Talk:Christian Academy of Louisville

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School or school system

The article is schizophrenic. It is partially about the English Campus and partially about the whole system (and not up-to-date there). I intend to move this article to Christian Academy of Louisville English Campus then make another for the system, pulling all the extraneous stuff from this article. The primary schools are not notable. The system may be. In any case, the subject-sourced stuff will either be confirmed or go. Rhadow (talk) 20:08, 9 November 2018 (UTC)

Identification as a "Segregation Academy" is biased and essentially non-factual

I intend to remove the identifications of this school as a "Segregation Academy", because the school denies that as a factor in its founding and history, and segregation is not practiced by this school in any way. I assert here and now that identifying the CAL schools as a "Segregation Academy" is both historically and factually inaccurate. I assert that it also suggests that the school was and/or is a segregationist (read "racist") organization, which it is not, and the identification as such is both slanderous and highly inflammatory.

The 1975 "desegregation" of Louisville public schools does not mean "desegregation" the way most historians in America would understand the term. Louisville, Jefferson County, and Anchorage school districts were all truly desegregated in the mid 1950's, but Louisville and Jefferson County school districts were merged in 1975, with Anchorage school district remaining an enclave. This was done as a part of "residential desegregation", meaning effectively that the various socio-economic differences between neighborhoods in the city of Louisville and the various towns and villages of Jefferson County would be attempted to be made more "even" by merging the school districts and busing the students from wealthier neighborhoods to schools in poorer neighborhoods and vice-versa, or more specifically, busing "white" kids to previously majority-"black" schools and vice-versa. The merger of the city of Louisville school district, which had a large percentage of African-American students (about 54% of almost 41,000 students in 1974-75), with the Jefferson County district, which had far less African-American students (about 5% of about 86,000 students in 1974-75), is what is referred to here as "desegregation". Indeed, the historic plight of predominantly African-American residential districts and neighborhoods and their local schools, presented a noticeable imbalance compared to predominantly "white" residential districts and their neighborhood schools; hence "residential desegregation" via the merger of the two largest school districts in the State. But classic true segregation was no longer practiced in Louisville, and the word "desegregation" as applied to the 1975 merger of the school districts is a misnomer, containing racially-charged terminology applied to what was maybe even more a political issue than it was an economic issue.

However, the formation of a number of private academies in the Louisville area in 1975 or shortly thereafter was triggered by the court-ordered busing program, which destroyed the neighborhood school concept in the metro area. In short, many parents then---as today---see busing as an expensive way to discourage the majority of parents from having a more direct, observational way of knowing what is being taught in the classroom. 56 years after the 1965 Civil Rights Act---passed due to overwhelming support by Republican lawmakers---The Jefferson County Public School district still practices busing, and vehemently opposes all school choice initiatives, including and especially Charter Schools. But the negative factors in 1975 which spawned a number of local private schools in Louisville was not and is not the full integration of students of various ethnic backgrounds; rather it was the forcing of thousands of students---primarily African-American---to spend upwards of two hours a day riding school buses, and an almost complete separation of their parents from an ability to easily be involved in the school life of their children. Parents of children who are bused across the metro area must also travel sometimes an hour one-way through urban traffic congestion just to meet with a teacher, attend a function, or just drop in to see what is being taught in their child's classroom. Such journeys are often longer if one must use public transportation. Initially the busing program was to basically bus "white" students for 2 of their 12 years of public school, and "black" students 10 of their 12 years of public school. The attempt to right old wrongs caused new problems which had immediate negative effects on especially the poorest minority parents regarding school involvement.

Many parents---white, black, and other ethnicities---protested the new busing plan as a step too far, as it effectively tore them away from the close involvement they enjoyed with their children's neighborhood schools. Add to that the increased bent in public school classrooms toward teaching sex education and more Leftist political ideology, and many parents---even poor ones---felt the time was right to be more involved in their children's schooling rather than less involved, and that a re-set of classroom content was also appropriate, such as a re-emphasis on classical education, STEM subjects, Judaeo-Christian values, Western civilization, and Enlightenment thinking and economics. Hence, 1975 presented opportunities to many parents to establish private schools for their children and anyone else who felt like the public schools were no longer a worthwhile endeavor to occupy over half of children's waking hours. It had nothing to do with some sort of implied desire to maintain all-"white" schools; that is a slander. If any parents actually felt that way---and there's no denying that various sins can be found in any human heart, including racialism or outright racism---it was never the official policy or intended goals of the founders and teachers and administrators of this private school, nor likely any of the others founded around this time period. And as many private schools do---especially those faith-based schools---a variety of financial aide and assistance programs and scholarships are made available to help poorer parents defray private school tuition costs (which are considerably less per student than in public schools); much of this assistance comes directly from supporters in the affiliated church(es) that sponsors the school. These private school parents are also already paying for public schools by their property taxes, and it may be a resentment about that which might make them appear to be less than charitable when discussing the thoroughly ruined and failed public school system they are forced to underwrite. It has well been argued that the billions of taxpayer dollars that have been spent since 1975 buying, maintaining, and operating the JCPS bus fleet, should have been spent on repairing or replacing the buildings of the poorer schools and boosting those teachers' salaries who dare take up the challenge to teach there---and there would have been a few billion leftover to refund to the taxpayers.

Mluklu7 (talk) 04:37, 11 July 2021 (UTC)

Text of original local newspaper article referenced regarding origins of the school

As an additional proof for my other comments supporting the innocent origins of this private school, I here present the text of the original news article upon which the claims are made that this school was a "segregationist" school, as cited in the references and footnotes of the main Wiki article. This newspaper article text was retrieved via the Public Library system, where the .pdf image was legally downloaded, then run through OCR in Adobe Acrobat, then the text was copied and pasted here.

The purpose of posting this is that the news article is a prime reference source that is not available without a subscription to a paid site, unless one is a patron of the local public library system, which offers free access to this particular local newspaper's digital archives.

The newspaper article proves the school innocent of the idea that it is a "segregationist" school, as the word is commonly understood, and that the local use of the terms "segregation" and "desegregation" are highly specialized and/or subjective. The article also proves that this private academy was founded from the outset as a school wide open to all students of all ethnic backgrounds, specifically, "The school will be open to blacks and whites." I assert that the political bias of this local newspaper has been known for many decades, and on the issue of schools, it has always been a champion of the public school system over any and all private schools; hence it has the strong capacity for bias in making a private school appear to look bad, even though it is not. But even if the staff writer in 1976 had attempted to paint this private school in the light of a "segregationist" as to supposed hidden motive (my personal read-in and takeaway of the way the article was written), they really never pressed the issue completely, and actually allowed the school spokesman to present their own claims to the contrary. Therefore, I again argue that no real proof has been brought forth to justify the negative connotations inherent in the Wikipedia article the way it was written before 9 July 2021, and hence, my edits should stay put. Thank you. 05:10, 11 July 2021 (UTC)

Full disclosure: My wife is an employee of a RIVAL school to this one. We have no connections whatsoever to this school other than being citizens and local taxpayers in the same city. However, in the spirit of truth and honesty in reporting and writing, the negative way the Wiki article was written is disturbing, and another private academy in Louisville (also with no connection to us) was extremely slandered in the Wiki article, likely by ne'er-do-wells and miscreants with some kind of axe to grind. These biases have no place in a straightforward Wiki article on these schools, and to leave the slanders there makes Wikipedia look like a cheap-shot arena and worse.

- - - - - - The Courier-Journal, Saturday, July 3, 1976 page B-1, columns 3, 4, & 5

School official to join private academy

By WANDA NICHOLS Courier-Journal Staff Writer

James E. Farmer, once the No. 2 'man in the Jefferson County school system, has agreed to act as administrative coordinator for a private Christian elementary academy that will open this fall.

The Rev. Terry Allshouse, a director of the Christian Academy of Louisville, confirmed in a telephone interview yesterday that Farmer has been hired to head the academy.

Farmer, who retired from the county school system last Thursday, could not be reached for comment.

Allshouse, pastor of the Clifton Heights Christian Church, said the academy will open Sept. 1 with two elementary schools offering grades 1 through 6.

The schools will be housed at the South Louisville Christian Church, 3845 Southern Parkway, and at the Clifton Christian Church, 131 Vernon Ave., a different church from Allshouse's.

Allshouse said that Farmer, a deputy superintendent in the county system who oversaw all instructional programs, will not be "headmaster." He said Farmer will appoint a teacher as headmaster at each of the schools and will supervise the administration of the schools himself.

The pastor said Farmer is developing a curriculum patterned after the courses taught in the county schools and emphasizing "moral and Christian principles."

Allshouse would not say how much the academy will pay the coordinator. He said Farmer's pay would not be a full-time salary but would be "a supplement" to his retirement income.

Allshouse said the academy is not being set up as a haven for people trying to escape court-ordered busing for desegregation. He said the academy was proposed In 1970, but "there just wasn't the interest there is today."

Allshouse said the schools will charge an annual tuition of $700 for the first child from a family, $600 for the second, and $500 for any others. The school will be open to blacks and whites.

Allshouse said, "We've had some Inquiries from black people and we're more than eager to accept them." He said he wasn't sure how many blacks had asked about enrolling.

Allshouse said the academy "is not really an escape from busing. It's not an escape from desegregation. What we're really trying to do is start a school with a quality education and in a Christian environment."

"I think the best way of saying it is (that busing) caused people to take a closer look at the school system.

"I think the biggest concern was the moral situation in the schools and the fact that children weren't receiving any Christian emphasis in the schools. And I think we naturally cannot expect the (public) schools to do this."

Allshouse said the schools will accept 240 students.

He also said the schools will be housed In the churches only temporarily and that directors are searching for a permanent site.

The pastor said the 7th grade will be added in the 1977-78 school year with an additional grade each year until the academy can offer all 12 grades. - - - - - - - - - Mluklu7 (talk) 05:10, 11 July 2021 (UTC)