FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL, BRAXTON BRADY
ECS is proud to announce our partnership with Diversity & Integration of Christian Education (DICE), a foundation which offers endowments to Christian schools that help provide a Christian education to children from diverse, low-income families.
I am excited about this new partnership which will give more minority families who desire Christian education the ability to attend ECS. In turn, it will help diversify our student population at ECS, enriching our entire school community by better reflecting the Church as a whole.
“There are many Christian families living in impoverished neighborhoods with very limited educational opportunities – and little prospect for breaking the cycle of poverty,” according to DICE’s website. “Sadly, many of these children – often minorities – never get the chance to experience the educational and religious opportunities that a private Christian school provides. Diversity & Integration of Christian Education is working to change that.”
John (ECS class of 2002) and Maura Bailey, ECS parents of JJ (3rd), Joshua (2nd), Catherine (SK), Caitlyn (JK), Jacob (JK) and James (LE), founded the organization in 2019. Since then, ECS varsity boys basketball coach Amory Sanders, and his wife Laura, ECS parents of Emma (5th) and John (2nd), and Denardo and Kim Crawford, parents of Noelle and Brielle (age 10) and Desmond (age 2) and have joined the foundation as members of the board of directors, chaired by John.
John recalled going through the process of selecting a school for their children to attend years ago. “In all categories, especially biblical discipleship, ECS was winning,” John remembered. “However, the student population was not very diverse. I met with leadership about it and learned that funding was the primary obstacle. So I said, ‘I can change that.’” As a result, the DICE Foundation was formed.
Amory said, “There is a common need for this. My wife is a teacher and knows students who would love the opportunity to participate at ECS and be a part of its discipleship. This foundation helps to give them that opportunity.”
Providing a private Christian education gives children from low-income families an improved chance to proceed on to higher education following high school graduation. Studies have shown that children who receive a private education are 25% more likely to attend college than those who attend public schools (Council for American Private Education).
DICE seeks to endow ECS with scholarship funding for students who meet the criteria for admission and who represent minority families who desire Christian education starting in elementary school all the way through 12th grade. DICE funds not only tuition, but also school lunches, uniforms, and fees for extracurricular activities such as athletics and field trips for the entire Christian education experience. The directors want these students to start ECS at a young age, hopefully before barriers get built.
Denardo said, “The reason there is so much racial division is we all tend to stay in our own areas. We stay separated. The older we get, the more entrenched we tend to become. This foundation will make it easier to break that as these children start going to school with each other at a young age.” He added, “That’s why we want a diverse group. We are in this together.”
DICE Foundation also allows for teacher training to help faculty understand students from different cultures. In addition, the foundation requires the involvement of families who receive the scholarships.
Maura, Laura and Kim are all involved in this effort and willing to lend support to the families who will receive these scholarships. Maura said, “It is important that the wives are involved to have that support, especially for single moms. We want to help them be successful, and that is done by building relationships.”
To read more about DICE and explore ways you can contribute to their effort to provide an ECS education to more minority students, please visit their website at www.enlighteningyouth.org.
We are so grateful for the leadership of the Baileys, the Sanders and the Crawfords whose generosity and commitment to diversity at ECS will greatly enrich our school community and make all of our students better prepared to lead in life.