When Education is a Privilege not a Right
Minnesota has a discouraging amount of food deserts, homelessness, and unemployment, but is also sadly close to leading the entire country in all areas of racial disparities. (more sources below) When housing, food, clothing, and mere survival are the daily struggle for a family, deciding on the best education for children -especially for families who are in poverty- can fall off the radar. So when education is wrongly deemed a privilege rather than a basic human right, how do we help?
Hope Academy is well aware of the realities facing some of our students. Through our Family Ministry efforts, Hope Academy provides Family Support Resources to help parents through difficult life challenges like, job changes, food assistance, housing, etc. These basic needs of our families are very important to us. We want to help families become stable and successful and to one day escape the negative effects of generational poverty. . We believe that showing families that we are concerned about every area of their lives helps to strengthen our partnership and relationship. And while we provide a safe, nurturing and consistent place for children to be successful in school, we want the entire family unit to be victorious. (In fact, our teachers even do home visits each year to get to know families and their students better!) Once the basic needs of life begin to be adequately addressed, , then the focus on schooling can become much more feasible. .
Over the years, if a student continues their education at Hope Academy, those relationships between the school and families only deepens. Additionally, as students get closer to graduation, the possibility of attending a college or university comes into view. Unfortunately, families that are lower-income may look at the high price tag for college and all the hoops that must be jumped through, and wrongly determine that college is not an option for them. They often do not know what a FASFA is or the resources that are available such as grants and scholarships, to help lessen or lift the financial burden of a college education.
But this is where the relationship between families and Hope Academy comes into play again. Through our College and Career Ministry, we guide students through the application process. We walk with families along each step of the way to make the process seem less daunting. Secondary education, such as community college or university can be a possibility to most every student and the lack of understanding for how the procedures work should not keep anyone from trying.
We believe that educating under-resourced and inner-city image-bears is a great privilege. In fact, we count it all joy to serve these wonderful families and help them foster a growing hope in God!
Come check out the Hope Academy difference in education.
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