PC(USA) and Public Education

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has a long-standing commitment to quality public education:

As Presbyterians, we believe that “an education of high quality for all children is an obligation of society and indispensable to the political and economic health of our democracy,” and that “we are called to respond in every possible way with measures that seek to evidence love and justice in the education of children and youth.”

— A Call to Church Involvement in the Renewal of Public Education (199th General Assembly, 1987)
Download this full document.

Yet public education continues to be in crisis. More than ever, public schools and the children they serve need people of faith to stand up for quality education for all. Despite the ambitious intents of the No Child Left Behind Act, some children, particularly poor children, children of color and others on the margins, continue to be left behind.

An overture to the 216th General Assembly in 2004, “On Improved Education for African American and Other Students Placed At-Risk for an Excellent Education,” called for action to address this concern. Among its recommendations:

That Presbyterians be called upon to confront the stubborn continuance of racial prejudice, particularly the persistence of societal attitudes that discourage academic achievement among economically disadvantaged and children of color students and others at risk.

This Web site is designed for all Presbyterians who care about education for all children who are at risk for failure.

Ten moral concerns in the No Child Left Behind Act

Late in 2005 the National Council of Churches Committee on Public Education and Literacy released "Ten Moral Concerns in the Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act.” Congress did not pass the reauthorization of the federal public education law in 2007 as scheduled. It is now likely that the reauthorization will be put off until after the 2008 election.

Because many in the church are deeply concerned about this under-funded, test-and-punish law, the committee has revised and updated its statement to reflect issues that have become more apparent as this law continues to play out in our communities. We present this updated "Ten Moral Concerns in the No Child Left Behind Act" to help members of our congregations during this election year speak to Congressional representatives, candidates for Congress and the Presidential candidates. As people of faith we do not view our children as products to be tested and managed but instead as unique human beings, created in the image of God, to be nurtured and educated.

Items marked with are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. For best results, right-click the link (or click and hold for Macintosh), select "save target as" and save the document to your desktop for viewing and printing.