Dear Reader,
Choosing a school is a difficult decision. Parents trust schools with their most treasured possessions, their children. Charter schools, parochial schools, private schools, how does one decide? One might ask, “Why should I enroll my student at The Freedom School?”
I asked one of our parents the same question one day. She told she knew her granddaughter was intelligent and would be academically successful at any school. However, she said that she chose The Freedom School because she cared as much about freeing her granddaughter’s heart as much as freeing her mind.
A year later, this same family was waiting at a railroad crossing when a man pressed a gun against the window of their van and told everyone to get on the floor. Everyone complied, except for the granddaughter, the Freedom School student. Noticing the girl, the gunman pushed the pistol through an open window and challenged her. She replied that God would protect her and told the man that he should “go pray and repent”. The gunman left. The grandmother asked her student why she was not afraid. She replied, “Gran, you have always taught us that God will care for us, no matter what.”
The student is eight years old, one of our third graders.
Interestingly, this student has very little, materially speaking. Some might even say she has very little to give. Yet, she has generously given to her schoolmates out of the abundance of her faith by setting an example. Unlike other schools where students often perceive themselves as either “takers” or “givers”, we teach all of our students to be both: givers and takers, regardless of where they come from or what they have. This is the heart of reconciliation and the heart of mutual discipleship in the kingdom of God.
It is my hope that all of our students would become like her: people whose hearts, minds, hands, and lives are freed by God’s love to give themselves to free others.
This kind of freedom is costly and cannot happen unless everyone: Board members, faculty, staff, students, parents, and donors, give of themselves to care for and serve one another. The more you give, the more you find yourself being set free.
I hope you will join us.
Timothy Baker
Head of School