Quality Education…
Love City has Four Pillars: Quality Education, Economic Sustainability, Affordable Housing, and Accessible Healthcare. These pillars are the four things that Shawn and Inga identified in healthy neighborhoods. Every program that Love City has must fall into one or more of these categories. Porkland creates economic sustainability for the school as well as provides jobs and offers healthier food options in the neighborhood. Our rental properties provide affordable housing to our neighbors as well as help drive sustainability. And obviously Mighty Oak provides quality education for students in the neighborhood. With our mid-year progress report coming out, it seemed like the perfect time to provide a deep dive into why quality education is one of our four pillars, as well as show off the incredible work that our students and staff have accomplished so far this year.
If you search the definition of education, there are two results that pop up:
the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction
An enlightening experience.
The second definition is the one that best fits with what our view of quality education is. Mighty Oak is so much more than a place that has a process for systematic instruction, because a quality educational institution should provide a place of safety, of comfort, of being known, of Love. Without those things, learning cannot happen. I feel like the definition of an enlightening experience captures the idea of that combination much better. Without these things, we are not preparing lifelong learners, people who can continue to learn, adapt, and contribute their skills to their community. As Martin Luther King Jr. put it, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education”. If we can provide that to our neighborhood, then we are creating future changemakers.
This type of education is one that the community once had; with education historically being filled as a role of the Church, it is one of the services that could no longer be maintained as churches in Louisville and Portland began to consolidate. Without it, families were left with the public school system, a system that tries hard at an impossible task, to teach a mass of kids in huge classes with few teachers. Where teachers are not able to learn every child’s story and understand them the way you can when you have a dedicated group of individuals focusing intensely on knowing and empowering smaller groups of students. That is the benefit of a community school. When we can walk down the street to deliver a sick student their stuff and see how their parents are doing. That is what helps create an enlightening experience, and it works.
True education can not be entirely captured in metrics, but there are certain benchmarks like Math and Reading skills that are indicators of whether we are truly equipping our students for a life long journey. Our Mid-year report is encouraging in this regard. Looking at the data below, you can see our percentage of kids who are on grade level for Reading, ELA, and Math has increased by multiple factors since the beginning of the school year.
Our Mid-Yer Progress Report which compares metrics from the beginning of the school year with Winter evaluations
While these statistics are super encouraging for our staff, and hopefully for you as well, they will never be able to portray what a quality education looks like. There are so many more less tangible aspects of what is truly needed in a school that could help create communal change, and that is what Mighty Oak seeks to provide. Thank you for helping support Love City’s mission and our belief in the power of quality education.
Ethan
Lent!!!
It’s Lent season, hurry in to get your fish now!! But don’t worry, we won’t tell if you are more in the mood for some Churched up Tots!
If you are interested in volunteering or to find out more information about supplies needed please email: info@lovecityinc.org or call (502) 272-078.