We’ve been telling you recently about how we’ve moved to expand the network of schools we serve, recognizing that certain schools just beyond the border of Chicago proper are like the schools already in the network. We want you to know who’s been invited! Here’s a list of those nearby schools now considering our invitation:

Calvin Christian School (South Holland)Calvary Academy (South Holland)Chicago Southwest Christian Schools (Oak Lawn campus)Deer Creek Christian School (Chicago Heights)Lansing Christian School (Lansing)New Life Celebration Christian Academy (Dolton)Unity Christian Academy (South Holland)Walther Christian Academy (Melrose Park)

So What’s the Catch?I’ve been making visits with the school boards of the schools we’ve recently invited into the Bright Promise Fund network. After making my presentation about our intention to provide scholarship funding for their students I’m often asked, “So, what’s the catch?’

Understandably, board members look for strings attached to our offer to fund scholarships through the gifts received at Bright Promise Fund. And there are a few expectations: A promise to live out their faith statement in the management of the school; an agreement about financial transparency and disclosure about how many scholarships are awarded with our gift; assurance that professing Christians teach and lead the school; and an intention to participate in the activities of the Center for Christian Urban Educators, to name a few.

But Bright Promise Fund is not a membership-based organization. Network schools don’t pay annual dues to belong. We trust each school to award scholarships thoughtfully with formulas of their own design, not bound by strictures from Bright Promise Fund.

From the start, we’ve seen Bright Promise Fund as a simple conduit of God’s grace. The funds we raise come through grace, unconditionally, and we serve as messengers of that grace as we pass every gift along to the schools.

We understand that you faithfully support Bright Promise Fund as an act of thanks for the grace of God in your life. As we direct your gifts to the schools for scholarships, grace deepens and lives are enriched. Just one way that God works his grace in his world.

Summer Newsletter2017✶✶ ✶✶ ✶

THE BRIEFINGDave Larsen, Ph.D.

As I write this briefing we are engaged in yet another provocative

and necessary discussion about race in America, as civil war icons come tumbling down across our nation. As Christians who live in the reality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which breaks down walls and offers reconciliation to all, we look for hopeful signs in the world around us.

Let me suggest one place to look: within the walls of the schools of the Bright Promise Fund network, where all students are viewed as image-bearers of God, where the delights of different cultures, races and ethnic groups are celebrated, where teachers and administrators work hard at developing change agents for Christ who know how to recognize and resolve conflicts, and where classrooms are reflections of the diversity of Christ’s kingdom.

Among the many other very good things that these schools do is prepare students for a future they can help shape, in Christ’s name. That’s a noble and worthy calling in a world crying out for hope and peace. And because they’ve experienced this in their education, they know that it can and should happen in the world they will not only inherit, but form.

Director

Newsletter editor: Kristin Zandstra, Administrative Assistant

URBAN EDUCATION IN THE NEWS

“How little imagination and courage we show in our hatreds.” – Amor Towles in Rules of Civility

Thought ... Provoking

SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT: ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION TIME!It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The time when Bright Promise Fund distributes the good gifts of grace that have been given by our donors and friends.

At the end of our fiscal year (June 30), the gifts raised through Bright Promise Fund are distributed to our four founding schools and three affiliate schools based on the distribution formula set forth by the BPF Board of Directors.

Our founding schools are required to use the gift from Bright Promise Fund for tuition assistance and/or scholarships, and to report annually how BPF’s gifts are used. This year, each founding school received $42,000, and our three affiliate schools each received $15,000! Last year, each founding school received $35,000, and each affiliate school received $15,000.

In a letter of thanks from Cornerstone Academy, Kelsey Nikcevich and Jim

Many thanks, again, to the Chicago Paint and Coatings Association for choosing Bright Promise Fund schools for their “Paint A Brighter Chicago” initiative this year! In late August, over 40 painters volunteered their skills and time to brighten the halls of Pui Tak Christian School just in time for the new school year. We are grateful for their partnership and hard work!

THANK YOU!

Wilkes write: “On Thursday, June 1, a collection of staff, family and board members listened to 10 speeches and watched 10 students walk across the stage. Six more are in the process of finishing this summer. Graduation is a bittersweet time as we both celebrate and say goodbye to our seniors. Each speech spoke of particular struggles the students faced, those who helped them along the way, and advice passed down to the under classmen. Thank you for partnering with us to provide our students with the tools necessary for their success. Raising funds for income-strapped students is uniquely important. God sees.”

We thank our friends and supporters for enabling us to make urban Christian education affordable to more families, to grow enrollments in our seven network schools, and to have a positive impact in the neighborhoods served.

dave@brightpromisefund.org | 708.321.04031550 S. State, Suite 107, Chicago, IL 60605

info@brightpromisefund.orgContact

SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT: UPDATES ON OUR SCHOOLS

Chicago West Side Christian School plans to host the Center for Christian Urban Educators annual networking conference again this year on October 9. At the conference, educators will discuss what parents, students, supporters, and visitors should experience in our schools because we are Christian.

Cornerstone Academy graduated 10 high school students and will graduate six more at the end of the summer. We enjoyed looking at amazing student art at our July visit to Cornerstone.

Daystar School agreed in April of 2017 to take on the operations of Humboldt Community Christian School. As part of this development, 30 students of HCCS will be attending Daystar School. Daystar will explore the possibility of opening a Humboldt campus in the future. In addition, Ashanti Bryant has joined the Daystar staff as Middle School Principal.

For the first time, Midwestern Christian Academy welcomes both 9th and 10th graders! For the past two years, MCA has been exploring, praying about and developing its high school curriculum, and opens doors to high schoolers at its Irving Park location this fall. MCA also welcomed Jeremy Riggs as its new Principal this summer.

During the 2016-17 school year, and after 64 years of affiliation, Pui Tak Christian School became independent of the Chinese Union Christian Church. This decision came after lengthy and thoughtful consideration and prayer, and was approved by the school and church Boards of Directors on March 20, 2016. This independence allows more freedom and flexibility to the school administration and board.

Salem Christian School is looking for volunteers! Salem is a small, family oriented elementary school and is always looking for skilled parents, community activists, entrepreneurs, educators, and philanthropists to get involved. No higher education degree or any specific skill set is required. From tutoring, to coaching, helping with clerical duties or minor repairs, Salem could use a helpful hand. Whether you come as a professional

to inspire students for a professional day, roll up your sleeves to help clean or cook, or just pull up a chair and read a children’s book to a classroom – volunteers are appreciated!

The Field School opened for its first day of school on August 24th. After 21 months of planning and praying, the school welcomes its pre-K, Kindergarten and first grade students at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park. The Field School offers classical, Christ-centered education and seeks to develop children to their full capacity as image-bearers of God: knowing, loving, and expressing that which is good, true, and beautiful. We pray God’s blessing on The Field School as they welcome their first students!

We are pleased to welcome the newest member of the Bright Promise Fund Board of Directors, Jabari Turner.

Jabari is a Financial Advisor with Northwestern Mutual. He grew up in Englewood and Auburn Park, and has been a life-long member of the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn. Before being recruited by Northwestern Mutual, Jabari was the Executive Director of the Kaufmann Scholars in Kansas City where he was responsible for the development and dissemination of the

BOARD MEMBER UPDATE

THANK YOU!

Artwork by students at Cornerstone Academy

vision for Kauffman Scholars to help individuals attain economic independence through educational achievement. He attended Morgan Park High School, and has a love of Chicago and appreciation for our work. He lives with his wife and two daughters in the Ashburn neighborhood of Chicago. Welcome, Jabari!

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1550 S. State St.Suite 105Chicago, Illinois 60605

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DID YOU KNOW?100% of your gifting goes directly to our schools. Our operating costs are met through an endowment, gifts from our Board and foundation support.

Please consider a gift of promise to our schools TODAY!

The two unique features of the schools affiliated with the Center for Christian Urban Educators and Bright Promise Fund are being Christian and being urban. These features will be the focus of the next C-CUE/BPF Networking Conference, scheduled for Monday, October 9.

Keynote speakers include Dr. Scottie May of Wheaton College, and Dr. Tim VanSoelen of The Center for the Advancement of Christian Education (CACE) and Dordt College.

At the conference, attendees will discuss what parents, students, supporters, and visitors should experience in our schools because we are Christian. The discussion will be centered around three key features of Christian education:

• the school community,• the faith journey of students and teachers, and• the integration of a biblical worldview into the curriculum.

It is essential that teachers and administrators periodically take time to refresh and enhance their understanding of Christian education - the heart of the existence of our schools. Teachers and administrators also benefit greatly from networking with

each other and sharing best practices at this conference. The conference will again be held at Christian West Side Christian School and will include lunch. For more information on attending, contact Harriet Potoka at hpotoka@ccue.org.

For more information on the Center for Christian Urban Educators, visit C-CUE’s website at www.ccuechicago.org.

C-CUE HOSTS ITS ANNUAL NETWORKING CONFERENCE