Private Christian K-12 enrollment is on the rise in recent years. With the many changes that have occurred in public health, politics, and cultural agendas recently, I believe many parents of younger students are choosing to invest in private education that aligns with their values and priorities.  

I have spent my entire professional career in the realm of higher education, far beyond the early formative years of elementary school. In contrast to the recent positive trends in K-12 Christian education, enrollment at many Christian colleges throughout the nation has been on the decline for years. In my current role as Executive Director of the North American Coalition for Christian Admissions Professionals, our researchers concluded that approximately 70% of our member institutions did not meet their enrollment goals for the fall of 2022.

I wish I could say I was a particularly spiritual child, but I wasn’t. In fact, I basically hated Sundays. It wasn’t the morning and evening church services I didn’t like—it was the in-between. My parents were quite strict about that time of the week: no play dates, no school work, no sporting events, no television, no eating out, mandatory naps, etc. These Sabbath day practices felt unbearable to me. So as soon as I was old enough to make my own decisions, I dropped most of them.

[Editor's Note: The following has been adapted from an interview with "The Art of Neighboring" co-author Dave Runyon on the "Navigating Your Child's Education" podcast for parents. Make sure to check out the full conversation here.]