Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
12-3-2015
Keywords
Religion, Education history, Religious education
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Adam Laats
Second Advisor
Thomas O’Brien
Third Advisor
Timothy Heaton
Series
Humanities
Abstract
Ever since the common school era, a significant number of Protestant Americans have supported the nation’s public schools. A dramatic change occurred, however, when in “one of the most visible dissenting movements of the late twentieth century” many conservative Protestants turned away from public education to open their own private Christian schools (Carper & Hunt, 2007, p. 7). The 1970s proved to be a time of explosive growth for these new schools. According to some estimates, Christian schools opened at a rate of two per day throughout that decade (Rose, 1988, p. 34). Though thousands of these Christian schools were started in the 1970s and 1980s, what seems to have caught many of these school leaders unaware is the challenge to sustain such an institution through the years. The fact that thousands of these schools have closed in the past forty years is testament to the struggles these schools encounter.
This study traces the history of one of these Christian schools. Twin Tiers Christian Academy, formerly known as Twin Tiers Baptist High School, was formed by a coalition of conservative, fundamental Baptist churches in 1976. Initially, it seemed to the school’s founders that TTCA was destined to grow. However, ever since a peak enrollment of 142 students in 1983, the school’s leaders have struggled to find ways to stimulate meaningful growth. In retrospect, it seems that the school’s initial growth may have been fueled, in part, by a renewed sense of political activism among evangelicals in the 1970s.
In order for TTCA and like schools to thrive in the twenty-first century, school leaders will need to promote and work toward a vision that taps the value-need of prospective families. If these families perceive that the school offers a value that is not found elsewhere, then these families may be more apt to pay for a private school education and school leaders may realize the growth they have long desired.
Recommended Citation
Shaw, Cary M., "National trends and a local response: A history of the conservative, evangelical Twin Tiers Christian Academy" (2015). Graduate Dissertations and Theses. 435.
https://orb.binghamton.edu/dissertation_and_theses/435
