Urban Christian Academy: Kansas City from Anecdotally Yours (Jeff Short) on Vimeo.
OUR VISION:
Urban Christian Academy seeks to be a school where Jesus Christ is preeminent and God through the Holy Spirit is acknowledged as the One who created all things, sustains all things, and works all things for His glory and our good. We honor the name of Christ by achieving excellence at all levels and developing the skills of our students to their fullest potential. These skills are developed deeply and broadly through Biblically-rooted instruction in academics. UCA instills in our students an attitude of servant leadership so that they are equipped to engage and transform the culture for Christ wherever God calls them.
Not Another Band-Aid
Kansas City is home to thousands of nonprofits. The social justice movement has brought much needed awareness to many issues plaguing our inner cities. Education reform and closing the achievement gap have become hot topics in and around major cities, including Kansas City where our public schools are currently unaccredited. Brendan, a five-year-old living in a low-income apartment project, is one of the most charismatic pre-schoolers you’ll ever meet. He receives multiple services from local non-profits including pre-school, food assistance, and summer programming. Hakeem, Brendan’s older second grade brother, receives two free meals each day at school, is a part of the Read to Lead program, attends an after school program, and receives a backpack full of food each Friday as he leaves school to ensure he has food to eat over the weekend. Brendan and Hakeem’s father is in prison and his mom struggles to make ends meet with her low-paying job at a local dollar store. Their apartment project has two non-profits housed in it’s community center that offer services to children. Despite all of these programs, Hakeem is still academically behind and has behavior problems at school. As we have explored the non-profit groups serving children and their families, we have met and seen many heroes serving relentlessly.
However, there is a common phrase that these service providers keep saying: ”The schools aren’t meeting the needs of our kids so we try to step in and fill the gap.” It’s as if the kids come out of school each day bleeding, and we bring them to our programs and put band-aids on their wounds. Then we send them back to school the next day, only to bring them back to our programs to apply even more band-aids. A professor at UMKC once put it this way: “There are really great people working hard to pull babies out of a river and revive them. Some are having success while other babies are dying. Regardless of the good work being done at the river, someone has to have the courage to walk up the hill and stop the babies from getting dropped in the river.” We commend those who tirelessly work at the river rescuing those who have been struggling to stay afloat. Their work is irreplaceable. However, we have a dream that one day remedial after school programs won’t be the norm or even be necessary because kids will leave school on target. We have a dream that nonprofits can stop being band-aid providers and start really nurturing souls; a dream that all students can have access to the same quality education regardless of what zip code they live in. We are walking up the hill and setting up shop to ensure that as many kids as possible will avoid the river of poor education. We recognize that the brokenness in our community will require holistic care of scholars and their families. We see education not as a savior but rather as a tool. Jesus Christ is the Savior, and we are unashamed to wave His banner high as a beacon of hope and transformation. This journey cannot happen without the support of many people who are willing to dream about what could be if a generation of young scholars were released into their communities armed with the Truth of God’s word and the power of a high-quality education. We believe that change is possible. We believe we must act now. We believe that God is in the business of transformation and we are eager to join Him in His great work.
Comments 0