A growing number of Wayne County Christian families are pulling kids from Newark Central to homeschool or join co-ops, citing values conflicts, while others argue public school is exactly where salt and light belong. Which choice better forms the next generation of disciples?
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Add your commentCounterpoint nobody wants to hear: some of us don't have the luxury of this debate. I'm a single mom, I work at the cannery, I praise God for the teachers at Newark Central who actually love my kids when I can't be there. Homeschooling is a beautiful choice for families who can do it. But let's not let it become another way middle-class Christians feel superior to the rest of us. Salt and light includes the parents working doubles who need a good public school.
Born and raised in Newark, graduated from Newark Central in 1987. Back then we had Christmas concerts that were actually Christmas concerts, not 'winter celebrations.' I'm not saying the school is evil but I understand why families are making this choice. My daughter homeschools my grandkids and honestly? Those kids can run circles around their peers in Bible knowledge AND math. Don't dismiss it just because it looks different.
The question itself is a little flawed. 'Most faithfully Christian' implies there's ONE answer Scripture clearly gives and there just... isn't. Deuteronomy 6 calls parents to teach diligently but doesn't mandate a delivery mechanism. I know Spirit-filled families on both sides of this. Let's stop making educational method a litmus test for orthodoxy. Wayne County doesn't need another hill for Christians to divide over.
Can someone please correct the person in this thread (saw it on Facebook before it moved here) who keeps claiming homeschooling is ILLEGAL in New York unless you file a specific exemption? That is completely false. NY has an Individualized Home Instruction Plan process, it is absolutely legal, thousands of Wayne County families do it every year. Please stop spreading misinformation that scares people away from a legal and legitimate choice.
My wife and I pulled our three kids out of Newark Central after 2021 and we have zero regrets. Zero. Our oldest is now doing dual enrollment at Finger Lakes Community College at 16. Our middle one finished pre-algebra a full year ahead of where she'd have been. And they actually READ the Bible. Like sit down and READ it. Not because we force them but because they have the time and the curiosity. Public school crowds that out whether it means to or not.
I taught Sunday school at First Baptist on Mason Street for eleven years. The kids I worried about most weren't the ones in public school — they were the homeschooled ones whose parents used 'Christian education' as cover for just... not educating them. I've seen it. Teenagers who couldn't write a paragraph but could quote Leviticus. That is NOT faithful formation. Accountability matters regardless of which path you choose.
My grandparents helped found Newark Wesleyan back in the day and I grew up hearing them say 'bloom where you're planted.' Maybe thats old fashioned but I keep coming back to it. God planted some of our kids in Newark Central. Maybe thats not an accident. Maybe the question isnt which choice is most Christian in the abstract but which choice is most obedient for YOUR family in YOUR specific situation before God. Less comparing. More praying.
Hard disagree. Jesus didn't build a compound and keep his disciples away from the culture. He walked INTO the marketplace, INTO the synagogues, INTO the messy places. If we pull every Christian kid out of Newark Central we are basically conceding the whole school to whoever fills that vacuum. My kids go there and they are FINE. We talk every night at dinner about what they heard and we filter it through Scripture. That's discipleship.
ok but can we talk about the co-op situation specifically because there are like three different ones operating in the Newark area right now and they are NOT all equal. one of them is genuinely classical Christian education. another one is basically just moms rotating babysitting. if youre going to make this choice do your homework on which co-op youre joining. curriculum matters. accountability matters. not all homeschool is created equal.
Lol at the idea that Newark Central is some den of anti-Christian values. I went there K-12, never missed a Sunday at Calvary Assembly the whole time, and my faith is stronger at 34 than it was at 18. The cafeteria ladies used to pray over the food quietly before service. The football coach still leads optional team prayer before games. This school has more Christians IN it than some churches in this county.
just moved here from Rochester last spring so take this for what its worth but the homeschool co-op off Route 88 near Lyons road has been genuinely welcoming and the kids seem really well adjusted which i wasnt expecting tbh. i thought id see a bunch of sheltered awkward children and instead my son made three friends his first week. not saying its for everyone but its not the weird fringe thing i thought it was
To whoever said the football coach does team prayer — I want to be clear that a public school coach leading prayer with students is a legal gray area and the school district has received complaints about it before. I support prayer. I support coaches who are Christians. But let's not use that as evidence the school is spiritually healthy. It's actually evidence the district needs clearer guidance and could expose the school to liability.
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