“A Culture of Grace and Affirmation” – A Renewed Invitation
Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 11:43AM 
This fall was a time of significant transition at New Hope. From moving to Boxford to planning for new leadership, those of us in the office sometimes feel like we haven’t blinked since September. We’ve partnered together to make Joan’s leave-taking smooth, becoming a wonderful and supportive team to tackle this daunting task, and it was almost a surprise on Thursday when Joan, our primary guru, got into her car and drove away.
I’ll add my voice to the chorus we’ve heard since September: What Joan has done for so many families can never be summed up in words! More than thirteen years ago, Joan caught a vision for enabling homeschoolers to effectively navigate the middle and high-school years, and she hasn’t stopped since. Joan’s tireless work to bring New Hope into creation, to grow it into a strong and established community, and to constantly assess and improve what we do, is a model for me as we go forward. It is her great legacy among New Hopers who will always remember her as a person of vision, kindness, and pastoral love.
One of Joan’s recent gifts to New Hope was to organize a group of parents, tutors, and leadership to discuss and agree upon our Core Values. As a participant, I am gratified that we ultimately agreed that the fundamentals of New Hope were the ones we discussed so much in the early days sitting around Joan’s kitchen table.
For instance, Our Lord Jesus Christ remains the Cornerstone of all we seek to do at New Hope (Core Value #1). Continually becoming a community that loves God and neighbor and that does its work under the Lordship of Christ is our ongoing calling. Additionally, for almost 13 years, New Hope has remained a “Partnership with Parents” (Core Value #2). We are not a school in the traditional sense, and though we have grown more organized about how we run New Hope, we remain the “broker” between parents and other qualified educators. We continue to support home school parents in their honorable and tireless work of educating their children within the life-giving context of family life. I’ll come back to #3 in a moment. Finally, “The Great Ideas” (#4) and “Integrity” (#5) have been at the heart of our vision and mission from the very beginning.
Though upholding the above core values presented certain challenges, nurturing a “Culture of Grace and Affirmation” (Core Value #3) is what we have spent the most time discussing, praying about, and attempting to foster. Creating a culture of grace which runs across the whole community requires constant vigilance and commitment.
The first hurdle this fall has simply been finding space for non-tutorial interaction. Pretty simple, right? You can’t have strong community if you don’t spend time together! The great irony of this wonderful new space is that we have so much of it and yet have been pressed for classrooms during key times in our schedule. As many of you know, an ongoing project of the fall was to get clearance for use of the two second floor rooms in our building, an effort which has proven a dead end in the short term. The cost of build-out is exorbitant for both New Hope and First Congregational Church of Boxford, putting that project off for possible future consideration.
We are blessed, however, to be working with such flexible and accommodating folks at the church and Boxford Academy. When it became clear that the two second floor rooms were out, we immediately came to an agreement to use two classrooms in the other building and to create storage space above the office. This allowed us to take down the “Annex” (temporary classroom in the main hall) and to open up this beautiful sunlit space to students and parents.
New Hope has always been a meeting place, and from the very beginning homeschoolers celebrated the friendships fostered here. Kids love coming to New Hope to build relationships where they are honored, respected, and encouraged to be both “themselves” and who they are “called to become”. Likewise, parents have always made connections at New Hope, giving and receiving help in the exceedingly challenging task of educating their children at home through the middle and/or high school years.
To continue that legacy, we have sought in the last few weeks to transform the hall into a meeting place, a setting for building and strengthening our community. As you may have heard, the students recently created a “hang-out” space, sectioning off their corner with tables and our new movable walls. We are looking into getting rugs and beanbags to make life a little more comfortable, enhancing this “hangout.” In the past few weeks, I’ve seen that space packed to the gills with students who are laughing, playing games and creatively entertaining peers and tutors alike. I’ve also been thrilled to see more and more parents working at tables, enjoying a cup of coffee, or chatting with a member of our staff.
Let me end by inviting the community to spend time in our “New Hope Hall.” Students in study hall are invited to inhabit the “hang-out” corner. Feel free to bring food, chat, play games, celebrate birthdays, and generally enjoy one another. Parents, you too are invited to come for a meeting or an informal coffee date. Come, sit, bless us with your presence, and help us make New Hope again that meeting place where a “Culture of Grace and Affirmation” can be fostered and strengthened.
Reader Comments (4)
Thank you, Mr. Westrate, for your thoughtful comments on how we can be a culture of grace and affirmation. I have deeply felt these values lived out among the students, families and staff in my time back at New Hope this fall!
Well said, Mr. Westrate. It has always been such a pleasure to watch community develop among the students outside of class. I'm pleased that the new space cannot only accommodate this need, but really foster it. Charlotte Mason's motto was, "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life," and this new student corner will surely help to enhance the atmosphere we provide for our scholars.
"New Hope has always been a meeting place, and from the very beginning homeschoolers celebrated the friendships fostered here. "
Yes, for many students it serves as a "de facto youth group," and it serves some parents as a support group. The unity & energy in the New Hope community never cease to buoy my spirits whether I'm tutoring or visiting. Joan has entrusted a magnificent mantle to you Chris . . . I know you will "wear it well" for the glory of God and the benefit of the New Hope family :)
Thank you for your comments Mr. Drummond, Mrs. Wassell and Mrs. Libert. I'm encouraged, and I look forward to continuing the conversation about genuine Christian community. We will be bringing students into this conversation first thing in January.