‘Increasing interest in Christ-centred education’

A NORTH KILDONAN church is launching a new independent elementary school in September.

The Mennonite Brethren Christian Elementary school will be housed at the North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Church, located at the corner of Springfield and Gateway roads.

A school document said the facility will have a “Christ-centred” focus that will provide children “with an excellent education in the context of submission to the word of God.”

Fourteen families have registered their children or shown interest in the school, said Paul Boge, a church member who is on the planning committee.

Fees per year will be $3,500 per student, with a goal of keeping tuition as low as possible. The average tuition for three other Christian elementary schools — Linden Christian, Calvin Christian and King’s School — is $5,223.

The school will solicit donations from church members to help cover costs until provincial government funding kicks in in two years, Boge said.

Enrolment in the grade 1 to 4 school is open to children from the church, from other Mennonite Brethren churches and, if space permits, other churches.

To work at the school, teachers will be required to “strictly adhere” to the Mennonite Brethren confession of faith.

That includes a commitment to peacemaking, the belief that marriage is only between a man and a woman, and opposition to abortion and assisted suicide.

Teachers will also be required to have a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a love for children, a love for the Bible, and a commitment to their educational, relational, and spiritual well-being.” Teachers will be reviewed annually about their commitment to the confession of faith.

The discussion document notes students will be taught by born-again teachers certified by the provincial government, who follow the province’s curriculum.

Boge said the school is being built because “there is increasing interest in Christ-centred education.”

If the school is successful, the church hopes to construct a separate campus on the eastern edge of the property, Boge said, adding this would depend on it becoming what the provincial government calls a “funded independent school.”

In that model, the school, like 63 others in Manitoba, would receive partial funding from the province. Those schools are operated by the Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and various Christian communities.

The provincial government said in a statement that any independent schools that wish to receive provincial funding must demonstrate they comply with applicable legislation, regulations and policies for a two-year waiting period. They are eligible for funding in the third year of operation.

The amount of funding is based on the number of eligible pupils enrolled at the school, set at 50 per cent of public school net operating expenditures. The current rate is $6,720 per full-time equivalent student.

Mennonite Brethren Christian Elementary school will be placed on a two-year waiting list for funding eligibility, the statement said.

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John Longhurst
Faith reporter

John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News.

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