Advancing Student Achievement through Church-School Partnerships

Advancing Student Achievement through Church-School Partnerships

On Tuesday, June 18, the FE Coalition was a guest on Upside Down ministry’s Virtual Gathering to discuss Church-School Partnerships. This  webinar was hosted by Andrew Mann, and I shared screen time on this important issue with Marilyn Lee, Executive Director of Loving Houston.

If you’re no stranger to the FE Coalition then you know that many schools in urban and rural areas often lack resources that would help their students attain greater levels of academic achievement and become college-career ready.

I’ve always appreciated this quote on equity:

“Equality means giving all students the exact same thing to meet the same expectations. Equity means holding people of differing needs to a single expectation and giving them what they need to achieve it.”

– Debby Irving, author. 

Our expectation is for all students to be college-career ready.

Children from low-income families attend high schools that often fail to prepare them for college. They lack counselors trained to guide them into colleges where they are likely to earn degrees. They lack mentors who can guide students through a high-school path that prepares them for college. A recent report I came across revealed that children with low test scores from high-income families have a 71 percent chance of being affluent adults by the age of 25, compared with only a 31 percent chance for poor children with high test scores.

From this we can conclude that student success is not simply predicated on access to information or having a seat in a classroom, but student success is often reliant on adequate funding and additional social support systems as well.

Churches can be a critical resource. While a church’s interaction with local schools presents an opportunity for a ministry of evangelism, it also presents an opportunity for a ministry of improving students outcomes.

Take a moment to access the Virtual Gathering to hear us discuss educational equity, the mission, story, and vision of Loving Houston, and best practices and resources for churches to partner with schools.

Forward and higher in Christ,

Rev. Girien R. Salazar
Executive Director, FE Coalition