Read and Approved by:

_________________________________________________________________

(Chairperson)

_________________________________________________________________

(Member)

_________________________________________________________________

(Member)

_________________________________________________________________

(Date)

I would like to dedicate these pages

to Karen,

my lifetime companion,

who has encouraged me,

prayed for me,

has more than doubled my ministry,

and loved me unconditionally.

I dedicate these pages.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface 8

1. Introduction 9
2. From Ashes, a New Beginning 14
3. First Steps: April 22, 1991 - June 5, 1991 19

A. Prayer and Godly Counsel 19

B. Feasibility Study 20

C. Finances 20

D. Facility 22

E. Insurance 24

F. Advertising 24

G. Incorporation 24

1. Mailing Address 27
2. Checking Account 27
3. Employer Identification Number 28
4. Promotion 28
5. School’s Mission and Philosophy 29
6. Advertising 31
7. Incorporation 32

1. Letterhead 52

1. Enrollment 55

1. Information Packet 55
2. Interview 56

1. Application 56
2. Handbook 57
3. Discipline 59
4. Parent/School Agreement 67
5. Questions and Answers 68
6. Tour 68
7. School Board 68

1. Calendar 70
2. Payroll 72
3. Budget 72
4. Orientation 74

22. First Days of School 75
1. Academics 75
2. Home School 77
3. Library 78
4. Mascot 80
5. Personnel 80
6. Legal Requirements 82

Conclusion 84

1. Tuition - Flexible Payment Proposal for Rent 87
2. Use Agreement 88
3. Enrollment Procedures Form 89
4. Checklist of Enrollment Forms Needed from Parents 91
5. Student Record Release 92
6. Medical History/Release Form 93
7. Parent/School Agreement 94
8. Earthquake Emergency Information Card 96
9. Handbook Agreement Forms 97

PREFACE

The first third of the Bible is a history book. Genesis through Esther records the deeds of God, the people of Israel and related peoples with a backward look. Likewise, the Gospels, in the New Testament, are history books. I believe God has pleasure in viewing what He has done. Many Hebrew holidays are related to the retelling of what God did for Israel.

We believe God brought Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc. into being. I believe the children attending the school in the future, parents of those students and board members of the future, can look back on the school and understand that this school came from God! While there was unbelievably hard work put in by some of the first people that brought this school into being, there were dozens to hundreds of little threads that could have placed the school on the scrap heap of good ideas gone bad. Only God could have brought the school through these first years intact. This then is the story and some of those threads we would like to retell.

The second reason for writing is to help others trying to start a school. We found a lack of material that says, "This is how we started a school." As listed in the Bibliography, there are several excellent books on how to begin a school, but they are written as a broad overview, sitting in the office. Ours is a field view, with the dirt still on some of the documents.

On September 9, 1998, Melody and David Bobbitt began a Christian school in Vallejo. Their life will not be one of ease. But these pages were written to show how we did it, and how they can, too. Keep your face toward God, ignore your emotion to quit, and press on toward the mark of the high calling of God. "If God be for us, who can be against us?"

Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc. was an idea that had been in dream form for many years. When my wife and I moved into the area, the closest homes that we could afford were a thirty minute commute to our place of employment. Our dream was that one day a Christian school closer to home would be available and our commute would be just a memory.

Several years passed and no such school became available and our commute had become much longer because of new housing that added new cars on the roads. Not only that, but the philosophy of the Christian school where we were teaching was slowly changing in a direction with which we could not agree. There were several points that led us to believe that the church-school where we taught was becoming less Bible-based.

Several other teachers were also becoming discontented with this new direction and so this small group of teachers set about doing research for a new school a distance from our present school and "over the hill." Our research began by talking to the different pastors in the area to see if there was an interest in a Christian school being housed in their buildings. Also, there were concerns about whether the church facility would be adequate for a school. Empty buildings were also checked for price, availability, and inhabitancy. Pastors who had a heart for a Christian school had inadequate facilities. Pastors with adequate facilities did not see a need for a Christian school. However, more and more people were moving into our area and it seemed obvious to us that a Christian school was needed. During our final two years at the Concord school, they even ran a bus out into our area, so great was the need.

Through our brother-in-law, Dennis Bock, we purchased Manual of Administration for New and Young Christian Schools published by the Association of Christian Schools International. It came with tapes, ideas, and steps for starting a Christian School. We followed several of the suggestions, but the answer was clear, "No new Christian school this year." The door was closed. As a result, all of the teachers remained at the school one more year, but the idea had not died, nor had the feeling that the Spirit of God was moving us closer to home. This book purchased from ACSI became a reference tool that was used later as Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc. came to be.

As we drove through the neighborhoods one day, a sign caught our attention. How long it had been there is still unknown to us, but there it was, big and bold, "Neighborhood Church, home of Brentwood Christian School." There was no address, but the telephone number was at the bottom. A phone call was made the next day. A pleasant, yet businesslike voice answered the phone at the church office. Phyllis answered all my questions and invited me to visit either the church or the school. I visited the very small congregation in the very large facility within a couple of weeks.

As if another prodding were necessary, we saw an announcement in our small, hometown newspaper about a spaghetti feed that Brentwood Christian School was holding. It was for purchasing computers for the school. Another call was made, this time to find out what kind of computers they were trying to buy. At home, we were on our second computer and saw the potential for use in the classroom. This time the whole family visited the church.

We found a small, but vibrant congregation with a lot to offer. Our family found the lack of music a drawback, but the fact that our teenage children made friends instantly with the two other teenagers, helped draw them into the church. Amazingly, within weeks a position was available at Brentwood Christian School for the following school year. We, of course, were interested, and interviews were set up with the church board. They were impressed with both of us, but as it was a position working with younger children, it was decided that it best fit Karen.

Don found a position in Walnut Creek on the same campus where our children were attending high school and the three of them commuted together all year. The following year, a position teaching older students opened at Brentwood Christian School and with the interview process already done, Don was hired. As far as we were concerned, the dream for a Christian school in our area was fulfilled and we thought we were set for life.

Unfortunately, our Pastor/Principal had a distinct flaw in his character with which he had not dealt. It came to haunt our church, our school, his wife, his children, and our lives right at the point of what we felt was a time of growth for both the church and the school. He asked for a leave of absence, but because this was not a first offense, the District Board in Oakland revoked his license, and he was asked to leave the church and the denomination.

What he left behind was a hurting church, a dumbfounded school, and a numb congregation. He had left both the church and the school finances in disarray, and left the pieces for someone else to pick up. Karen was made the interim Administrator in March 1990, and found that there were no books, records of payments, or any kind of files to be used to try to direct the school. The school had never been incorporated. Letters were sent out with the hope that they would be received with kindness and understanding, relying on the honesty and knowledge of parents to pay any unpaid tuition. With God’s help, we made it through that school year and actually began enrolling students for the following year, but this year and this episode had already damaged the reputation of Brentwood Christian School.

At this time, the church board had set up a Pastoral Search Committee. Several names and biographies were given to that committee by the District Office. Much prayer was given to the calling of a new pastor, and one was asked to meet with the whole committee after several committee members had visited his present church. The one concern that many of the committee members had was his lack of interest in being connected with a church school. We all hoped it was just a lack of experience on his part and were sure he would see the benefit once he became the pastor.

A new Administrator, Bill Byroads, was appointed for the following school year who did not need a salary. He took a salary low enough that it did not affect his Social Security. He was a retired Marine who had been the officer in charge of a school in the Marine Corps. He had also done teaching and training in several civilian jobs, so was quite qualified to handle the position. However, all this would not prepare him for what was to follow.

The seeds of the end of Brentwood Christian School were sown back with the former pastor. The school had a number of families who paid by the year, so the school had quite a balance which was kept in an interest-bearing account separate from the daily school account. Our former pastor had found it convenient to blur the lines between the church and the school finances. When a need came up for the church, the school paid for it. This led to the school funding the purchase of chairs for the church, the remodeling of the women’s restroom, and later, the cost of transportation and setup of the front portable.

At the same time, the school was subjected to a whisper campaign which caused unrest among some of the families both in the school and the church. Students began to leave the school for unaccountable reasons. "It has nothing to do with you," was the catch phrase of the time. As a result, prepaid tuition had to be returned and some unpaid tuition was never recovered. This put Brentwood Christian School in a financial bind and the school was forced to lay off teachers to save money. The Administrator himself took no salary during those final months of the school year.

The whisper campaign was actually begun by church families. To this day, the reason for this is unknown. However, they were clearly dedicated to bringing about the fall of both the church and the school. It was not long before the church board became concerned about the direction of both the church and the school. The church board deliberated several months in secret before deciding to close the school. They felt that running both a church and a school was too hard and that the church needed their attention at this time. Also, because of the apparent drain of funds by the school, it was decided that it would be best to close it to save money. Again, this misunderstanding concerning the financial state of affairs was because of the former pastor blurring those financial lines between church and school.

The decision to close the school came as a surprise for almost all concerned and came too late to enroll very many students for the coming year because of the uncertainty of a school existing the following year. The church board also would not allow Brentwood Christian School to use any funds that might have been obtained to close the books. The task of announcing the closing of Brentwood Christian School was left to the Parents Club President, Steve Collins.

II. FROM ASHES, A NEW BEGINNING

As Steve Collins gave the unexpected announcement from the church board, an outcry of "What shall we do?" went up from the parents. The Administrator and the teachers had slightly anticipated the closure of the school and the response of the parents. As a result, after a bit of discussion, Don Lyles stood up and delivered a short message on Gregory’s Seven Laws of Teaching. There were about fifty people present and they requested another meeting with a more definitive answer to their question. A meeting was set for the following Monday. At that meeting, Monday, April 22, 1991, the following notes were given:

B. What is Christian Education? Is it to be as good as the public school? If so, save a lot of headaches and send the kids next door. [to Edna Hill School] I will tell you we have one student that will be ready for Algebra II in the fall. Almost all of our previous students, whether graduates or not have done very well in public schools. Our graduates have done excellent work in the schools they have gone to. Our track record should silence the critics.

C. Christian Education, according to Scripture, is to mold students into the image of Christ. Moses had little to say about academics in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, which is the basis of a Christian school. The last words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20 were; "Go into the nations . . . didaskontes ("teaching" in Greek) them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you . . . " Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 1:6 "You became imitators of us and of the Lord." In 1 Thessalonians 2:14, "For you, brothers, became imitators of God." Paul reiterates this in Ephesians 5:1, "Be imitators of God therefore, as dearly loved children." Moses in Deuteronomy 6:4-6, stated, "Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and all thy strength . . . And thou shalt teach them to thy children and thou shalt speak of them sitting in the house, and walking by the way, and lying down, and rising up."

In each of these passages we are not just to know facts, but teach God's Words to the point of changing lives to imitate Christ. Moses' statement is a command to parents constantly to instruct their children in Religious Education. Jesus' last command was to preach and teach Christian Education.

D. My vision is that within five years, to have students from Stockton to Pittsburg in K-12 on our own 5-10 acre campus in this neighborhood.

III. Gregory's Seven Laws of Teaching

A. Law of the Teacher. We have a staff with over 40 years of teaching experience in Christian schools and numerous credentials.

B. Law of the Learner. I believe the Scriptures indicate a student must have the desire to learn.

C. Law of the Language. We use English as a primary language.

D. Law of the Lesson. After much discussion and evaluation, the parents and teachers of Brentwood Christian School determined to use A.C.E. curriculum for the next year. I would like to continue to implement A.C.E. with additional computer studies, Bible studies and science projects. I would also like to see an evaluation of the Literature at the earliest time.

E. Law of the Teaching Process. We need to learn facts, but facts are forgotten. What is not forgotten is how to think and how to behave.

F. Law of the Learning Process.

G. Law of Review and Application.

IV. Financial Proposal

Based on 17 at $1800 and 26 students at $2000 tuition = $82,600

$200-250 books

$100 enrollment not including a T-shirt.

[I believe each student should have a Logo T-shirt of the school and wear it once a week during the school term as a morale builder and advertisement.]

$200 Enrollment fee including T-shirt, most other fees. Including the four Educational field trips each year.

$500 donation or four hours per week. Donations and fund raisers.

Tuition breaks for multiple children families.

Purchase chairs, score tables, etc and unused curriculum from Brentwood Christian School.

We need a library.

We need maintenance.

We need computers and maintenance of the computers.

We will need legal papers (non-profit status, incorporation papers.)

We need a copy machine.

Other Expenses:

FICA .072 tax

P.G. & E.

Rent

Tuition deadbeats are usually .05 of budget

Join A.C.E. costs

Join ACSI costs

As a result of these two meetings, several things happened. Because the decision of the church board came so late in the school year, there was some concern that there might not be enough time to form a new school. Therefore, most of the parents looked for an alternative school for their children. A core group felt a new school could and should be started for the 1991-1992 school year. Those people became the founding fathers of the new school that was to be formed, Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc.

Steve Collins, President of Brentwood Christian School’s Parents Club, felt a real burden for a new school, having given that almost crippling announcement of the closure of the school. Along with having to find a school for his daughter to attend, he saw a need for a new school here in this location. Steve belonged to Golden Hills Community Church and worked professionally with the financial side of insurance.

Don Lyles, the person with the vision that helped to direct the people in those first meetings, also wanted a school here. He saw the value of using the individualized curriculum and designing a truly Christian school. Don Lyles was a member of the Neighborhood Church and was a sixth grade teacher.

Bill Byroads had the most hands-on knowledge of how to run a school having been the Administrator and seeing the finances during the last year. He was able to give insight into pitfalls to avoid. He also had a granddaughter that he was supporting through Christian school and desired a place for her. Bill was a member of the Neighborhood Church, being one of its earliest members.

Pete Schoch was one of those really supportive parents that was shocked when the announcement came that the school was going to close down. He had two sons, one that had already graduated from Brentwood Christian School and he needed a place for his eighth grade son to graduate. Pete attended Harvest Time Assembly of God and was a local rancher with extensive building knowledge and experience.

Dan Barnes was probably the most shocked of those parents that heard the news. He virtually had no input into the running of Brentwood Christian School and was ashamed that he had not had a more active role in his son’s education. He made a vow to change that and be a part of the forming of a new school. Dan was a member of the Nazarene Church and was a real estate agent who also was the sole representative of the real estate for the Nazarene Church in our local area.

Karen Lyles was a lower elementary school teacher with a vision for a new school. She had organizational skills that she had to use when she was Interim Administrator for Brentwood Christian School. She also saw the importance of a truly Christian school with an individualized program. Karen was a member of the Neighborhood Church in Brentwood.

These six people, then, were the group that began the Brentwood Christian School Reorganization Committee.

III. FIRST STEPS: APRIL 22, 1991 - JUNE 5, 1991

A. PRAYER AND GODLY COUNSEL

To begin any new ministry, much prayer must go into it. This cannot be stressed enough and must be the first and foremost part of any project or program. Much prayer went into the beginning of this new school as well.

After beginning with prayer and continuing with prayer, good Godly counsel is needed. The members of the committee gathered as much information as they could from other Christian schools in the area and from others that may have been part of starting a new school. Karen consulted friends from Berean Christian High School in Walnut Creek and Stoneybrooke Christian School in Mission Viejo. She also went down with Don to visit Dennis Bock and Sherry Worel of Stoneybrooke to gather information. While there, they were able to get copies of student packets, enrollment procedures, handbooks, materials necessary for personnel files, and a lot of good advice.

It is important to remember that every school that is begun is unique from any other school that is begun. Some schools are a part of a church, some schools are part of a church, but run by a separate board, and some are totally and separate entities completely run by a board. For each of these kinds of schools, there are different legal requirements. Several schools that I talked to had much trouble in their first few years because there were so many regulations, forms, etc. that needed to be filled out and they had been confused as to what to do. One of the best pieces of advice that we ever received was to go to the Christian Law Association in order to get our school off to the best start. They are more than qualified and knowledgeable in how to start each of these kinds of school. They have more information than you can possibly imagine as well as the forms that you need to fill out, and they are happy to help. We took this important advice and we had relatively few problems getting started. The Christian Law Association was the best thing that ever happened for us and the beginning of Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc.

Our next step, then, was to have Don Lyles contact the Christian Law Association. Right away, Gibbs and Craze started working on our project. Zachary S. Gray, who was our advisor at the Christian Law Association, sent us samples of Bylaws from other Christian schools so that we could start looking at how we wanted to organize our school. He immediately started putting together papers for us.

B. FEASIBILITY STUDY

Because we were under a tight time restraint (nineteen weeks to the opening of school), we were unable to do a feasibility study. However, before any serious thought is put into starting a new school, a feasibility study which would include the need for a school, the support of the area pastors, the availability of facilities, the funding available, and the grade levels to be taught would need to be done. A questionnaire could be put together to answer some of these questions and given to Christian households in the community as well as the pastors in the area.

One of the benefits of being on a tight time restraint is that we learned to delegate. This saved us much time, headaches, and duplication of work. Each of the six founding fathers was assigned different tasks to do concerning the start of the school. As a result, throughout this paper, you will see certain names attached to certain aspects of school development.

C. FINANCES

Finances were also a necessary part of beginning a school. Financial policies will be discussed later, as well as the importance of having a sound financial base. However, at this point in the organization of our new school, a basic tuition cost had to be decided so that advertisements and enrollment could begin. It was decided that the cost for the 1991-1992 school year would be $1800 for Kindergarten and $2000 for 1^st through 8^th grades which was consistent with the previous tuition paid at Brentwood Christian School and with the tuition charged for schools in our area. Tuition breaks would be given for more than one child in a family. There was a re-enrollment fee of $100 and the materials fee would be between $200-$250. This information was related to the parents in a letter on April 23, 1991.

At this point, however, there was no money at all. Enrollments had not been taken, there was no money from Brentwood Christian School, and no tuition paid. So, in the tradition of our nation’s forefathers, the founding fathers of this new school staked their lives and their fortunes in the founding of a new school. Dan Barnes put the first $10 into the kitty and the first postage was paid. Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc. began by each of the founding fathers taking care of the cost of some of the initial items that we needed, i.e. fliers, postage, P.O. Box, cost for filing for a name, stationery, brochures, packets, etc. Also, some of the first sets of parents felt a burden for the school, and as well as putting in time, also put in some money in order to get the school off the ground financially.

Getting initial capital for a brand new school is always a problem. Here are a few ways to acquire those first funds.

1. With a general proposed budget in hand, including some of the initial costs for starting a school, invite families to invest an amount of money into the school to provide enough money to cover the costs of the preoperational months of school.

2. Prepare a list of necessary items and their costs. Allow the families to pay for certain items.

3. Ask each family to pay a down payment of $100 on their tuition.

4. Require that the registration fees be paid early, so that these funds can be used for the preoperational costs.

5. If the school is a part of a church, ask the church to cover the initial costs either as a gift to the school or to be paid back as the funds come in.

6. Also, if it is going to be a church-school, a general promotional meeting can be given. At this meeting, the proposed budget can be given out and a general presentation of the ministry of the school can be given. Then commitments for financial support in the future or gifts and donations for the present can be taken. These same sources can be tapped for any major fund rasing. Stoneybrooke Christian School in Mission Viejo charged $1000 to each family joining the school, and even today continues this practice. They were able to build a school campus with beautiful facilities that would make any government school envious with this money. Once a new school is running, there are almost as many ways to raise capital as there is imagination.

D. FACILITY

A school also needs a facility in which to perform the functions of a school and we needed a home. The Elder Board of the Neighborhood Church (where the former school met) was approached concerning the possibility of renting the facilities from them. They agreed, and a flexible tuition rent schedule was put into place. (See Appendix I, Forms, for a copy). This type of a plan has a base for a minimum rent to be paid with the amount of rent increasing as the amount of students increases. This plan was developed and presented by Steve Collins. It is a crucial part of the sound financial planning that went into this school.

A part of facility, of course, is the furniture. We had some left over furniture that the new school would be able to use, however, the Lord wanted to put his confirmation on the plans that we were making. One of the little known things that happened that brought the teachers and parents together and that they felt was a sign from God, was an incident that happened concerning a man named Ray Schuppert. On Monday, the church board voted the Brentwood Christian School closed. On Tuesday, Ray appeared on the school property in a very old Ford Econoline, dents everywhere, with homemade school furniture. He told us this story. He lives in El Cerrito and God gave him the ability to build furniture. He was on his way to a school in San Francisco, when just before he reached the Oakland side of the maze, he felt that he needed to turn toward Contra Costa County. He followed the "hunch" until he pulled into our driveway. He unloaded much of the gray, green, or yellow-painted, 2 x 4 style furniture all that day while students and staff stood in amazement at what God had wrought. He had never been to our school. He had never heard about our school, but he was God’s physical messenger that brought the school into being. More than once, when we got discouraged in the first several years of the school, Ray’s name came up. He should never be forgotten, nor the "miracle" furniture.

Even at the beginning, when there had been so much opposition to Brentwood Christian School, and so much determination to close it, God had a plan for a new Christian school. Before the next church election both of the men that helped cause the demise of Brentwood Christian School left the church. The more I have learned in writing this paper, the more loving I have found Dave Mason, my pastor, to be in his backroom dealings between the church, school and even me.

E. INSURANCE

Following the rental of any facility, insurance needs to be secured. An interested parent started inquiries concerning insurance and arranged to have our property measured. We had at least two different companies come out and give us bids. Many different kinds of insurance are needed and because this was Steve Collins’ area of expertise, he took over this portion of the project. Types of insurance will be discussed later.

F. ADVERTISING

Students were the next thing needed for a school and so advertising was begun. Dan Barnes brought labels for new homes in the area in order to promote the school to about 1000 homes. A flier was designed for the mailing and the cost for the new fliers, the school packets, and the postage to mail this printed material was paid for by the members of the committee. Also, all of the work was done by parents and friends. Ben Lyles took the idea for the flier and turned it into our logo. Alicia Corum and Diana Kinnan put the labels on the fliers, and Dan Barnes mailed them out. Our first inquiry from these fliers came the following Monday. The pastors in the area were also contacted concerning the school and several were very supportive and took packets of information for their people. We found that most of the students that first year came from the churches and virtually none came from the mailing to the new homes.

G. INCORPORATION

The process of Incorporation is very time consuming. It began for us by starting on our bylaws. "A set of bylaws is a statement of broad parameters for the board to follow in carrying out its mission." The bylaws need to include the school’s name, spiritual objectives, statement of faith, educational objectives, corporate pattern of the school including lines of authority, description of election process for board members, a job description for each, a procedure for dismissal of a board member, employment and dismissal procedures for staff members, and a procedure for amending the school’s bylaws. The first thing we had to decide upon was a name. That included going to the State of California and reserving a corporate name. Early on as we were looking for a name, "Faith" came up. As Steve Collins stated, "We didn’t have two nickels to rub together. All we had was faith that God would provide, if we did His work." "Faith Christian Schools" and several other possible names were already being used in California. "Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc." was not. After many weeks of calling the State of California, Office of the Secretary of State, Steve Collins went into the office at 1230 J Street in Sacramento. There, on May 22, 1991, he requested one of three names.

1. Faith Christian Schools of Brentwood, Inc.

2. Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc., or

3. Open Gate Christian Schools, Inc.

The next day, May 23, 1991, a Name Reservation Certificate was issued to the Reorganization Committee of Brentwood Christian School for the name of "Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc." The name was plural on purpose because the founding board wanted the ability to have a number of smaller schools on different campuses should the Lord bless His work and the school grow.

In a letter of appreciation from the Faith Christian Learning Centers Board of Directors to Pastor Dave Mason and the Members of the Church Board of Neighborhood Church, Dan Barnes stated,

By June 4, 1991, the Bylaws, including a Statement of Faith, Educational Philosophy and Goals were all drafted (See Appendix III, Bylaws for a sample copy). At the same meeting, the following Board of Directors was elected:

President: Dan Barnes

Vice President: Pete Schoch

Treasurer: Steve Collins

Secretary: Karen Lyles

A. SEPARATION

At this time, the work began in earnest. If the school was going to be ready to open in the fall, there was much work to be done. Up to this point we had needed to use everything that Brentwood Christian School used, which, in essence, belonged to Neighborhood Church. The new school, which was to be a board run school, needed to break the connection with the church and begin to get its own identity.

One of the first things that needed to be done in order to gain our own identity, was to get both a checking account and a post office box that would be different from the church account and post office box. A separate phone line would also have made the separation clearer, however, at this time, the finances of the school were unavailable for this purpose. And so, Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc., used the second telephone line of the church, with the church board’s permission, on all their literature for its first year of existence.

B. MAILING ADDRESS

Getting a post office box was simple. Bill Byroads went into the post office and asked for the forms to fill out in order to get one. He received and filled out PS Form 1093, which is the Application for Post Office Box or Caller Service. Dan Barnes did the follow-up work on June 30, 1991, paid $51.00 for the post office box for one year, and got our post office box number, P.O. Box 768. This is still our mailing address to this day.

C. CHECKING ACCOUNT

Getting a checking account in a bank, however, was much more difficult. We had a friend in the banking business at a local bank and she gave us advice on opening an account. She suggested that we set up a nonprofit business checking account. Dan Barnes contacted the branch in Brentwood and was told that we could not open an account until we had a TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number). If you are a regular taxpayer, a TIN would be your Social Security number. While waiting for the TIN, not knowing we would need an EIN (Employer Identification Number) instead, we decided to put our money into Brentwood Christian School earmarked for Faith Christian Learning Center. Things moved very slowly in this area, and we used a stop gap method of using Steve Collins’ checking account with checks made out to Faith Christian Learning Centers as a temporary account.

D. EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER

On recommendation of the Christian Law Association, Dan Barnes called the Department of the Treasury of the Internal Revenue Service concerning an Employer Identification Number on June 24, 1991. They temporarily assigned us an EIN rather than a TIN, and instructed us to complete Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number). An EIN is needed for a separately incorporated Christian school. If a church-school is formed, no separate EIN is needed. A church-school uses the EIN of the church. Our own official notice of New Employer Identification Number Assigned was dated July 1, 1991. On August 8, 1991, we were finally able to set up a checking account at a local bank in Brentwood.

E. PROMOTION

Advertising also began in earnest, because students were needed for the fall. Bill Byroads had done a survey of students from Brentwood Christian School that were planning on returning the following year. The initial response had looked hopeful, but as it became clear that Brentwood Christian School would not exist, the picture turned bleak. Karen Lyles made telephone calls to each of the prospective returning students, and was disappointed to find that only three of the former students were definitely planning on attending Faith Christian Learning Center.

Two other students, both Lower Division students, were considering being a part of the school, but the parents had concerns about their two students being the only Lower Division students. They consulted Karen Lyles about the existence of Faith Christian Learning Center should they go elsewhere, and were told that there was a good chance that there would be no Faith Christian Learning Center if they decided not to enroll. They truly took a step of faith, putting their younger children into a school that did not yet exist, with mainly older students. They determined to help make this one-room schoolhouse a reality. From this point forward, there was no looking back. Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc. would have a first year even if it had only five students.

Brentwood News did an article on the closing of the old school and the formation of the new school. East County Currents also wrote an article about the new school, Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc. Ben Lyles designed an advertisement to use in this newspaper as well as other newspapers. This advertising was some of the first that was done for our soon-to-be Christian school.

F. SCHOOL’S MISSION AND PHILOSOPHY OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Because advertising should represent the philosophy of the school, the school’s Christian mission and main characteristics need to be determined. In establishing a Christian school, this needs to be one of the very first things that are done, because this is what will set the school apart from other schools. The school’s Christian mission and philosophy of Christian education is what will make a school unique. The Christian philosophy will be used when making important decisions concerning the direction of the school. As a part of our Christian philosophy, we determined that the responsibility for educating a child belongs to the parents. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, it states:

We, in no way, wanted to take the place of the parents in educating their children. We wanted to be able to help them to fulfill this imperative by giving a Biblical world view in their child’s education rather than the public school’s humanistic world view. It was, and is, our belief that if all parts of a child’s life are coming from a Biblical point of view, that child gains confidence in everything he does, but he especially gains confidence in the sovereignty of God. Therefore, our logo showed a triangle with the home, the church, and the school at each vertex, working together to develop the whole child.

We also decided on four things that we felt were unique about our school. They were summarized as:

Personal Attention

Individualized Learning

Small Classes

Qualified, Caring Christian Staff

These four items were then placed inside our triangle to complete our logo. This logo has been used many times to explain the philosophy of Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc.

G. ADVERTISING

With the mission of helping to bring a Biblical world view to each student and with the above mentioned unique qualities of our school, it became easy to know our focus for advertising and enrollment. A new flier was designed with all of these qualities and one extra incentive added, a $25.00 off enrollment coupon. This latest one was to be used with the Homeowner’s Marketing addresses.

An advertisement was placed for the months of July, August, and September. Another advertisement had to be drawn up by Ben Lyles to include our non-discriminatory policy. A non-discriminatory policy is to be included in all advertising, brochures, and enrollment packets.

Another area of promotion was to have a Pastors Luncheon for the school. The parents would provide the meal, the students would serve the meal, packets of information would be given out, a tour of the school would be given, and the students would give a short presentation. This luncheon has been expanded to be an informational luncheon for the pastors, preschool directors, and any interested parents. Each year we have had students come to our school because of this one area of promotion.

In the area of promotion, or advertising, we found that any positive way that we could get our name before the public was looked into. If there was a free area in the education section of a newspaper for enrollment purposes, we made use of it.

Some other ideas would include putting announcements or fliers into church bulletins with the permission of the pastor. A poster with brochures nearby carefully displayed in a church foyer is also helpful. At this time, we have a few churches that keep our brochures well-stocked and on display, year-round.

Get press releases into the local newspapers about special things that your school is doing, such as a Science Fair, Open House, or Thanksgiving Feast or project.

Our school had a school sign for a short period of time. A professional made it, and we were able to give a tax donation to the business that allowed us to display it on their property on a well-traveled road. Make sure you check out all regulations before doing this one and always use a professionally constructed sign.

It is better for the image of your school to have no sign at all than to have a poorly constructed or painted sign.

School Name labels and stamps are also important items of promotion. We had two stamps made, one to be used at school to identify everything that belonged to the school as well as return address on envelopes, and one for the treasurer to use for mailings. We eventually had labels made up with our name and address, as well as stationery, brochures, and business cards, all with our logo on them.

One last area of advertising that we have found of great value was a yellow page advertisement. At first, all we could do was to have our listing under the education listings in the yellow pages. Eventually, we placed an in-column advertisement in the yellow pages and received many responses to it.

H. INCORPORATION

Each school needs to determine its incorporation status. If the school is to be a church-school, then the Articles of Incorporation of the church need to be examined to see if they are adequate to cover a private, Christian school. A completely separate Christian school (not associated with a church) needs to be incorporated and so that is what we attempted to do. One of the main benefits of incorporation, is limited liability. That means that if someone is injured due to a defect in the school premises, it is ordinarily the corporation that is answerable, not the school officials personally. We, as mentioned earlier, we had contacted the Christian Law Association, and they guided us step by step through the federal and state requirements for our school to open.

1. NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY

As we worked our way through each of the regulations, we realized that we needed to place a nondiscriminatory policy notice in the newspaper. As stated earlier, a statement of nondiscriminatory policy is to be included in all advertising, brochures, etc. The Internal Revenue Service requires that all tax-exempt educational institutions adopt, follow, and publicize a standard form Notice of Nondiscriminatory Policy as to students. This is to be done annually some time during period of solicitation for students. It is to be reported on Form 990 annually. We placed our Notice of Nondiscriminatory Policy on August 23, 1991.

2. FORM 1023

During this same period of time, we began working on our IRS Form 1023 (Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code). Any separately incorporated school, in order to be legally exempt from income taxation, must file IRS Form 1023 within 15 months after the date of incorporation. This is necessary if the school is to qualify for exempt status during the period before the date of its application.

There were several things that were needed for us to complete our IRS Form 1023. They were:

a. Full Name and Address of Organization - We had already applied for our name and P.O. Box, plus we knew the physical location of the school for this year, the Neighborhood Church, 50 Birch Street, Brentwood, CA 94513.

b. Employer Identification Number - We had already received our EIN earlier by completing Form SS-4 referred to earlier in this paper.

c. Person to Contact - For us, the person to contact was our President of the School Board, Dan Barnes.

d. Month the Annual Accounting Period Ends - We decided that our 12-month period would be from July through June, which best suited a normal school calendar year.

e. Date Formed - This is the date that the organization became a legal entity. For us, that would be the date that the Articles of Incorporation were approved by the state, December 23, 1991. Our Articles of Incorporation were drawn up by the Christian Law Association.

We also needed to attach a copy of our Articles of Incorporation which showed state approval as well as a copy of our bylaws. We will take time to cover each of these two items here and continue with IRS Form 1023 after these. All three of these things as well as California Form 3500 (Exemption Application) were being worked on simultaneously, as well as many other things which we will be discussing later.

3. ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

Our Articles of Incorporation were drawn up by the Christian Law Association. Because these were to be representative of us and not just any Christian school, much time was spent back and forth on the telephone with Zachary Gray of the Christian Law Association. Much time was also spent in board meetings struggling through which way we wanted things done. And, of course, we again spent much time in prayer knowing that we were laying the foundation for the school for many years to come. The Articles of Incorporation include the name of the corporation, a statement concerning the fact that it is a Nonprofit Religious organization, and its specific purposes. The name and address in the State of California of this corporation initial agent for service of process was Donald P. Lyles, 979 Almond Drive, Oakley, California, 94561. Other Articles had to include the statements that we would not be involved in political campaigns, etc., and the names and addresses of the persons who would act as the initial directors of the corporation. Those were the elected officers that we spoke of earlier in this paper.

One area that we spent quite a bit of time on was what kind of a corporation we were going to be. We needed to decide whether we were going to be a member corporation or not. Much time was spent at our July 23, 1991 board meeting discussing this issue. Karen Lyles had talked to Mr. Hamilton at the Christian Law Association in order to get some arguments for and against a member corporation.

In favor of having a member corporation were these arguments:

Arguments against a member corporation were:

Suggestions that were made:

We finally decided on a membership corporation, and changed our Bylaws to reflect these changes. The statement concerning being a membership corporation was in Article VII of our Articles of Incorporation, but the actual description of the rights, privileges, preferences, restrictions, and conditions of membership were outlined in our Bylaws. This area will be discussed further under the discussion concerning Bylaws.

The Articles of Incorporation also includes a statement of nondiscriminatory policy in its enrollment of students, the administration of policies, scholarship or loan programs, athletic programs, or in the employment of its personnel. It also needed to state that the income was not to benefit any private person, and to have a policy for dissolution. Each of the members of the Board of Directors needed to sign. We then sent off the original and four copies to the Office of the Secretary of State of California along with a check for $30.00 on September 5, 1991. It was officially accepted by March Fong Eu, Secretary of State for the State of California on December 23, 1991. Now the rest of our procedures could continue. A copy of our Articles of Incorporation is found in Appendix II.

4. BYLAWS

The Christian Law Association has sample Bylaws to refer to in order to create your own document. The Association of Christian Schools International also has a packet of information for writing your own Bylaws with samples for each kind of Christian school, including those corporations with member corporations as well as those with self-perpetuating school boards. A copy of our Bylaws that were sent in with our Form 1023 are included in Appendix III.

Our Bylaws took quite a bit of time to write since it was, and is the basis for Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc.

The Name and Principal Location of Operation was a fairly simple part of this document. However, because we were renting facilities, we provided in this article, Article I, the ability to change our location from the initial location to any location within our county. This would be important for any school since God will often move us from one location to another as a school grows.

Article II, Statement of Faith, was one that took much time in the Word of God. Since our school was not a church-school, it could not just adopt the Statement of Faith of the church where we were located. Our school board had determined to be a nondenominational school designed to meet the needs of the evangelical churches in our area, so it was important that our Statement of Faith reflect the fundamentals of the faith that we all agree upon, and not the practices of faith that differentiate ourselves from each other. The things that we felt were the most important were:

1. "We believe the Bible to be the only inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God." Everything that we were going to use for rules in our school were going to be based on principles found in the Word of God. Therefore, we felt it important that anyone desiring to attend Faith Christian Learning Center subscribe to this important point.

2. The second thing that we felt was important was how we viewed God. We were trying to show what the Bible states about God in the fewest words possible, "We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

3. Next, we wanted to affirm that man was created by God, and not an accident of evolution. "We believe in the creation of man, an immediate direct act of God."

4. Our next statement was much more involved. It needed to state what we believed the Bible states about Jesus Christ, the whole foundation for a Christian school. What we believe concerning Jesus Christ is what makes us unique from any private school and affects every part of our school and its teachings. Our statement, therefore, concerning Jesus Christ was quite involved, but certainly not inclusive of all that is Jesus Christ. "We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory."

5. Having a succinct statement concerning salvation was extremely hard, but an essential part of any Christian school’s Statement of Faith. "We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful men regeneration sovereignly applied by the Holy Spirit and evidenced by a living faith in Christ is absolutely essential."

6. Our next point concerned our feelings concerning the Holy Spirit. "We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a Godly life." This statement was carefully constructed to include all born again Christians and not to divide between differences in church doctrine.

7. Our seventh statement had to do with what we believe happens to us after death. "We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation." If a school expects, as a part of their enrollment procedure, for parents to sign the Statement of Faith of the school, this certainly would eliminate people of different religious persuasions.

At this point, those families brought up in "Christian" America, might certainly sign this without even realizing that they personally did not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. An example of a situation where this came into play in Faith Christian Learning Center concerned a mother who objected to her Kindergarten son memorizing our school’s Bible memory passage, Ephesians 6:10-18. She did not want her son exposed to the terminology, "the fiery darts of the evil one," however she did allow her son to watch questionable cartoons where they called on those same powers. She had signed the Statement of Faith which left her without excuse. We, of course, suggested that she find another school that matched her better than ours.

Whether you have parents sign the Statement of Faith so as to show their agreement with it, or not to sign the Statement of Faith, all comes down to your school’s philosophy of Christian Education. Our philosophy of Christian education was discussed earlier in this paper and determined whether our school would be designed to meet the needs of Christian families, or whether our school would be an outreach school. In either case, as a part of the enrollment procedures for any Christian school, going over the school’s Statement of Faith gives the perfect opportunity to give out the plan of salvation and should be used fully and wisely.

8. Our last statement in our Statement of Faith concerns the unity of the believers. "We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ." This, of course, shows our desire to major on the fundamentals of the faith, and to minor on the practices of the individual churches involved in our school.

One last statement concerning the Statement of Faith. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Go to other schools, churches, and people who have had to make up doctrinal statements. After reviewing their material and using it as a basis, write your own Statement of Faith to reflect what your school believes. If you are intending to be a member of the Association of Christian Schools International, you will also have to subscribe to their Statement of Faith, so it can be a guideline for your own Statement of Faith.

The Educational Philosophy that is included in your Bylaws can be the same or different from your Philosophy of Christian Education. Hopefully, they are similar or they dovetail together. Our Educational Philosophy included not just our Philosophy of Christian Education where we stated that the responsibility for educating children was given to the parents (Deuteronomy 6:4-9), but also included what we felt our responsibility would be as a school in coming alongside the parents and helping them. It states that a part of our responsibility "is to mold students into the image of Christ." It also includes the admonitions to "teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" and to teach them to become "imitators of God."

The next section of our Bylaws, "Goals of Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc.," was another section that took much time, research, Bible study, and prayer. We determined that since, once again, the main purpose of our school was to be truly "Christian" and uniquely different from any private school, that we would begin our listing of our goals with our Biblical, spiritual goals.

The first seventeen goals include such things such as teaching the student how to study God’s Word and providing opportunities for the student to confess Christ as Savior and Lord. However, because we believe that the Bible is relevant for today and for every area of our lives, the next eleven goals include the Biblical reasons for teaching the part of school that would be associated with the "Three R’s." Biblical references are given with almost all of our goals integrating the Bible into every aspect of education.

Following those first twenty-eight goals, we gave some other goals that we felt were important concerning our relationship with the families in our school. These reiterated our belief that the responsibility for educating the children belongs to the parents, but showed our desire to be an aid to the homes that were involved with Faith Christian Learning Center. The specific "Goals of Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc., are included in the Bylaws on pages 2-5.

The part of our Bylaws that we have had the most difficulties with since the inception of the school is the next section, "Article V. Membership in the Corporation."

Earlier in this paper, we listed both the pros and the cons for a membership corporation. We explained that it was our desire of being "open" as a school board that led us to determine to be a member corporation. This was due, in part, to our history with Brentwood Christian School of parents feeling left out of the decision process and not being aware of things happening with the school.

This secretiveness, whether intentional or unintentional, had led to a lack of trust on the part of Brentwood Christian School parents who were not willing to take the risk of something happening again of which they were not aware. We were a part of that "secretiveness" unintentionally, without realizing the way it was affecting the parents. We have yet to recover even one of those families that left Brentwood Christian School. Good people felt they just could not trust us.

With all of this in mind, we felt it was imperative to have a membership corporation and was a way to unify those who were willing to be a part of a new school. We wanted our families to really feel a part of our school. So, against the advice of the Christian Law Association and other schools that had self-perpetuating boards instead of membership corporations, we determined to have a membership corporation. We hoped that we could avoid the pitfalls that others had warned us about by spelling out in this article, Article V, the guidelines for membership.

Our goal was peace and unity as we wrote this Article V of our Articles of Incorporation. What we eventually found was that this opened the way for power-hungry parents who were unwilling to go through the correct processes to take a minor or perceived problem to the school board. Instead they started whisper campaigns, not unlike the previous school, that brought disunity. This has happened more than once. The most recent attack was extremely divisive resulting in a telephone call to the Christian Law Association on our part to reaffirm our understanding of our Bylaws. Once again the Christian Law Association assured us that we were following our Bylaws correctly and advised us to consider changing to a self-perpetuating board. At this time, we are unscathed and continuing with a membership corporation, but we will do research in the future to determine whether we need to change this area of our Bylaws.

Our advice in determining whether to have membership in the corporation would be to do a lot of research, listen to a lot of advice, and to spend a lot of time in Bible study and prayer. Be specific in the qualifications of membership and try to think of any contingency that may follow. Determine exactly what the membership can do and examine this Article with a critical eye and someone playing devil’s advocate. Double-check with the Christian Law Association to make sure that everything you specify is in keeping with the law. Determine what will constitute a quorum and how realistic that amount will be to achieve.

Our Article VI concerned the Board of Directors. This should include how many members will be a part of the Board. A feasibility study would be helpful in knowing how large a school you may have and in turn, how many board members would be appropriate for that size of school. We are aware of a school that has nine board members that meet once a month with meetings that frequently go well after midnight. It should be stated that whatever number a school determines it needs that it can be changed by amendment to the Bylaws. It is better to start with a smaller number and increase only as is necessary or desirable.

Within this Article the quorum, election and term of office, vacancies, powers, and qualifications should be carefully considered and written. This Article needs to cover what will happen in any situation including what would happen if all but one of the board members died at once.

We determined that a quorum for our four member school board would be three members of the directors. We also determined that with four board members, we would have two year terms of office with only two members being elected to the Board each year. We also decided that a director could succeed himself in office.

In our Bylaws if only one Board member is the sole remaining director, he/she will be the one who fills those offices with other people for the remainder of the other directors’ terms of office.

The powers of directors for Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc., while being limited by the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws, and California laws, include the selection or removal of all the other officers, agents and employees. They also fix the compensation for the employees, the tuition for attending school, manage and control the affairs and business of the school, and borrow money or incur indebtedness for the school. They may expel members of the corporation when the conduct of the member is inconsistent with the purposes and principles of the school. The directors may also refuse membership to anyone who does not believe in the statement of faith, the purposes, objectives and principles of the school. It can also delegate powers to others and rescind those powers as necessary.

The staff and the board of directors both have the same qualifications. They must all agree with our Statement of Faith, the Educational Philosophy of the school and be supportive of the Goals of Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc. In addition, they must be members in good standing of a church which agrees with those same guidelines. All staff members and members of the Board of Directors are to be Scripturally sound in their teaching and must lead exemplary Christian lives.

Other considerations for the Board of Directors are covered in Sections 6-14 of Article VI of the Bylaws. These include such items such as meetings, action taken without a meeting, removal of a director (done only by the other directors), and compensation (directors receive no compensation).

It is required that the Bylaws will include a job description for each of the officers. These are covered in Article VII. Officers. We stated what officers we were going to have: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. We also stated that they were going to not only be members of the Board of Directors, but also members of the corporation. Since our Bylaws were originally written, we felt the need to amend this portion in order to clarify the statement.

ARTICLE V. MEMBERSHIP IN THE CORPORATION

Section 2. QUALIFICATION OF MEMBERS:

a. Each parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled in good standing in the school, and each member of the Board of Directors is a member of the Corporation. (approved 4/15/95)

d. Each family unit shall have the right to one vote, regardless of the number of parents or legal guardians or number of students enrolled. In the event that a Board member is also a parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled in good standing in the school, said Board member shall be limited to the one family unit vote. (approved 4/15/95)

The Bylaws also need to state the Policy of Non-discrimination which is our Article VIII. This wording was given to us by the Christian Law Association and is in agreement with Article VIII of our Articles of Incorporation. This is stated on page 13 of the Bylaws of Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc.

Article IX concerning Property Rights and Dissolution is also a requirement in the Bylaws of a corporation in California. Ours states that we are "irrevocably dedicated to religious purposes." It also says that if our corporation dissolves that any assets remaining after taking care of any debt will be given to a nonprofit corporation that is also organized for charitable, educational, or religious purposes. This Article is also in agreement of Article IX of our Article of Incorporation.

In addition, our Bylaws include how we will be funded and how amendments can be made to the Bylaws. It also has one last statement concerning the members of the corporation. It says that if a member has any concerns concerning these Bylaws or school policy that they need to bring it to the Board of Directors in writing. At that point, the school board can decide whether or not to add this concern to the agenda of a future meeting.

In putting together Bylaws, it is imperative to have an organization such as the Christian Law Association or the legal team from the Association of Christian Schools International review them. This will ensure that you are in keeping with the laws of California and the federal laws of the United States of America.

5. CALIFORNIA FORM 3500

California Form FTB 3500 is an Exemption Application for the State of California. The reason that an organization needs to file form FTB 3500 is that all corporations, even if organized on a nonprofit basis are subject to California corporation franchise or income tax. The only way to be exempt from tax is by filing this form and being granted exempt status by the Franchise Tax Board.

This form needed to include:

1. Form FTB 3500 signed by an authorized individual.

2. An application fee of $25.00.

3. Financial statements that were as current as possible that were itemized.

4. A proposed budget.

5. Articles of Incorporation.

6. Bylaws.

7. Supporting documents, and

8. Accounting period chosen.

The FTB Form 3500 had sample Articles of Incorporation, however, we had ours prepared by the Christian Law Association so that they matched our philosophy and our plan of action. We did not want any mistakes in this part of our start of a Christian school.

6. FORM 1023 CONTINUED

In the first part of our discussion concerning FORM 1023, we covered Part I, Identification of Applicant. Here we will pick up looking at Form 1023 with Part II, Activities and Operational Information.

The first thing asked for is a reporting of all activities carried on by the organization. This is used to determine whether an organization should truly be tax exempt. Our statement made it clear that our sole purpose for our organization was to operate, promote and maintain a private, Christian school, Kindergarten through Twelfth grades. We stated our course of study and extracurricular activities. We did, however, want them to understand that we were a uniquely Christian school and stated so in our purposes.

This portion of Form 1023 also asks for the school year and hours, when the school would be in operation, where it would be located, and who would be conducting the activities mentioned.

Other things that were to be included in the 1023 was how we were going to be financially supported and what would be our fund-raising program. As it takes a while to submit a Form 1023, some of our fund-raising had already occurred and so we listed those including, two yard sales, a catalog Christmas fund-raiser, a candy sale, and our on-campus vending machine provided by Coca-Cola Bottling Co. We also included various ideas for future fundraising.

The form asks many questions concerning activities and the governing body. Again, the answers to these questions determine your tax exempt status. It also asks for assets, which for us included furniture, computers, (hardware and software), curriculum, and library materials. For that purpose we did an inventory of all that we had at that time.

The form asks about the facilities and any leases. Our school has a Use Agreement with the Neighborhood Church in Brentwood. Yearly that Use Agreement is adjusted and signed by representatives from both Faith Christian Learning Centers and Neighborhood Church. (See Appendix I, Forms for a copy).

A Use Agreement with a church needs to include the following:

2. Indication of involved grades such as K-3, K-6, K-9, K-12

3. Renewal or termination date of agreement

4. Classrooms to be used by school

9. Shared use of utilities

10. Shared use of custodial supplies and equipment

11. Movement of equipment from church to school to church

12. Property and equipment damage

13. Insurance

14. Financial arrangements

15. Mediation committee

Next it asks about whether it is a membership organization, if it is, what the qualifications are for membership and if there are any fees. Of course, for our Christian school, there are no membership fees and membership is gained by enrolling a student in our school. The specifics for membership are referred to in Article V of our Bylaws.

Form 1023 also wants to know how promotion for the corporation is going to occur. As stated before, promotion of the school is very important. At the time of our Incorporation, we were using the following methods: Newspaper Advertisements, Newspaper Announcements, Fliers, Informational Packets, and a Pastors Luncheon. Since that time we have also used a sign (previously referred to), a Yellow page in-column advertisement, word of mouth (families get a discount if another family mentions their name at time of enrollment), an Informational Luncheon, Pastor’s recommendations and presentations in churches along with placed brochures in those churches, the ACSI Directory, the Shepherds Guide, the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, Real Estate Companies with information packets for new buyers, and a Welcome packet. Remember that in advertising, every school must include a statement of its racially nondiscriminatory policy toward students in all brochures and any other written advertising dealing with student admissions, programs, and scholarships. We were required, along with a Statement of nondiscriminatory policy placed in the newspaper, to furnish the Internal Revenue Service with copies of brochures and packets showing that same nondiscriminatory policy statement.

The next portion of Form 1023 is Technical Requirements. A portion of that asks why you are not a private foundation. Ours was because it qualified as a school. As a result, we had to also fill out Schedule B. In this schedule it again reiterates the need to have a statement of nondiscriminatory policy in its bylaws as well as in communication to the public.

In addition, then, to showing that nondiscriminatory policy statement as required by the Internal Revenue Service, we also had to show the racial composition of the current academic year for the student body, and the faculty and administrative staff. It was requested that we project that same makeup into the future. Each year a racial composition of the school district in which your school is located as well as your own school is required. Be careful not to ask a student’s race, however, because that could jeopardize the tax exempt status. It is preferable to make that racial judgement based on the last name or visual indications. Then make the best estimate that you can.

If scholarships have been given, a list showing the students enrolled and the racial composition of the students that received those awards must be attached.

We also needed to send a copy of our schedule of a basic school day and what curriculum subjects we were covering in order to establish that we were, indeed, a school that needed to file Schedule B.

Last, but certainly not least, Financial Data must be provided in accordance with Part IV of Form 1023. The breakdown of Revenue and Expenses is fairly clear cut with the main revenue for a young school being gifts and tuition. Expenses will vary with each school, but for our school the main expenses were for salary, rent, utilities, insurance, materials, advertising, office supplies, postage, and maintenance.

Even if all of this preparation is done and you have used the advice and services of the Christian Law Association, you will find that you are working with the government. The Internal Revenue Service managed to misplace our 75 page document twice. Make a copy of everything you send and be prepared to send it more than once. They may also ask for further clarification. Make sure that you certify all your mail and get a return receipt from the post office. Dan Barnes spent many hours on the telephone with our Internal Revenue Service representative. He documented all telephone calls by making a listing and showing his telephone bill as records.

Our original application for Form 1023 Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code was sent November 4, 1992, certified mail with a return receipt requested along with a check for $375.00. This was well within the 15 months required. As stated before, they lost it twice and so we had to furnish them with the same information again. Also, the longer it took, the more information they wanted. They were requesting updated financial reports as well as updated racial composition. So we were constantly sending them more information. Finally, on January 20, 1994, we received our determination letter that said, "we have determined you are exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code as an organization described in section 501(c)(3)," Those words were music to our ears and another hurdle was crossed.

I. LETTERHEAD

Until an official letterhead for our school was designed, we used a variety of styles that included our name, address, and telephone number. Ben Lyles made many samples of letterhead styles for us. After sending him back to the drawing board again and again, we finally came up with a letterhead with a cross on it, our logo, as well as our name, address, and telephone number. On the bottom, is the ACSI logo that is placed on there with their permission since we are a member of the Association of Christian Schools International. On our latest letterhead and business cards we have added our e-mail address as well..

J. INSURANCE

Steve Collins handled all of the work concerning our insurance package. Our insurance was procured from Preferred Risk. He filled out an application for the following:

Hired and Non-owned Auto Coverage

Director’s E & O

Workman’s Compensation

Additional Insured for church (Certificate)

(Coverage for church for our activities)

After putting our insurance in force, we looked at an umbrella application for $1,000,000 of coverage which we determined that we needed.

In this day and age, a variety of claims are being raised against Christian ministries, one of which would be a Christian school. As a result, it is imperative that a school have adequate insurance coverage. It is important to conduct a periodic review of insurance coverage in order to assess that a school’s insurance needs are being met in light of current activities and current litigation trends.

The types of insurance that are available are:

1. General liability. This insurance covers most bodily injury and property damage claims. It usually does not cover claims resulting from a board action, the use of a vehicle, or employment claims.

2. Directors and Officers (D & O). This covers the School Board for personal liability resulting from their board actions.

3. Directors Errors and Omissions (E & O). This is a professional malpractice insurance.

4. Auto Insurance. This is for volunteers or employees that drive their own cars on behalf of the school. Our school also requires a copy of auto insurance of any person who volunteers to drive on field trips, etc. and keeps those in a file.

5. Student Medical. Our school also pays for a Student Medical insurance available through the Association of Christian Schools International at a very reasonable rate.

6. Money theft.

7. Workman’s Compensation. This insurance coverage protects the employer from court-imposed liability for injuries sustained by the employees during the course of their employment. The employees are, instead, compensated out of the insurance funds assets. This insurance is mandatory.

8. Umbrella Policy. This reduces coverage gaps and increased the total dollar value of protection for claims covered by other policies.

The School of Tomorrow provides an Administration Manual for schools with an agreement with them. In that manual, some extra information is provided from Charles Tremper’s "Liability Insurance Purchasing for Nonprofit Organizations," Insurance for Nonprofit Organizations. It gives some Liability insurance mistakes to avoid.

A. Purchasing a "premises policy" that limits coverage to incidents

that occur at the office. The staff of most churches go outside

the office for many of their duties.

B. Failing to obtain coverage for personal injury claims such as

defamation.

C. Relying on a traditional D & O liability insurance policy to

protect the organization from claims involving board or

administrative actions.

D. Overlooking liability coverage for volunteers.

E. Having no coverage for claims by injured volunteers, who are

generally not covered by workers’ compensation and

generally cannot collect against the general liability policy.

An accident policy or adequate medical payments provision

in a general liability policy may suffice.

F. Thinking that a general liability policy covers employment

disputes. A directors’ and officers’ policy covers most

employment-related claims-unless specifically excluded.

G. Switching carriers each year to save a few dollars. A stable,

long-term relationship has many advantages when the

market changes or the organization files a claim.

H. Ignoring non-owned auto liability. Accidents caused by staff

using their vehicles-or other vehicles the organization does

not own-can lead to claims against an organization,

I. Choosing a policy limit for a D & O policy without recognizing

that defense costs are within policy limits.

J. Purchasing a D & O policy that excludes nonpecuniary claims.

Such policies do not apply to lawsuits brought to force a

a change in the organization’s operations rather than to

recover money.

The Administration Manual suggests that more information concerning insurance purchasing and risk management can be procured from National Center for Community Risk Management and Insurance, 1828 L Street, Suite 505, Washington, D.C., 20036, (202) 785-3896.

K. ENROLLMENT

Several parents had indicated that they wanted to be a part of Faith Christian Learning Center. For those families that had been a part of Brentwood Christian School, an interview was not necessary, but for new parents, some procedures needed to be put into place.

1. INFORMATIONAL PACKET

When someone called on the telephone to ask about our school, we were able to tell them that this was our first year of operation and that we were going to start our school as a one-room schoolhouse. We were also able to tell them about the curriculum, an individualized, Bible-based curriculum put out by School of Tomorrow in Lewisville, Texas. We were able to inform them of our prices for this first year and to give them some background information on the teacher. After answering as many questions as we could, we would ask to send them an informational packet.

The informational packet included a cover letter, reminding them of the type of curriculum we used, of the teacher/administrator who was in place and that we were members of the Association of Christian Schools International. The packet also included a financial sheet with enrollment fees, materials fees, and tuition costs. It contained an application and a Statement of Faith to be completed. If a parent was interested in the school, an appointment for an interview was set.

2. INTERVIEW

a. APPLICATION

In the interview, several things were covered, and we made a checklist to be sure that we covered all of the items. First of all, we just briefly went through the application, gathering information on both the parents and the student. This was our get acquainted time. By going through the application, we were able to find out if the parents were Christians. If they were not, this gave us a great opportunity to share the Gospel with them. Faith Christian Learning Center is a uniquely Christian school with a uniquely Christian education. Everything that is done at the school is done from a Biblical perspective. We wanted to make sure that the parents were ready to buy into that philosophy.

We were also able to find out what church they attended and whether they had an active part in the church. It was during this part of the interview that we could see how the student felt about spiritual things as well.

Next we were able to find out whether the student had any learning disabilities or just difficulties in certain subjects. By visiting with the student, we were able to find out how the student felt about his/her abilities and what his/her favorite and least favorite subjects were.

During our interview, we were able to share a little about campus life at Faith Christian Learning Center by sharing past school yearbooks with them. Our yearbooks show a lot about our school: its size, the grades we teach, regular activities, and the family-type atmosphere that is evident is special activities and programs.

b. HANDBOOK (A copy of our original Handbook is included in Appendix IV).

After the initial conversation, time was spent going over the Handbook. The Handbook is now the legal document used in a court of law and as such needs to include several specifically worded sentences. For the most up-to-the-minute information concerning your Handbook, the Christian Law Association needs to be contacted.

Our Handbook for this first year covered all the basics, but was not inclusive of all that probably should have been there. It included the philosophy of A.C.E., now known as School of Tomorrow. This is the curriculum that Faith Christian Learning Center chose to use as its core curriculum.

Our Handbook also included our Statement of Faith, and the basic financial information that would not change from year to year, i.e., the policies. The Handbook included the parent’s role in Faith Christian Learning Center, what they could expect and what was expected of them. Homework and Progress Reports were included in that section.

The next section in the Handbook covered Academics. It covered all the procedures used in the School of Tomorrow program. It talked about how to set goals in order to complete 12 books in each subject area each year. It stated that cursive writing was expected from the third grade on up and that mastery was imperative in this program. That meant that a student needed to receive a 90% or above for Word Building Tests and PACEs numbered 1001-1036, and 80% or above for tests taken above that level. If a student receives less than the mastery score, he/she needs to repeat the book. Mastery is extremely important for academic achievement. A student who does not understand a concept will continue to compound that problem until he/she is convinced he/she is dumb. This is not good for learning or for self-image.

An example of this was with a student that I taught. She hit a plateau where she did not understand PACE 1057. This is the PACE that really hits on fractions and is the first big step toward higher Math. She simply did not understand. So she took the PACE again, with little understanding. She spent the entire quarter and took the PACE three times before she really captured the material. As she graduated from High School, she mentioned how much good this had been to force her to learn the foundational basics before moving on to Algebra and Geometry. Today she works a cash register and handles several people at a time using Math eight hours a day with no difficulty.

Included in the area of Academics are some of the extra requirements that we have for learning. They include our strong Scripture Memorization program where our students memorize six or seven longer passages of Scripture that correspond with a Christian characteristic. The requirements also include a Book Report for each quarter of school and an Oral Report for each quarter of school. For the fifth grade on up, the Oral Report is given on an assigned Research Paper. We include in the area of Academics our weekly Chapel and the Chapel Notebook that the older students are required to keep. All students in the school are also assigned Christian service that helps teach them responsibility for other’s property.

The next section in our original Handbook was concerning motivation. The opening statement of this section states, "Every student has the right to learn. No student has the right to infringe on the right of another student to learn through their inappropriate and unacceptable behavior." However, we prefer to deal with potential problems in a positive way. "Positive reinforcement is our policy . . . to catch a student doing something right and praise them specifically for that action or attitude." Faith Christian Learning Center chose to use both positive and negative reinforcement to induce correct behavior. In other words, it chose to use a merit/demerit system of discipline. It gave merits for students helping other students, students helping the teacher, passing tests, saying verses, and just plain being helpful. It also provided rewards for achievement including daily and weekly prizes as well as a Merit Store, Incentive Field Trips, and end of the year trophies.

The merit/demerit system also gave demerits for disobedient, disrespectful, disruptive behavior, fighting, pushing, cheating, not completing homework, or just not following the basic rules like not talking out or being out of seats without permission. The policy has been added to over the years, adapting to situations that have arisen, but the basis for its discipline policy has, and always will, come from the Word of God. Following is more in-depth study from God’s Word, the Bible.

c. DISCIPLINE

Some teachers enjoy discipline; most don’t. The Dictionary defines discipline as "Training of the mental, moral, and physical powers by instruction, control, and exercise. "

Punishment is one-half of discipline. Punishment is negative reenforcement, such as sitting in a corner with or without a dunce hat, separation, paddle, standing at seat, standing against a wall, staying after class, picking up garbage, pulling weeds, wearing a hot, ugly, large sweatshirt all day over inappropriate clothes, calling parents and making student tell a busy mother at work why he is talking to her, writing sentences, paragraphs, or essays, pages from the dictionary or encyclopedia, keeping the entire class in 5 or 10 minutes without saying a word, sending a student to the head of the department or principal, suspension and expulsion to name a few of the punishments possible for negative behaviors in school.

God is the ultimate Christian Education teacher in the University called Life. When we, as Christians, stray or choose to disobey, the Lord disciplines us. God uses punishment. Eternal damnation is the ultimate punishment. Disciplines I frequently use include, sending student notes home with simply a date and class it was found in, calling parents or sending email, giving candy or homework pass for exemplary behavior, mentioning these two students are doing what we asked them to do.

Discipline is both negative and positive. God disciplines in many ways. In the Garden of Eden, God disciplined by separating Adam and Eve from the things they loved. They enjoyed walking with God in the garden. They enjoyed the garden, but it was for their good, because it would have been horrific for them to eat of the tree of life and live forever in their sin. As awful as death is, it is better to die than live in these diseased bodies that continue to fall apart forever.

God was ready to kill Moses, in Exodus 4:24. Every child born of Abraham’s seed was to be circumcised. Moses had not circumcised his son. God was ready to put him to death, and apparently he was already sick, enough he couldn’t do it himself. Zipporah circumcised her son and in anger, threw the foreskin at Moses’ feet. Moses then recovered and was well when Aaron came to meet him.

Miriam, the sister of Moses, not only saved him by suggesting her mother be the wet nurse of Moses, but in later years was quite a critic of Moses. God brought a cloud over her and she came out of the cloud white with leprosy. After Miriam and Aaron repented, God removed the leprosy.

God doesn’t like complainers and grumblers. Not long after the Israelites left Egypt, 10 spies went throughout the promised land. When the people heard about the land they immediately began talking against Aaron and Moses and began making plans to return to Egypt. God was angry and mentions that each one of these people had seen him do the 10 plagues. They had seen the dry path through the Red Sea; the people had seen God’s wonders. So He told them they would not enter into the land He had promised with the two exceptions of Caleb and Joshua.

I would like to include in this discussion the fall of Brentwood Christian School which was caused by the organized and unorganized mumbling and criticizing of the leaders of the school. I cannot emphasis enough the need to have as part of the enrollment procedure a place where the parents sign, indicating their agreement to personally being disciplined if they go around and criticize the school. Punishment for breaking this rule should include asking the child to not return, not for what they did, but for what the child’s parents did with their lips. God hates dissension. In the following verses, the emphasis is mine.

A quick read of Numbers shows God doing at least as much toward those that misuse their mouth as those that kill others. God shows his dislike of those that spread strife among brothers. He allowed an entire generation of Israelites to die in a wilderness over 40 years, rather than allow their unbelief and unholy mouths to enter the Promised Land. The earth opened and swallowed hundreds of people because of dissension. Be very careful when you talk against your pastor, Christian school administrator or other church leader.

In Numbers 16:1-32 The sons of Korah along with 250 leaders decided Moses was out of place. Their argument was that everyone was holy and could lead. They wanted to be the leaders in place of Moses. Moses clearly told them they were out of place and they were about to die unnaturally. God opened the ground and all the men, and their households and possessions were swallowed by the earth. This was punishment for the sons of Korah and the men of renown, but it was discipline for the thousands that watched the earth swallow these dissidents. My guess is that they checked their mouth for criticism for some time after watching thousands of people slide, screaming, into the earth’s fissure and hearing them being crushed as the earth returned to normal.

Much is made of Moses’ sin to hit the rock instead of speaking to it. This is clear disobedience. As a very young child, I can remember thinking how ignorant, how disobedient, why would he clearly do what God had not commanded. As a man now able to join the American Association or Retired Persons, I understand all too well. Moses had walked with God to the point he had to put a veil over his head so the people could look at him because he radiated the Glory of God. He had done his best to lead faithfully and fairly. Yet at every turn the people lacked faith and complained at every step of the journey. Moses walked up to the rock, and the closer he got the more he heard the strife. Maybe someone yelled at him just before he reached the appointed rock. By now boiling inside, he chose to hit the rock; he hit it twice, but God had asked him to speak to the rock. Never forget God spoke in a gentle voice after the fire and quake. So he sinned and God allowed him to view the land, but he never put his foot in the land flowing with milk and honey.

In the previous chapter, as well as many of the other chapters after they came out of Egypt, the Israelites began to complain. They said, "For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food." God provided food and kept their sandals and clothes from wearing out, yet they shook their hands against God.

In a passage mentioned to Nicodemus, God sent sidewinders or other deadly snakes, by the thousand into the Israelite camp. As they bit the people, they began to die. They realized their sin and asked for forgiveness. God told Moses to set up a brass serpent on a pole. Everyone that looked at the brass serpent, lived. This again is punishment for those involved, but a point of blessing for us. For as Jesus talked to Nicodemus, He showed this was a clear type in Scripture. We were dying in our sins. As we look at Jesus on the cross, and believe, we will live.

Because Eli didn’t discipline his two boys adequately, they did horrific sins in and around the temple. Of all the things God could mention in Scripture, He chooses to mention that these two sons didn’t listen to their father because God was going to kill them. So as the Philistines went to war against the Israelites, 30,000 men were killed including the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas. Both men were killed guarding the Ark of the Covenant. As a Benjamite came into town, he told Eli, now 98 and blind, that the Ark had been captured. He fell backward, broke his neck and Samuel became the leader in Israel that day. This was punishment for the two sons of Eli but a new day for Israel, with a new Godly young man.

Second Kings 20 tells of two times King Hezekiah was disciplined. In the first part of the chapter, King Hezekiah is told he is going to die. The king prays for himself and Isaiah is told to turn around and go back to Hezekiah and tell him he would get well. Discipline comes as both negative and positive reenforcement. The King asks for proof, since he has been told he is both going to die and live within minutes. Hezekiah watched the shadow move backward 10 steps on his palace stairs.

In the next paragraph the Bible describes how Hezekiah shows all his royal treasure to the ambassadors of King Baladan of Babylon. Isaiah comes and asks, "What did you show them?" Hezekiah indicates to Isaiah he showed them everything and hid nothing. Isaiah informs him that everything in the treasury will be taken away and his children will be officials in the King of Babylon’s palace.

In Acts 5: 1-10, Ananias and Sapphira tell the church they sold a piece of land for a price, but they lied. It was more and they kept back part of the profit of the land. As Peter discusses the point with each of them separately, he confronts them and they die. For those watching, as well as us, there is a clear message as it is recorded in the Holy Writ. Don’t play church. Don’t lie to the Holy Spirit. For "great fear came upon all who heard of it." Ananias and Sapphira lied and they died. But much of the reason for discipline is for what it does to others. The entire church was afraid to sin. They were afraid to sin because they had seen the discipline of God.

Other passages on discipline in the New Testament regarding saved saints include the following:

1Corinthians 11:28-30 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. :29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. :30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.

James 5:15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

There are other reference to punishment and discipline in the Bible, but this should be satisfactory to show the pattern. God does discipline. God does punish. God expected Eli to discipline his two boys in a way to change their behavior. When Eli didn’t and the boys didn’t listen, he permanently removed them from their job as priests.

Faith Christian Learning Center set up a progression of discipline steps to be taken in order to set up a discipline policy guideline. It started very simply with demerits, and moves to more drastic steps of detention, suspension, and expulsion.

Next in the Handbook is the policy concerning attendance. It explains the need for regular attendance and that a student needs to be on time. Our school day opens with pledges and prayer. We feel that a student that is consistently late is being given a wrong message from his parents concerning priorities. A written note is to be signed and dated for either an absence or a tardy.

This section also deals with the hours of school and the requirement that all students be at all school programs. It also deals with medicine and medication. We spent quite a bit of time analyzing other schools medical release forms and medical forms. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Ask for other schools’ forms before making up your own. Our own policy is that the parent needs to bring in the medicine to be taken with a written note saying how much and when it is to be taken. We ask that no student bring in their own medicine, nor keep his/her own inhaler and at no time is a student to share his medication with another student. Inhalers can be passed around the room under the teacher’s nose, under strict supervision, and students can get deathly ill and sent to the hospital if not used by the correct person or the correct dosage.

Dress code is always of interest to prospective parents and students, and there is not a definitive program that works for all. Faith Christian Learning Center determined not to have uniforms, but to have a dress code that required support and help from the parents. We used a basic, modest dress code that we felt would be easy to follow and use good, old common sense, but have found that even our Christian families have been so caught up in the world system to a level that the basic rules of modesty have been compromised. Therefore, we have had to lay out more strict, explicit guidelines to follow in daily dress.

North Hills Christian School in Vallejo uses uniforms. It is at least as much difficulty to enforce a uniform dress code as a school with a common sense dress rule. Girls want to raise the hem line, boys are disciplined for baggy pants. Because of the extravagant and expensive coats, it has become necessary to require the students to wear only school approved jackets and sweaters at North Hills. So the students began wearing expensive sport shoes. The teachers are asked to check for students wearing non-approved school uniforms every morning in home room and the Administration regularly walks the halls specifically looking for dress code violations.

One of the best forms of discipline in a school setting, is to have a cellular phone nearby and as the student strongly disobeys, simply hand the upper division student the phone and ask them in the classroom to phone their mother. Everyone knows how to get a hold of their mother. This instant discipline in front of their peers, works miracles to tame the spirit and get back to education.

Other areas covered in the Handbook are food, breaks, student offices, phone usage, and field trips. Since our original Handbook was written, many modifications have been made on a yearly basis. One area that we found was necessary to add was that every student is responsible for his/her behavior both at school and away from school. Once again, Christian Law Association has the newest requirements for what needs to be in the Handbook, the newest legal document. We added at the end of our Handbook in later years, agreements that are to be signed by both student and parents agreeing to abide by everything in the Handbook.

d. PARENT/SCHOOL AGREEMENT FORM

Following the policies covered in the Handbook, we now review the Parent/School agreement form. It is an agreement that reiterates many of the things covered in the Handbook as well as some legal issues that we want covered in order to protect ourselves, including the fact that it is expected for every family unit to agree with the school policy and not to complain to other parents, but to come through the correct chain of command with any concerns.

e. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

At this point in the interview, it is opened up for questions by the parent or the student. This part of the interview can help to bring out hidden agendas and expectations. These need to be handled in an honest way. Faith Christian Learning Center is not the school for every student and we want just those students at the school that God wants there.

f. TOUR

A tour of the school facilities is given where the actual classrooms are shown. In the classrooms, the procedures of a regular day are given and the parent and student get a better feel for what a real day at Faith Christian Learning Center is like. If there is not a problem with any of the areas above, the prospective parent and student are asked to pray about the school and decide whether they want to proceed further in the enrollment process.

g. SCHOOL BOARD

The student application is brought to the School Board for any student who has had an academic problem or a behavior problem in the past. That would also be true if there is a split family situation or any time that the Administrator is concerned about a certain application. The School Board can either vote right then based on the application and the interview, or they may have additional questions that they want answered. In the end, any questionable applicants are decided upon by the School Board.

3. ENROLLMENT APPOINTMENT AND INTERVIEW

At this interview, additional questions are covered and any concerns are answered. If there are no remaining problems, a student is officially accepted into the school. After being accepted into Faith Christian Learning Center, several other forms need to be filled out. They are:

a. Release of Records Form.

This form allows FCLC to send transcripts and important documents to other schools that request these records.

b. Medical Information/Medical Release Form.

c. Parent/School Agreement.

This is the document mentioned above. On this agreement, we have included a line by each item for the parents to initial. We want to be completely sure that the parents are aware of all of the policies of Faith Christian Learning Center.

d. Agreements at back of Handbook.

The first of these forms includes a Student Form which states that the student agrees to abide by the rules, principles and procedures of the Handbook and must be signed by the student(s) applying . The second form is the Parent/Guardian Form which states that they agree to support the school 100% in enforcing the principles in the Handbook and must be signed by the parent or guardian.

e. Earthquake Form.

This has all the information in the classroom, whom to call, who has permission to pick up the student, allergies, medications, in case the teacher is left alone to care for his/her students.

f. Payment Booklets and Envelopes.

These are sent out with a welcome letter from our Treasurer.

In addition, a new parent is given a set of Bylaws, a Handbook, a list of supplies, and a school calendar. Testing is then scheduled to determine which books each student should begin.

Each of these forms need to be reviewed and printed before the first day of school. Our first year, we needed to have these ready for Orientation, which was the last thing to happen before school opened.

Some schools also ask for a list of references from the parents or a letter of recommendation from their pastor. Others also require a physical examination as a part of the Medical Information and Medical Release Form. In California, parents have until 90 days after first grade entry to present proof that their child has had a health assessment sometime within the preceding 18 months. The child’s health checkup can be done before kindergarten. We have our parents obtain the checkup along with the immunizations requirements prior to kindergarten.

4. CALENDAR

Our first school calendar was based on the public school calendar in our district. School was scheduled to start on September 1, 1991, but because there were so many things to get ready, school did not begin until September 8, 1991. However, we made sure that we had 180 school days in spite of a late start. A private school does not have a requirement for amount of days required in California, however, it is advisable to have at least as many days as the public school.

Since that time, the school district in which Faith Christian Learning Center is located went to a modified traditional schedule. A modified traditional schedule starts the first week in August, completes a quarter, and then takes a two week break. This continues throughout the year with a quarter on, and then a two week break that usually coincides with both Christmas and Easter. The school district has approximately six weeks between school years. When this happened in the Brentwood School District, Faith Christian Learning Center opted to do the same. The school has found that this scheduling is beneficial for both the students and the teachers. Both have goals that can be accomplished. Both have time at the end of each quarter to avoid burnout. Skills that have been learned are not easily lost in the two weeks off of school and the students seem anxious to return to school at the end of the break.

I teach in a traditional school with 40 weeks of school, a couple of weeks off for Christmas and a week for Easter break. I watch Karen in the mornings and she jumps out of bed and heads to work. At our school beginning around May 1, teachers and students arrive slower and later each week. By the last weeks of school, we are nearly crawling into devotions in the mornings. With a quarter of school and 2 weeks off to recover, Karen misses most of this exhaustion.

Another advantage is the first day of school. Several of my students each year are left home by themselves all summer while the parents go to work. On the first day of school they hardly relate to anything. They have watched TV and played Nintendo in front of the Television Screen for the ten weeks of summer, their brains are fried. In Sixth grade, we have to review almost everything for some of these students to remember, "Oh yeah, I am back in school what did I learn last year." With the modified traditional school, they have about six weeks of summer which really helps the students remember what went on last school year.

Several different calendars need to be made up. The first one is the Legal Work Calendar. This calendar is for the Administrator and Administrative Assistant and reminds them when legal forms need to be filed.

The yearly calendar should include all the main dates for the year. It should include Parent Orientation, Staff Orientation, work days, the dates the school begins each quarter and ends. It should also include all holidays, conference days, minimum days, and special events such as the Christmas program, Open House, and Graduation.

A monthly calendar should also be prepared which includes each of the things listed above as well as Parents Club meetings, hot lunch days, fund-raising events, and students’ birthdays.

5. PAYROLL

Payroll needed to be decided before school started that first year at Faith Christian Learning Center. It was a fairly simple procedure based on the budget. There was only one teacher and it was decided that she would be paid 65% of tuition, and she would be paid on the 15^th and the last day of the month.

6. BUDGET

"The School Budget is essential to the financial stability of the Christian school." Without a budget, it is easy to come to the end of the money before the end of the year, which puts the entire school in jeopardy. It leaves employees looking for work and the smears the name of our leader, Jesus Christ among those we owe payment.

One of the best pieces of advice ever given to me regarding money was to pay God my first 10% and pay myself the second 10%. I have never lived up to this second 10%, but have tried to put some aside each month. The same is true of a school. You never know when an emergency will occur in a school.

It is suggested that any organization have at least 5% of their annual budget in a savings account for a backup. A school with $100,000.00 budget, should have $5,000.00 as a minimum in the bank for problems. As I write, I remember the first year, Faith Christian was within one dollar, with no monies being held back for worse times. We were a certifiably non-profit organization the first couple of years. In a small school like Faith Christian Learning Centers, all it takes is the primary bread winner in one large family to lose his job to put the school finances into a crisis. Today, after eight years, there is several thousand dollars in savings for a major problem.

The first step is to list all the ways you will receive school income. You will need to project or know how many students will be enrolled to come to some fairly accurate list. A budget is an educated guess of what you will spend on items over a year. While contributions and fund-raisers may be helpful throughout the year, it is important that tuition cover 100% of operational expenses.

Employees’ salaries, including payroll expenses, such as federal and state taxes, Social Security, state disability, and fringe benefits should comprise 65% to 75% of the budget. It is hard to keep a balance in this area. There is a delicate balance between paying higher salaries and pricing your tuition out of the reach of the average family that you wish to serve. Try to pay the best salaries that you can within that structure in order to retain your teachers. The rule of thumb is, if salaries go up 5%, tuition must increase 6% to 7%.

General operations of the school which includes classroom supplies, textbooks, equipment, etc., must stay within 15% to 20% and mortgages or rent to within 10% to 15%.

Other expenses include memberships in educational associations, such as the Association of Christian Schools International. Also includes would be insurance, paper products, janitorial supplies, office and classroom supplies, furniture and equipment, utilities, training, postage, and advertising.

The income for Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc. for the first year of operation was $29,024.21. That included gifts, contributions, fund-raising, enrollment fees, material fees, and tuition. Salaries including all payroll expenses was $14,150.99 or 49% of total revenue. Occupancy costs were $4209.97 or 15% of total revenue . That included the proposed percentage of tuition to rent of 6.5% with a minimum rent payment of $250.00 per month or $3000.00 per year. Maintenance for the first year was $125.95 or less than 1%, postage was $290.03 or 1%, insurance was $2,095.19 or 7%, $3118.96 was for materials, books, etc. or 11%, $359.54 was for advertising or 1%, $117.95 was for dues and subscriptions or less than 1%, organizational expenses and other expenses totaled $1316.10 or 4.5%

The treasurer of Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc. gives a monthly report which includes income, expenses, outstanding tuition, as well as a checkbook reconciliation. He also gives a periodic report on an income/expense projection to the end of the year. Our treasurer also has built into our budget an amount for tuition discounts for more than one child in a family and a bad debt allowance. Beginning in January, the Board of Directors of Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc., starts the budget process all over again, beginning with a projection of re-enrollment, new enrollment, and projected expenses based on the past year.

The treasurer of Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc., Steve Collins, began the first year using a physical ledger while developing a program for Lotus 1-2-3. For the following year, he kept duplicate ledgers, both physical and Lotus 1-2-3. Since that time, he has changed the accounting program for the school to PeachTree. While these are two computer programs that are available and have been used with success, there are several other programs that could be chosen.

7. ORIENTATION

We have three different orientations at Faith Christian Learning Center: Staff Orientation, Parent Orientation, and Student Orientation.

Staff Orientation is one week long and takes place the week before school is to begin. This is separate from any new teacher training and is designed to build community. During this week, challenging seminars are given in order to refresh each teacher. Also special speakers come in, videos are shown, and first aid classes are given. The staff shops together, eats lunch together, decorates their rooms together, all in an effort to build unity or oneness. This occurs after a special Parent/Board/Staff/Student Work Day which is designed to get the school ready for the first day of School.

The Parent Orientation is a dinner and meeting that happens the Thursday night before school begins. At this time, we go over any new important things that have occurred since enrollment. We also highlight specific things of importance. We give our Parents Club President an opportunity to share his/her vision for the year and to sign up volunteers. The classrooms are open, class schedules and supply lists are given out, and teachers are available to answer questions. This is also the time when parents introduce themselves and, once again, unity and oneness are encouraged.

Student Orientation happens during the first three days of school. During this time, the Spiritual tone is set for the year. Policies concerning rules and regulations are covered. The actual way the classroom is run is discussed. Once again, this is a big community-building time. Students get to know each other, the teacher, the verses they will memorize, and the books they will complete.

IV. FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL

A. ACADEMICS

The first days of Faith Christian Learning Center were interesting to say the least. First of all, there were no books, so the first days of the Student Orientation were spent just going over basic rules which were built on Biblical Principles and in getting to know each other. Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc., actually started with four Eighth grade students, four more Upper Division students, and two Lower Division students. It made for a nice mix. Just as school was beginning, the school also got some Home School inquiries, especially from Brentwood Christian School Home School families. As a result, the school also had eleven Home School students.

Several skills needed to be taught to the new students such as preparing Book Reports, Research papers, and Oral Reports. We were the recipients of a beautiful fish tank, a chinchilla, a guinea pig, and a cockatoo, so the students were taught to do research on what each pet would need in order to survive at the school. The students were taught research skills with the older students helping the younger students. After intense research was done and Oral Reports on each of the animals were given, a field trip was arranged to a pet store. The people there gave some more great information to the students, and after the presentation, with all their questions answered, the students picked out the things they needed to make the pets comfortable on the school grounds. The students also purchased what they needed to put together a great tropical fish tank.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republic was falling apart during the first days of the school, so the students also did research on the U.S.S.R. Each student did a research paper on the Republic of their choice. Each day was spent watching either prerecorded news reports from the night before, or watching current events as they were happening on the news. Following each of these research papers, each student was taught to give a 3-5 minute presentation on what they learned.

The students also needed to learn to do Book Reports, so time was spent each day doing SSR, Sustained Silent Reading. After a book was read, each student was helped in putting together a comprehensive, exciting Book Report. This first year, these were not only written, but were given orally as well.

B. HOME SCHOOL

It was the intent of Faith Christian Learning Center to make the Home School program one that would be beneficial to the Home School students without compromising the care that was given to each of the on-campus students.

A program, therefore, was set up so that there would be good interaction between on-campus students and home school students. Home school students were to be on-campus one day a week. During that time, they would be able, as a part of our regular individualized program, to have help academically (not tutoring). They would also have the opportunity to have the social part of a school that is missing in a Home School program. In addition, it gave the Administrator of Faith Christian Learning Center the ability to see whether the procedures given to the home school parents were being carried out carefully and accurately.

One of the home school parents came in on that day and ran the Reading lab. This was a program that was designed for teaching both speed reading and reading for comprehension. All of the on-campus students as well as the home school students were able to benefit from this program. Another benefit was that the home school students participated in our programs and brought a fullness to the school that otherwise would not have been felt with only ten or eleven students. Field Trips were also more viable because there was a larger group and could actually qualify for group prices.

There were also downfalls with this program that eventually caused the closure of the program. Parents were expecting that on that one day that the students were on campus, the teacher could spend time with them on just the subjects on which they needed extra help. That, of course, was impossible, because all of a sudden, twenty students needed individual tutoring with just one teacher. The home school parents were unsatisfied because their academic problems were not solved in that one day a week on campus, and the on-campus parents felt that their students were being neglected. Also, because the home school students were on-campus only one day a week, they stretched the rules that were in place, causing confusion to the already structured discipline system on campus.

Eventually, the home school program was closed down. While a good idea in concept, in practicality, it was a hindrance to a good quality, Christian school environment. The home school program required more and more time and took away from the original vision of Faith Christian Learning Center. If there had been the money and the personnel to handle the home school program separately, the program might have been successful. It really needed to have a home school supervisor who would handle all the home school records, coordinate home school activities with the on-campus activities, and actually be the teacher for the home school students when they came on campus. The home school students would be able to be in a separate room so that disruptions did not happen to the regular on-campus program. In that classroom, the home school supervisor could re-enforce the rules without compromising the on-campus program. In that way, the students could still be mainstreamed into other activities where both the home school supervisor and the on-campus teachers were supervising.

C. LIBRARY

I am very pleased with the library at Faith Christian Learning Center. Several years ago we went into a seldom used 10x10 room, tore out the carpet and completely redid the entire room in a pleasant color and carpet. Then we installed 10 hardwood bookshelves, On one wall, was the church library which has never been organized, but has some excellent books, and on two walls we have six of the 10 shelves, with about 100 feet of book space. It is estimated we have 1800 books. We have both resource books and fiction books. I am proud of the number of books that might be called classics on our shelves.

For the first year or two, we had about 100 books used specifically for book reports in the ACE curriculum. In the third year, we sent out a note requesting books. We got boxes of books into our little library room. Then the school with Joy Brignolio as head of this department and Don Lyles and several mothers as occasional volunteers, would come in and organize the books. We had several mothers that would come in for library days, and others that would spend several hours reading books and making suggestions, buying books at garage sales and donating these to the library. We threw out many books from cults and inappropriate books for a school of our kind. For a school of our size, we have two computers in the Library specifically for reading enhancement and keyboard training, and will need to move to a larger room if we choose to enlarge our library by even 100 books.

My immediate goal is to have a card catalog on one of these two computers and add an electronic encyclopedia to these computers. This would free up a number of feet of library space, while upgrading the library. Should this history be completed, it would be my next project at the school.

A brand new problem/opportunity has arisen. Neighborhood Church is expecting to hire a full time youth man before the end of the summer. The pastor would like to use the library room as his office. He has suggested we move both the church and school libraries into the first portable which would have advantages including more than double the wall space for books.

D. MASCOT

One of the privileges for the students that first year was the opportunity to choose several things that would represent the school for years to come. The students spent a lot of time in prayer during the first year because it was such a tightknit group. They prayed about everything together and spent much time each day in Bible study. So when the time came to determine the mascot, the students wanted a Biblical one. They determined that they wanted to be the Faith Christian Warriors. These were not the native American warriors, but Christian soldiers ready for battle. The key passage of Scripture was Ephesians 6:10-18, and the school verse became Ephesians 6:13, "Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." The students also had a flag football team that first year and so they wanted school colors. The colors that they chose were red and black. Those first students often say that they look back with fondness at having been able to leave this legacy behind for those students who would follow them.

E. PERSONNEL

The personnel for Faith Christian Learning Centers, Inc., for the first year was very slim, the Administrator/Teacher, Karen Lyles. However, the necessity for guidelines for hiring and keeping of records are important whether there is one employee or several hundred.

Each school board needs to determine qualifications in three areas: Spiritual Qualifications, Academic Qualifications, and Personal Qualifications. These are important when looking for future staff members and ought to become a part of a Board Policies Manual. Job descriptions should be written for each staff position as well. This can eliminate a lot of confusion and hidden agendas.

I watched as Karen tried to juggle teaching and administrating the school. Even with only 10 students, it was very difficult in the spring when prospective parents would want to view the campus and she needed to be in the classroom. At that time, they needed a second person on campus. Each time a serious discipline problem came up, Karen would have to have one foot out the door taking care of the problem, while trying to keep control of the classroom. It was her idea to have an Administrative Assistant. The logical person, was the person that had helped her for years, her daughter, Joy. Joy could, and did, fill in the classroom while Karen was taking care of problems. She could walk parents around the campus. She could make phone calls and set up appointments. She could make copies, and a hundred other things on Karen’s list of things to do.

When Joy came home from college, she began helping out un-officially. She began officially the second year, 1992-93. Technically she was Miss Lyles, but since the wedding was just weeks away, she became "Mrs. B." from day one when she first started in her helping position. Much of the success of the school has been Joy’s ability to be flexible and be able to see where she is needed and get those jobs done quickly and successfully.

Personnel files need to be kept on each employee. Faith Christian Learning Center keeps a summary note in the front of each personnel file. It includes a statement concerning fingerprinting and whether or not the employee has a state teacher credential. This part of the summary note is entitle, "Regarding the Certificate of Clearance." There is another statement that includes the latest TB skin test with a copy of the results attached. Each teacher is also required on this form to sign an acknowledgment concerning their responsibility under the child abuse laws in California. This summary note is signed by both the employee and the Administrator, and an I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, is attached. Each of the items on the summary note are required by the State of California (a copy of this can be found in Appendix I, Forms.).

The Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) is a form required by the U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service. In order to be employed, the employee has to provide specific items that establish identity and other documents that establish employment eligibility.

Also included in the personnel file is the Employment Contract (a new one for each year of employment), a signed Statement of Faith, copies of college diploma, awards, teaching credentials, CBEST, copies of course work, teacher evaluation forms, Philosophy of Christian Education paper, and Continuing Education Units.

F. LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

After several years of existence, and numerous legal requirements to remember, it became necessary to put together a legal work calendar. A legal work calendar can be found in the Association of Christian Schools International book entitled, Handbook of Rules and Regulations for California Christian Schools by Jerry L. Haddock, Ed. D., Regional Director. This book is highly recommended and has in-depth descriptions of legal requirements for schools.

The following is a summary of the calendar publish in this book. In August, make sure that all of the above mentioned forms under Personnel are completed and that no employee begins working until they are complete. In October, the Private School Affidavit needs to be completed and filed with the County Superintendent of Schools. Also required is the California School Immunization Record (CSIR) due on October 15. In November Form 5578 concerning the nondiscrimination status needs to be completed. This could also be reported annually on Schedule A to Form 990. January 15^th is the date the CHDP (Child Health and Disability Prevention Checkup) report for first grade students is required. Sometime in the spring during the registration period of the school the annual nondiscriminatory notice needs to be published in the newspaper.

Below is a listing from the Manual of Administration for New and Young Christian Schools available through the Association of Christian Schools International and listed in the Bibliography of this paper.

7. Nondiscrimination Requirements

8. Child Abuse Laws (requires the reporting of suspected child abuse)

9. Workers’ Compensation (mandatory insurance)

10. Unemployment Tax (disability insurance program)

11. Sales Tax (must pay)

12. Charitable Solicitation/Fund-Raising

13. Property and Casualty Liability (should cover not only the institution, but also the directors, officers, and employees)

14. Student Records

15. Pre-Schools and Kindergartens

16. School Transportation

17. Other State Aid Programs

18. Shared Time

19. Diploma-Granting

20. Released Time

21. Labor Relations

C. Local and Municipal Laws

1. Zoning/Land Use Regulations

2. Building Codes (this includes an annual fire inspection and earthquake safety with disaster plans for each and injury and illness prevention as required by CAL/OSHA)

3. Property Taxes

4. Nondiscrimination Laws

Another essential book for dealing with legal matters concerning a Christian School would be Questions and Answers on California Private School and Home Schooling Laws, Published by Christian Law Association, P.O. Box 4010, Seminole, Florida 34645

G. CONCLUSION

We read to make ourselves full. We write to make ourselves accurate. This paper has helped clear cobwebs in our personal understanding and hopefully have helped others feel that they are traveling on a freeway, instead of developing their own road.

We need to keep our goal in mind. We can get bogged down on the details. We can spend all of our time filling out and filing paperwork. Or we can see the bigger picture, children growing in knowledge and favor with God and man. These little children will grow and marry and have families, which will grow and have families. Four generations later this child will have a direct impact on hundreds of lives.

Every president, king and monarch was once a child in someone’s class. Let us see our students as men and women that will grow up in our school and will become responsible, God-fearing citizens of our country and leaders in our churches.

APPENDIX I

FORMS

1. Tuition-Flexible Payment Proposed for Rent

2. Use Agreement

3. Enrollment Procedures Form

4. Checklist of Enrollment Forms Needed from Parents

5. Student Record Release

6. Medical History/Release Form

7. Parent/School Agreement

8. Earthquake Emergency Information Card

9. Student Handbook Agreement Form

10. Student/Guardian Handbook Agreement Form

11. Form I-9: Employment Eligibility Verification

TUITION- FLEXIBLE PAYMENT PR0P0SAL FOR RENT

ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES

_____1. Packet

_____a. Cover Letter

_____b. Financial Information

_____c. Student Application

_____d. Statement of Faith

_____e. Brochure

_____2. Follow-up Call

_____3. Appointment for Interview

_____a. General Information

_____b. Statement of Faith

_____c. Handbook

_____d. Parent/School Agreement

_____e. Questions and Answers

_____f. Tour of the school

_____4. Presentation to the School Board

_____5. Enrollment Appointment and Interview

_____a. Extra questions and answers

_____b. Extra forms: Medical History/Release Form, Parent/School Agreement

_____c. Earthquake form

_____d. Signature form from Handbook

_____e. Record Release form

_____f. Application fee

_____g. Materials fee

_____h. First tuition payment

_____i. Set testing date

Check list of forms for Enrollment still needed for full Child’s enrollment

Dear Parents,

According to our records, we are missing the following information:

_____ Application

_____ Statement of Faith

_____ Medical History/Medical Release Form

_____ Parent/School Agreement

_____ State Immunization Record

_____ Handbook signed / Student Form

_____ Handbook signed / Parent/Guardian Form

_____ Student Record Release

_____ Birth Certificate

Please complete and turn these forms in as soon as possible. We need them to complete your student's records. Thank you for your cooperation.

CHECKLIST OF ENROLLMENT FORMS NEEDED FROM PARENTS