My first encounter with Harbor Christian Academy (HCA) was over seven years ago when some of their founding leadership visited Minneapolis. They were visiting Hope Academy, a school featured in January in CACE’s “Schools that Inspire” series.
At the time, I was a church representative at Hope Academy’s Partner Day. During the event, these founding leaders from an emerging school in Houston were spotlighted, and upon standing, they were greeted with significant applause. This group represented the firstfruits of a school-planting enterprise called “Spreading Hope Network,” a project to which many in the room were contributing.
These visiting leaders stepped forward in courageous faith to plant an urban, Christian, classical school so youth in Houston could receive an excellent, God-centered, affordable education. The Lord used this encounter to draw me further into the growing movement of Christian education in urban contexts. I now have the pleasure of serving as the Managing Director of the Spreading Hope Network, and I’m delighted to put the spotlight back on Harbor Christian Academy.
About Harbor
In the Fall of 2018, Harbor Christian Academy was launched to “transform students from varied backgrounds across Houston through a classical and Christian education to the glory of God” (HCA website). Harbor was established in the Fifth Ward neighborhood among the poorest in the city. HCA is comprised mostly of racial minority students from underserved families. A belief at the center of their mission is that the economically disadvantaged are no less made in the image of God than the affluent. Therefore, HCA puts forth “high expectations” as a central distinctive because they want God’s deepest desires for urban students to be fulfilled.
HCA also makes great effort to involve, support, and hold accountable parents as genuine partners to seek God’s best for their children’s education. Having started small with 14 students, Harbor has grown at a rate that makes it clear urban families in Houston are seeking what HCA wants to give: a kingdom school that’s affordable for all.
Bursting at the seams
In their seventh year, HCA has grown to a point where they are at capacity and longing for the ability to serve more students. Besides hearing this assessment from school leaders, there are tangible indicators as well.
It’s typical for schools at this stage to have many “flex-spaces” that transform throughout the day from one purpose to another (e.g. from cafeteria at midday to PE space in the afternoon). This multiuse of spaces is definitely happening at HCA—it’s just one way they’re maximizing the number of students they can serve (135 at this stage, K-8). Based on the joy I saw in their diverse student body, I’m confident there are many others who would love to attend HCA. The sight of a packed parking lot for student pick-up reinforced this reality.
Imitation & innovation
Urban families are longing for school options like Harbor, and God is raising up servant leaders to carry the torch, including leaders at HCA. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know their new Head of School (John Bryant) and Director of Advancement (Morris Nwogwugwu). John came from serving a similar school in Tennessee, and Morris grew up in the neighborhood and had been serving at a school nearby. John, Morris, and their team are imitating and innovating elements of the Hope Academy model to fit their context.
A key distinctive of Spreading Hope schools is to make a remarkable, God-centered education “affordable for all.” When a student enrolls at a school like Harbor Christian Academy, the tuition is not a revenue stream in the same way it might be at other private schools. Whereas all families have skin in the game based on a sliding scale, each student needs a generous partner to significantly off-set costs. Tremendous work is done to establish and grow a local community of generous donors for schools like Harbor to be able to, as Russ Gregg says, “spread a banquet” of God-centered education for their urban neighbors.
An important aspect of the development model is to attract prospective Partners who have both financial capacity as well as a God-given heart for the mission of the school. This stage is often called the “point of entry.” At Harbor, they’re both imitating and innovating: they’re putting their own spin on the midday monthly school tours that Hope Academy does, while also developing evening “Harbor Huddles” for existing partners to host their friends and introduce them to HCA. The invigoration of these “point of entry” efforts is encouraging evidence of God’s hand through new leaders to grow HCA.
A Planting of the Lord
Another staple Hope & Harbor share is a student declaration. It ends with adorable image-bearers of God declaring, “We will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.” While the metaphor in this line has student development in mind, what if its meaning extended to a school level? What if the Christian education ecosystem became a forest of oaks “dropping their acorns” and generously offering themselves up as mentors and models for emerging schools, especially schools expanding access to urban youth?
When I first encountered HCA, their existence was one of potential, like an acorn. Today, godly leaders are tending the soil and watering what is currently a rapidly growing sapling. In the 5th Ward of Houston, a “planting of the Lord” is strengthening its roots and rising from the soil to display God’s splendor.
