- A new survey ofprivate Christian schools

shows that eight and 10 plan to offer

in-person education this fall,

along with a distancelearning option as well.

Dr. Lynn Swaner

with the Association ofChristian Schools International

joins us now with more onwhat's happening this fall.

Dr. Swaner, thanks for being with us.

- Thanks so much, Wendy, for having me.

- Well, tell us, youknow, what's going on?

So many schools are reopening

and then there's othersthat really aren't.

Tell us why they're doing that.

- Yeah, so our survey found,

and we surveyed nearly550 Christian schools

in the United States

from diverse geographiclocations and areas.

And our survey found that, as you said,

over eight out of 10 schoolsare planning on opening

and opening on time, physicallycoming back to campus.

And really the survey foundthat that was in response

to the desire of families.

So 90% of survey respondentssaid that all or mostly all

of their parents desired aphysical return to campus.

You mentioned thedistance learning option.

Christian schools are really prioritizing

offering families flexibility.

So for those families that don't want

to come back in-person,

they're offering thatadditional option for them.

And that's because Christianschools really prioritize

the needs of their community.

They're able to be flexiblebecause they are private schools

and we're seeing a great responsiveness

to the needs of theirindividual communities.

- Lynn, overall there's a concern

about financial sustainability.

Tell us about some of thestrains on Christian schools

and ways to keep themviable during a pandemic.

- So, about half of our schools

reported decreased enrollment

and the drop was about six to 10%

being the most frequently cited range,

which this is concerning,but it's not as extreme

as we might expect given thereally complete disruption

that COVID-19 has done forthe entire educational sector.

And, you know, reallyinterestingly, a full quarter

of schools reported anincrease in enrollment.

And the qualitative datashows that that uptick

is really due to families wanting

to have that in-person return to school

and being really dissatisfied

with the other educationaloptions in their community.

And so really this suggeststhat private schools,

Christian schools, valueproposition in terms of providing

that high quality educational experience

is really being made clear.

The other thing I shouldmention is that our schools,

we found through the survey,

are being very careful intheir return to campus.

So they have consulted closely with state

and local health departmentsand they've developed

sort of these web of safety measures

to keep staff, students,and teachers safe,

all from hand-washingand enhanced cleaning

to grouping students in cohorts,

limiting outings and visitorsto campus and even masks.

So we have 87% of schools planning to use

personal protective equipmentwith their faculty and staff.

That number is lower forstudents at about 77%.

But again, schools are being very careful

to make sure that thatreturn to campus is safe.

- Absolutely, well, Lynn,there's so many hardships

right now for Christian schoolsand students and families.

What's the upside?

How are you seeing the Lordat work in all of this?

- Yeah, so certainly Christian schools

are having a greatopportunity to be a light

in their community to meetthe educational needs.

We had schools report in the survey

and actually in the report whichyou can access at ACSI.org,

in the report we listsome qualitative data,

some quotes from schools,

and they're just reallyseeing God's provision.

You know, donors are coming through

and parents are saying we're committed.

This is what we want for our children.

And just that communityaspect of a Christian school,

that community of faithbearing with one another,

helping each other,meeting each other's needs,

is really evident during this time.

And I think it's truly showing the value

of attending a Christian school

for families and forthe community at large,

as they're able to blessthe larger community.

- All right, Dr. Lynn Swaner,

thank you so much for being with us.

We appreciate your insights.

- Thanks so much.