North Carolina has long been a leader in school choice. Families in our state can choose between options ranging from public school to private school to home school depending on what best meets their needs. One concern with the growing number of families choosing different options for education, though, is that there are not enough private or Christian schools to meet the need across the state, especially in rural counties. This has prompted Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina (PEFNC) to start a program to help equip leaders who can help meet this need.
This week on Family Policy Matters, host Traci DeVette Griggs welcomes Renee Griffith, Director of the EduBuilder program, to discuss her work empowering North Carolina’s leaders in education.
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Family Policy Matters
EduBuilder: Supporting Edupreneurs in North Carolina (with Renee Griffith)
TRACI DEVETTE GRIGGS: Thanks for joining us this week for Family Policy Matters. As a growing number of North Carolina parents are taking advantage of the state’s myriad of school choice options, private schools across the state are beginning to fill to capacity, leading to wait lists that, once again, prevent families from choosing the school that best meets the needs of their children. Additionally, North Carolina’s unique urban-rural divide means there are still large areas of the state with no school options other than the local public school. In response, Parents for Educational Freedom has launched a new program aimed at solving these challenges by helping what they call edupreneurs overcome barriers to starting and expanding private schools across our state today, we’re joined by Renee Griffith, who is leading the EduBuilder initiative. Renee Griffith, welcome to Family Policy Matters.
RENEE GRIFFITH: Thank you so much. I’m honored to join you.
TRACI DEVETTE GRIGGS: Start off by telling us a little bit about yourself and your journey through this education space.
RENEE GRIFFITH: 31 years ago, when my oldest son was getting ready to start kindergarten, I did not feel the options available in our area really fit his unique personality and learning style, and I just didn’t like the options that were available. And so, I always grew up with if there’s not something there that you want, you can create it. And I really feel that God laid it in my heart to start a Christian school, and so I began that journey 31 years ago, and 31 years later, I’m still at the same Christian school, and of course, it’s grown, and we’ve seen God do really amazing things, and have been part of a lot of children’s lives, and through that journey, I’ve been helping lots of other Christian schools and private schools around the state. I was also, during that time, elected as a county commissioner here in our county, and so I’ve had a lot of different experiences when it came to the educational world. I also sit on an accrediting board with one of the national school accrediting associations, and so in May, the Parents for Educational Freedom honored me with a School Impact Leader Award in North Carolina. I was very honored to receive that, and from that award, there were some conversations sparked about what school choice looks like in North Carolina from the education side. You know, Parents for Educational Freedom have helped parents, but they recognize that there isn’t anyone really tasked with helping school leaders and we’re going to quickly, in North Carolina, run out of seats in our current private and Christian schools, unless we come up with a plan to keep seats available for students as they receive the scholarship. So, they approached me and asked me if I would be interested in leading this new initiative. And I tell you, it just seemed to align with the journey that my life has taken the past 31 years, and all the different tools that I have in my tool belt to help school leaders, current school leaders, and then folks who want to come and start schools in North Carolina.
TRACI DEVETTE GRIGGS: Okay, so it might be a surprise to people, kind of running out of private schools. So, part of it is the increase in the opportunity scholarships that are provided through our legislature. Is that the main reason, or are there other things going on?
RENEE GRIFFITH: Well, that is one of the big driving forces. And the legislatures have funded the Opportunity Scholarship in such a way that each year there’s more money added so that more children can have scholarships. So, by the way the legislation was set up, there are increasing opportunities every year, so there are more scholarships going to be given out next year than this year. There’s money for that. And a current analysis of the seats across the state of North Carolina, the John Locke Foundation said there’s about a 19 to 20% increase of room right now in current schools. But there are some counties that have no school choice. There are 10 counties in North Carolina that there is not an option except the public school. So, in those 10 counties, if you had a child receive a scholarship, there is actually no place for them to go. Then there are 11 additional counties where only 1% of the student population has a choice because of the limited number of seats. So, 21 of our 100 counties actually have either no or very limited opportunities when it comes to school choice. And so, one of the parts of EduBuilders is really to target some of our rural areas and help pastors and local leaders start schools in those areas so students do have a choice. Now there’s some counties where there’s lots of choices, but across the state, many of the private schools are already at capacity, and they can’t service the children, and there are wait lists to get into the schools.
TRACI DEVETTE GRIGGS: So how do you help these people who are investigating the possibility of starting a private school? Because I think the thought of having more private schools might be positive, but we don’t want bad private schools, right? We want good private schools. And I’m sure anybody who starts one wants the same thing. So how do you help them ensure that theirs is going to be one of the good ones?
RENEE GRIFFITH: Well over 31 years in education, in private school education in North Carolina, I have faced about every hurdle and challenge that you could think of, from being a school that was not accredited through walking through accreditation, not having a location, renting space, and then building space, expanding the space, renovating the space. And then I was a county commissioner, and then I serve on the accrediting board. God has just given me insight into things, and so I can help schools avoid pitfalls that maybe they don’t know will be a pitfall. So, I can help them start setting up for success from the beginning. And then schools that are looking to expand, maybe they haven’t been able to identify what is the hurdle that is keeping us from expanding, or maybe they have a hurdle and they don’t know how to overcome that hurdle. And so, in North Carolina, you know, the Parents for Educational Freedom really helps the parents. The scholarship authority manages the scholarship, and the Department of Public Instruction really is just there to ensure the bare minimum requirements are met with private schools. There really isn’t anybody in North Carolina that has walked in those shoes and is a point person and says, Let me help you. And so, Parents for Educational Freedom wanted to create a new division where there’s a person that current school leaders and new school leaders can go to to begin to navigate through starting a school, expanding a school with success, and hopefully get some guidance on avoiding some of the pitfalls and helping them become a better school. And so, I just happened to have a lot of diverse experience, and in the first month, we were shocked at how many schools reached out to us. 26 schools in the first month, and of those, 13 are current schools, and 13 are folks that want to start a school. So, it was really great that the demand is there. And as I’ve been talking to school leaders and stepping into their schools and talking with potential school leaders, boy, some of the hurdles that we’ve been able to talk through and look at and resources that we connect them with have just been a blessing to help them. And Parents for Educational Freedom are providing this. There’s no charge. It is a way we want to partner with the schools here in North Carolina, because if our private schools and Christian schools do better, then everybody wins in North Carolina. Everybody wins when the students do better and the schools do better.
TRACI DEVETTE GRIGGS: Right. So, tell us about your school that you started, Cornerstone Christian Academy. Are you doing some things there that you would like to see modeled in some of these other schools that you’re beginning?
RENEE GRIFFITH: Yeah, that’s a great question. The model that we use at Cornerstone is a model that can be put in a school or a church with limited space. So sometimes the thought of starting a school in a rural area, a church or a local leader may say, well, we don’t have a very large building, or we don’t have a lot of spaces, because schools can look different. You know, there’s a variety of options, but sometimes we get a picture in our head that it looks a certain way. And so, the model that we use at Cornerstone is an inexpensive model that can be started in a smaller facility to serve about 20-25 students. And so, we’re looking at helping local leaders and pastors use this model, if it’s in their heart, to start a school. This model is very easily adaptable to different situations, especially in a smaller community. And so, this model is available, and I’m happy to help implement that, but really my heart is just to help leaders all across the state. Here in my office, I have a quote that says I aspire to inspire before I expire. And really that’s been my heart. And so, I want to help our private schools, our Christian schools, do better across the state in any way that I can, and if that’s removing hurdles or helping them start, or maybe making a shift as they go along, for better quality delivery, I really want to help as many people as we can here in North Carolina. But the Cornerstone model is one that can be used, but it’s not necessarily a requirement of the EduBuilder program. It’s just, again, one of those tools we have in our tool belt.
TRACI DEVETTE GRIGGS: Now, you mentioned 13 new schools. How many of those are in that targeted rural area?
RENEE GRIFFITH: Six of the 10 rural counties that we’re looking at, there are potential schools going to start there next year. So, we’re working with these school leaders. So that’s exciting to put some choice here in North Carolina, just in the first year of this program where there isn’t any.
TRACI DEVETTE GRIGGS: Are there certain types of people that you would think would be most likely to be able to step into this kind of a planning stage?
TRACI DEVETTE GRIGGS: It does make sense. So, let’s take it one step further. If someone is listening to you and they’re like, oh my goodness, I’m feeling the call. What are the first steps? What would you say to them that they need to do?
RENEE GRIFFITH: You know, I reflect on my own journey and the journey of many people who’ve made impacts around the world through all spans of time, and I was just a mom who saw a need and felt that I could do something about it. And so really, I think the motivation at the core of someone is what is important, maybe not necessarily their background. I have seen many folks who have teaching degrees that really don’t have any business being in the classroom, because the core of who they are doesn’t align with the values of teaching. But I’ve seen others who have no background in teaching and wow, the things that they do with children and the things that they unlock and the inspiration that they create. So really, I think the success to schools is not necessarily your background, but it’s more what is in your heart to do. What has God called you to do? And so, I think that’s more important, maybe to identify rather than you know, do you have a degree in business? I can teach those things, but I can’t teach you to really care and love from a genuine place. That has to be something inside that expands out to the next generation. If you look at Helen Keller and her teacher, her teacher didn’t have any experience, but she had a heart and a desire to see Helen Keller become something great, and that drove her, that motivation, that’s what drove me to start a school is like, here’s my son, this gift that God has given me, and I see so much in him, but I don’t see the avenue to unlock this in what is currently available. So let me do something about it. And I think across history and across the span of all different industries, that motivation has spurred initiative. It’s inspired innovation, and it has changed the trajectory of many industries, not just education. I hope that makes sense.
RENEE GRIFFITH: I would love to have a conversation with them, because being inspired is one thing, and then putting the boots on the ground to make it work, and putting the team with you, I can help them begin to really flesh out is this something I’m just feeling because you’re an inspirational speaker, or is this really something that I believe that I should take the next step? So having a conversation with me, but then also looking around at their community. Are the educational needs of the children being met in your community? Are there good options for children? And just begin to assess where you live, your neighborhood? That’s what I did. I looked around and said, I don’t see what I think would be best for my son. And so, looking at that area and beginning to just take account of what’s in your area, maybe if there are good school choices in your area, you go and you volunteer and begin to learn about the organizations that are doing a great job there, and maybe you can help expand those. But if there are no options or limited options, I would love to have a conversation with that person that’s feeling like maybe I’ve sparked something on the inside that, you know, if she can do that, maybe I can do that too.
TRACI DEVETTE GRIGGS: Renee Griffith, tell our listeners where they can go to get more information and just read more about the new initiative.
RENEE GRIFFITH: They can go, it’s the website for PEFNC and there’s information there. There’s actually a tab EduBuilder, and you can actually fill out a form that will come straight to me. And so, I would love to talk to anyone that feels that maybe they’d like to make a difference in the life of a child. Even with all the difficulties and obstacles, I have never regretted the decision that I made 31 years ago to invest in the lives of children.
TRACI DEVETTE GRIGGS: Thank you very much. Renee Griffith, leader of the EduBuilder initiative for Parents for Educational Freedom, which, of course, is PEFNC. Thank you so much for being with us today on Family Policy Matters.
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