Education frustration

So here is the article that focuses on their "school" or lack thereof.

Member says my church is not a cult

Church member disputes claims made against House of Prayer

Posted online July 5, 2017, 9:21 a.m.

Cesar Vargas said he wants to set the record straight.

“My church is not a cult, and the people in it are not crazy,” he said.

Vargas is a member of House of Prayer Christian Church, now called the Place of Help Prayer House. The church has been at the center of controversy as former members, including Vargas’ mother, Gladys Jordan, call it a cult.

Jordan was one of about 30 people who staged a noisy protest May 19 (2017) outside the Airport Road church.

The protesters alleged church leader Rony Denis manipulates followers, degrades women and children and is committing fraud.

Jordan said she and her two sons joined HOPCC when it formed in 2004. She claimed she was “cast out” when she started questioning leadership and the church’s unaccredited education program.

Jordan’s younger son was also expelled from the church for the same reason, Jordan said.

But Vargas said the church is misunderstood because members choose to follow guidelines of early Pentecostal churches.

“We believe that the church should be different from the pop culture,” he said. “We are what the Assemblies of God, Church of God and Methodists were 100 years ago.”

Vargas, 26, said he loves his mother but doesn’t agree with her perception of the church.

He said he makes his own decisions and claims former members are spreading lies about the church. He said members do have access to cellphones and the internet and that their school is accredited.

Vargas sent copies of his high school diploma and other diplomas of church members from Heritage Home School Academy based in Overland Park, Kansas, and dated from 2011 to 2013.

Heritage Home School Academy is accredited by the National Association of private Schools.

Vargas, who said he plans to study theology, also provided copies of students’ SAT scores.

“Most of us tested well above the national average,” he said.

Jordan said she listened to church leaders who convinced her to pull her son from Bradwell Institute his senior year.

She agrees her son received his high school diploma from Heritage Home School Academy in 2013. She said Denis paid for it while she was still a member.

But Jordan said the church is no longer using Heritage Home School. She said it now uses BJU Press Homeschool.

BJU Press supports Christian educators by producing textbooks and materials for home schoolers rooted in Christian beliefs, according to its web-site. BJU Press provided the learning materials for HOPCC’s school, God’s Heritage Christian Academy.

The pamphlet for God’s Heritage Christian Academy states: “This school does not seek accreditation by any outside educational institution but does endeavor to provide the highest possible academic program.

Jordan said the school ordered one set of manuals and then proceeded to make copies of the book for each student.

Former church member and day school-teacher Yvette Bowens confirmed the current curriculum is not accredited.

Bowens said she was a member of HOPCC and its affiliates starting in 1989. She said her twins attended public school until the sixth grade before she put them in the church’s educational program.

Bowens said she taught several grade levels and believed the school was legitimate. But the church kept moving her from state to state and changing the way they conducted class.

Bowens said her twins were unable to attain their GED. She said Denis is not to be trusted and the kids’ education is in jeopardy.

Jordan said HOPCC’s school is one of many issues Denis is trying to cover up. She alleges kids are being physically and verbally abused, and worse.

Vargas said those allegations are unfounded.

“We know several people that left our church have been making prank calls to several places,” he said. “The fire marshal was called and told a bunch of lies about the safety of the church. He came out, inspected, and everything was fine. Several church members have had Child Protective Services called to their home for no reason, no nefarious activity or child abuse/neglect has been found. We were able to obtain copies of the phone complaints, and we recognize the voices of former members. We are considering soliciting the help of local law enforcement.”
(I will have a post about this as well. Since the church got the heads up that an inspection was coming they made everything look like it was supposed to)

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I received a brief email from Bowen where she said the kids were often yelled at after this article had come out.

To this day the school remains unaccredited.

Note that it clearly says not associated or belongs to any organization and that is the address of the church and school.

So how can they get away with it? Unfortunately, Georgia laws allows it.

LAW

Georgia’s home study law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690) requires homeschool parents/guardians to provide a basic academic educational program which includes the five content areas below.

Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Reading

After you decide to begin a home study program, the most difficult decision is deciding which curriculum to use. The Georgia Department of Education does not endorse, promote or provide a curriculum for your home study program. Each parent/guardian must decide which curriculum is best for their child and then purchase the curriculum on their own. You may search the Internet for “homeschool curriculum reviews” and read what other people are saying about each curriculum so you can make an informed decision. It is advisable to choose your home study curriculum prior to registering your child/children by submitting the "Declaration of Intent" online. You must submit a declaration of Intent by September 1st or within 30 days after a home study program is established. You may employ a tutor. Parents must have a high school diploma or GED. (In other words, teachers do not need to be state certified).

The Georgia Department of Education has a very limited role related to home school.  The Georgia Department of Education is only responsible for maintaining the Declaration of Intent records.

The law requires 180 instructional days.

Students in home study programs shall be subject to an appropriate nationally standardized testing program administered in consultation with a person trained in the administration and interpretation of norm referenced tests. The student must be evaluated at least every three years beginning at the end of the third grade (grades 3, 6, 9 and 12). Records of such tests shall be retained by the parent/guardian. (I asked a former member if children were being tested. It appears they are giving standardized tests, but the tests results are being kept in the church school. Also, nowhere in the state law does it say the tests must be sent to the state for verification that policy is being followed. The only thing the state requires be submitted annually is the Declaration of Intent to home school the children).

Again, this is not illegal. Many children stay within this system and then end up attending the church run “Homeschool” Bible college and later become church leaders. For some this church is all that they will know their whole life because they are taught to fear anything and everything “out there.”

They become dependent of that environment and can’t fathom any other way of life.

THIS IS A METHOD OF CONTROL USED BY MANY CULTS. Church of Scientology is one of many examples I could list.

But I see the kids from other Private Schools. Church affiliated schools. They offer great academics, great opportunities. Scholarships, accredited programs and more importantly state certified teachers and the ability to let that child to develop their own sense of being. They are finding out who they are and who they want to become. These private schools encourage kids to thrive while keeping God first. And they are proud to share and yell these kids’ successes from the roof tops. That is what I consider a proper educational foundation and in my opinion these children aren’t getting that.

In my next post I’ll share what happened to me that day in May of 2017 when I stepped inside the House of Prayer while covering the protest. They came at me full force to try and intimidate me to silence – and they are still at it.