Schools put to the test
Pop quiz: How many Mennonite students does a Mennonite school need? Today’s answer: all of the above. As denominational identity erodes, institutional loyalty that defined religion in the 20th century goes...
[read more]Parents rally to save school in Virginia
Bake sales and car washes may have been just enough to save most of Warwick River Christian School in Newport News, Va. With enrollment down to 70 students signed up for this coming fall, the 77-year-old...
[read more]Oregon school drops ‘Mennonite’ from name
Western Mennonite School near West Salem, Ore., changed its name to Western Christian School over the summer to better reflect a student body with few Mennonite students. Though there is an Anabaptist...
[read more]MC USA director: ‘Be bold enough to speak’
ELK GROVE, Ill. — For anyone in Mennonite Church USA who feels their voice isn’t heard, Glen Guyton advises: Be bold and speak up. “Conservative or progressive, your voice is welcome in Mennonite...
[read more]AMBS president announces retirement
ELKHART, Ind. — The board of directors of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary announced on Oct. 23 the retirement of President Sara Wenger Shenk, effective June 30. She has served in the role since the...
[read more]598 is not enough
What are the chances that a Mennonite teenager today will go to a Mennonite Church USA college or university? Not that good, and much less than 10 years ago, according to Mennonite Education Agency. Over the...
[read more]Arizona school to reopen with new name, mission
Hopi Mission School has a new name and a new mission. The Mennonite Schools Council member in Kykotsmovi, Ariz., is seeking to turn over a new page after former superintendent Thane Epefanio pleaded guilty in...
[read more]Hopi school administrator sentenced
The former superintendent of Hopi Mission School in Kykotsmovi, Ariz., was sentenced May 8 to two years in prison for embezzling money from the school. Epefanio pleaded guilty to money laundering and wire...
[read more]Bluffton University names next president
BLUFFTON, Ohio — Jane Wood has accepted the call to serve as Bluffton University’s next president, beginning July 1. The board of trustees made the announcement Feb. 23. Wood is vice president of...
[read more]Schools to form a closer relationship
A new association connecting Mennonite Church USA’s institutions of higher education will launch Feb. 1. The Mennonite Higher Education Association’s goals include strengthening the schools’...
[read more]MC USA wants to get all schools on same page
A task force is proposing a more cooperative and consistent relationship between Mennonite Church USA and its institutions of higher education. “We’re envisioning a relationship based more on collaboration...
[read more]Hopi school is left in disarray
Disheveled classrooms and missing equipment are some of the challenges facing Mennonite Education Agency as it discerns how to get Hopi Mission School up and running again. Mennonite Church...
[read more]Mennonite Brethren colleges set enrollment records
The two U.S. Mennonite Brethren colleges set enrollment records this fall, while their Mennonite Church USA counterparts reported mixed results. Three achieved increases of 9 or 10 percent, while two had...
[read more]Judge rules in favor of MC USA in Hopi land dispute
Mennonite Education Agency is planning to start a new chapter at Hopi Mission School in Kykotsmovi, Ariz., after Navajo County Superior Court Judge Robert J. Higgins ruled in favor of Mennonite Church...
[read more]Who owns the land?
The last sentence in “Hopi School Administrator Expelled from Reservation” (Jan. 16) quoted Karen Pennington, an attorney for the Hopi tribal council, about the land on which the Hopi Mission School...
[read more]Hopi school administrator expelled from reservation
The Hopi tribe has ordered the administrator of Hopi Mission School to leave the reservation, and as far as the tribal council is aware, he has done so. The private kindergarten-to-eighth-grade school in...
[read more]Hopi school staff members arrested on allegation of Social Security fraud
The administrator and a teacher at Hopi Mission School were arrested by federal agents Sept. 27 in Kykotsmovi, Ariz. It is another link in a chain of legal issues the school has experienced since at least...
[read more]Bluffton joins Goshen, EMU in revising its hiring policy
Bluffton (Ohio) University has become the third Mennonite college this year to leave the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities after expanding its nondiscrimination hiring policy. The Bluffton board...
[read more]Hopi school dispute takes a legal turn
An impasse over finances, transparency, authority and land ownership between Hopi Mission School and Mennonite Church USA is moving from conversations to courtrooms. On Sept. 14, MC USA filed a complaint...
[read more]Educators gather for global conference
LANSDALE, Pa. — Anabaptist educators and leaders from 13 countries have formed a network. The group met before the Mennonite World Conference assembly in Pennsylvania. Under the theme, “Like a Tree...
[read more]New policies put colleges ‘at variance’ with MC USA
Two Mennonite Church USA colleges expanded their nondiscrimination policies July 20 to include employees in same-sex marriages, putting them at variance with the denomination’s education agency. In separate...
[read more]Hopi Mission School problems prompt restructuring plan
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Mennonite Church USA Executive Board has informed the Hopi Mission School board, administration and staff that the organization does not have permission to use the Mennonite property...
[read more]Active year sees Mennonite schools merge, close
The boards of two Pennsylvania Mennonite schools have approved a plan to integrate into one unified school system with a single superintendent and board. Penn View Christian School, a K-8 school in Souderton,...
[read more]Spanish education opens doors
Many of the 17 recent graduates of Instituto Bíblico Anabautista (Anabaptist Biblical Institute) shed tears as they gave graduation-day testimonies. It was an emotional moment, said IBA director Rafael...
[read more]Race, power and diversity
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Understanding how power works in Mennonite institutions was the theme of “Hope for the Future IV” Jan. 23-24 at Iglesia Menonita Arca de Salvación. The event gathers people of color...
[read more]About Me
