March 23, 2009
Dear School Families:
God is good, all the time!! As many of you know, we start each day with this declaration. One of our 9th grade students gives an enthusiastic shout which cannot be ignored. Regardless of how often I hear it there is a strong responsive “Amen” that rises from my heart and soul. It is truly a great way to start the day. I hope this tradition never fades from the MCA plan book.
Every school has their traditions, the things they really value. They are generally found in the mission statement, a slogan, or the school handbook. For MCA one of those core values is relationship, but a special kind of relationship. Of course God is to be our number one relationship but He always sends us back to our human relationships to test whether the first relationship is genuine. We define the nature of the relationships we want to cultivate by the acronym PDE, Parent Directed Education. In 2007 we restructured MCA to be more financially solid, but there was a significant philosophical change as well. We designed the “new” MCA to be built with strong parent participation. Thus, we see the Parent Advisory Committee is taking on more responsibility and is now actively integrated with the School Board and Administration.
What does this mean to the average school family if there is anything average in the kingdom of God? Just like the Body of Christ needs all parts to function to be healthy, so does the MCA school family. We rejoice together and we share our difficulties together. (Rom. 12:15) This means more than doing our POVH hours and participating in fundraisers which most families do faithfully. It means our attitudes reflect one of commitment to the shared goals and mission of the school.
We are a radically different school, not because of Project Based Learning or a different style of teaching in the upper school, but because we decided to build with parents at the core of the education or discipleship process.
When you share MCA with other prospective families, this is the core message we hope is a growing reality at MCA. It is not built in a day and it takes all of us to bring it to completion. The economic recession is not a problem for God. Let’s keep believing and praying and inviting families to become part of what God is building at MCA. Remember our Open House Thursday evening March 26th at 7pm, and bring a prospective family!
Thank you.
Serving Him Joyfully,
Paul Sontag
