By David Blanton
According to the States Census Bureau, there are about 49.5 million students enrolled in elementary and high schools across the country. Roughly 42 million of these students are enrolled in government schools, 5.5 million in private schools (including parochial schools), and 1.5 million students are home schooled.
It takes a lot of money to educate these children, but many private schools are able to educate a child for less than half what government schools spend in the same geographic location. Why is that?
Government schools are bloated by top-heavy bureaucracy and state and federal mandates. Public school spending continues to go up while the effectiveness of the education being provided erodes. These facts cannot be ignored—and they aren’t. They are fueling a growing demand among states for school or parental choice. Perhaps one day we will see a tax credit available in every state for parents to use if they so choose to send their child to a private school as opposed to a public school funded by the government. This is a reality in many states already in one form or another, and RENEWANATION will work hard to make sure that it is a reality for every family.
The mission of RENEWANATION is to offer every child a Christian worldview. We will not wait for legislative change to make it possible for a child’s parents to be able to send their child to a school where he or she will be taught from a biblical perspective. Already, hundreds of students are receiving full or partial scholarships to RENEWANATION affiliate schools. The money comes from generous individuals, businesses and foundations.
One such individual and business owner is Caleb Mann, owner of the Caleb Mann Agency of Farmer’s Insurance located in Vinton, Va. Mann has been generously giving to RENEWANATION since the organization began. He has chosen to fully scholarship a child to Parkway Christian Academy, a RENEWANATION affiliate school. I had the opportunity recently to sit down with Mr. Mann to thank him for his support and to ask him why he supports the mission of RENEWANATION. Here is just a brief excerpt of our question and answer session:
Q: What is your philosophy for business?
A: My philosophy is that businesses have a responsibility to give back to the communities that they are doing business in. They are to use their expertise, knowledge, skills and abilities to benefit the community in areas that they are drawn to. For me, it has always been children. I have always felt that if you are going to impact anything in any significant way, then you need to impact the children. The later effects will always compound.
Q: With all of the thousands of worthy causes to support, why RENEWANATION?
A: It stems from my improvement in my ability to listen. You often find yourself in situations where you are being led. When God opens something up to you, you have got to pay attention. You get exposed to a lot of opportunities, and I am getting better at discerning what comes from God. The better I get at that, the more successful I will be. Specifically of course, it is because of the impact that RENEWANATION is having on children by teaching them from a Christian worldview.
Caleb Mann owns the Caleb Mann Agency of Farmer’s Insurance, a financial planning firm and full-service insurer of home, auto, health and life that operates out of Vinton, Va. He is just one of many who are making a huge difference in a child’s life by underwriting the expense to attend a RENEWANATION affiliate school. This type of giving has a tangible result with eternal rewards. If you are interested in learning more about our student scholarship program, please contact the Development office of RENEWANATION at (540) 966-0648.
Endnotes
1. The Cato Institute – Briefing paper number 25: What Would A School Voucher Buy? The Real Cost Of Private Schools by David Boaz and R. Morris Barrett
Volume 3 Issue 2 - The Renewanation Review
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