Six Additional Schools Choose Inclusion for 2018 - 2019
We’re excited to welcome six additional non-public schools who are partnering with All Belong this year. Through this partnership, they will focus on inclusive education for all students. Thanks to donor support, we’re able to partner with Christian and Catholic schools each year to glorify God through purposeful, innovative inclusion of persons with varied abilities.
The six new Member Schools are:
The schools shared what this partnership means to them:
All Saints Academy (Grand Rapids, MI)
“I believe a partnership with CLC Network aligns perfectly with our mission to serve and partner with our families, parishes, and communities as we focus on the spiritual, intellectual, moral, social and physical development of our children. I pray that we might be able to shift the staff lounge conversations of 'we aren't equipped to handle these students' to a conversation around growth, ideas, possibilities and persistence.”
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Belmont, MI)
Calhoun Christian School (Battle Creek, MI)
“It is the desire of the leadership at Calhoun Christian School that we resemble the body of Christ in all that we do and say. As we look at our community and those that we are serving and can serve, it fits perfectly to begin including ALL students and their parents that are interested in a Christ-focused education. All Belong has given us the courage and some tools to begin this journey of becoming an inclusive school community. We are looking forward to the relationships we will develop with other professionals with a passion for inclusive Christian education.”
St. Paul the Apostle School (Grand Rapids, MI)
“We chose to partner with All Belong to assure that we are meeting the needs of all our students. We aspire to be an inclusive school where we can educate the whole family in mind, body, and soul. The partnership with All Belong will allow us to utilize a variety of different resources that once were financially out of reach for us. Being a Christian network aligns with our mission at St. Paul the Apostle: Providing a God-centered education, fostering spiritual, intellectual, aesthetic, social and physical growth. We love that All Belong has a foundation in the Christian religion because it affirms the strong moral compass and the care we will get will be aligned to our practice.”
St. Patrick Parnell School (Ada, MI)
Learn more about their inclusive vision in this blog post, A Girl Named Jasmine: Finding Comfort in the Midst of Chaos.
“I am most looking forward to a continual development regarding ways that our people can best serve the students God has called to our school. We take seriously the partnership with parents and we want the absolute best for God’s image bearers, His students. All students are unique image-bearers of Christ and should have their needs met, learning and growing so they can serve as effective covenant members of God’s Kingdom. A child’s value comes from being created in God’s image, not what they can and cannot do. They are image bearers, not image doers. Because of this belief, all students belong. Having All Belong as a premier partner is critical to us continuing down the path of being more and more inclusive.”
Through our partnerships with nearly seventy schools throughout the United States, our goal is to help each school know their students most excellently and to help their general and special education staff support each student, so that every individual they serve is challenged to reach their God-given potential. We work alongside these schools to provide an ongoing conversation to support them in all their inclusive education needs. Learn more about our work on our website.
The six new Member Schools are:
- All Saints Academy in Grand Rapids, MI
- Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Belmont, MI
- Calhoun Christian School in Battle Creek, MI
- St. Paul the Apostle School in Grand Rapids, MI
- St. Patrick Parnell School in Ada, MI
- Sioux Center Christian School in Sioux Center, IA
The schools shared what this partnership means to them:
All Saints Academy (Grand Rapids, MI) 
“I believe a partnership with CLC Network aligns perfectly with our mission to serve and partner with our families, parishes, and communities as we focus on the spiritual, intellectual, moral, social and physical development of our children. I pray that we might be able to shift the staff lounge conversations of 'we aren't equipped to handle these students' to a conversation around growth, ideas, possibilities and persistence.”
Abby Giroux, Middle School Principal
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Belmont, MI) 
Calhoun Christian School (Battle Creek, MI) 
“It is the desire of the leadership at Calhoun Christian School that we resemble the body of Christ in all that we do and say. As we look at our community and those that we are serving and can serve, it fits perfectly to begin including ALL students and their parents that are interested in a Christ-focused education. All Belong has given us the courage and some tools to begin this journey of becoming an inclusive school community. We are looking forward to the relationships we will develop with other professionals with a passion for inclusive Christian education.”
Jeralyn Belote, Principal
St. Paul the Apostle School (Grand Rapids, MI) 
“We chose to partner with All Belong to assure that we are meeting the needs of all our students. We aspire to be an inclusive school where we can educate the whole family in mind, body, and soul. The partnership with All Belong will allow us to utilize a variety of different resources that once were financially out of reach for us. Being a Christian network aligns with our mission at St. Paul the Apostle: Providing a God-centered education, fostering spiritual, intellectual, aesthetic, social and physical growth. We love that All Belong has a foundation in the Christian religion because it affirms the strong moral compass and the care we will get will be aligned to our practice.”
Michelle Morrow, Principal
St. Patrick Parnell School (Ada, MI)
Learn more about their inclusive vision in this blog post, A Girl Named Jasmine: Finding Comfort in the Midst of Chaos.
Sioux Center Christian School (Sioux Center, IA)
“I am most looking forward to a continual development regarding ways that our people can best serve the students God has called to our school. We take seriously the partnership with parents and we want the absolute best for God’s image bearers, His students. All students are unique image-bearers of Christ and should have their needs met, learning and growing so they can serve as effective covenant members of God’s Kingdom. A child’s value comes from being created in God’s image, not what they can and cannot do. They are image bearers, not image doers. Because of this belief, all students belong. Having All Belong as a premier partner is critical to us continuing down the path of being more and more inclusive.”Josh Bowar, Principal
Through our partnerships with nearly seventy schools throughout the United States, our goal is to help each school know their students most excellently and to help their general and special education staff support each student, so that every individual they serve is challenged to reach their God-given potential. We work alongside these schools to provide an ongoing conversation to support them in all their inclusive education needs. Learn more about our work on our website.