are caught in the values clash and can afford other options often turn to Christian schools or homeschooling. But not everyone has those options. To help bridge that gap, there is a growing movement encouraging churches to create affordable Christian educational options.
Given the role Massachusetts played in instituting compulsory schooling laws, it’s fitting that a group in Massachusetts is leading the way in the effort to reclaim the role of parents and churches in education. The Massachusetts Family Institute’s church-based learning center initiative is helping churches create and sustain low-cost educational options.
“What sets the church-based learning centers apart is that the kids are registering as homeschoolers; typically it’s at a church, and typically it’s volunteer-based,” explains MFI President Michael King, who leads the initiative. Because the students are homeschoolers, the learning centers are simpler to start and run compared to traditional private schools. There are fewer regulatory and recordkeeping burdens since parents are responsible for meeting attendance and reporting requirements.
The costs are low because the learning centers function as a ministry of the church. And that’s intentional. “We have a goal of getting affordable K‑12 education in Massachusetts. And when we say affordable, we are looking at $100 to $200 a month per student,” Michael explains. As an example, he adds, “The largest Hispanic church in Worcester has a learning center, and 60 percent of the kids that attend that learning center live under the poverty line.” He sees that as proof of concept that church-based learning centers can work in high-poverty areas.
In addition to the already low cost, there is a pilot program for income-based scholarships. “We’ve built our own education freedom ecosystem with the Children’s Scholarship Fund, which is one of the largest scholarship-granting organizations in America,” says Michael. “And now they’re offering 50 percent scholarships up to $1,000 for students who want to attend a church-based learning center in Massachusetts.” CSF facilitates the program directly with the churches.
There are currently 22 church-based learning centers in Massachusetts educating around 600 children. Given that there are thousands of churches in Massachusetts and hundreds of thousands in America, the growth potential is huge. And while church attendance is in decline, Michael thinks it turned out to be a good thing that they built all these buildings because it will help create new options for families who want to exit the public school system.