Christian School Opens on Seminole Reservation - Brief Article

HOLLYWOOD, FL-When Chickee (Seminole for "house") Christian Academy opened its doors in October 2000, it marked a milestone. For the first time, Seminole and other Native youngsters had the option of obtaining a Christian education in a school right in their own backyard.

Even more of a distinction, of the three nations (Seminole, Miccosukee and Creek) located on eight reservations throughout Florida, Hollywood boasts of the only Christian school located on a Native reserve.

Rev. Arlen Payne, headmaster and pastor of Chickee Baptist Church, also located on. the reservation, and under whose auspices the school operates, states, "I saw a great need. I felt led of the Lord to open a culturally relevant Christian school. For the first time, Native youngsters could receive an education in a setting that respects their customs, and is sensitive to reservation lifestyle."

The pastor took his revelation to the church's Board of Directors during their annual business meeting back in March 2000. The membership agreed that such a school was needed, but the obstacles seemed insurmountable. There was the matter of space. Where would they house the students? And they would need the basics of furniture, supplies, and textbooks.

There was little money for such a venture. But a Bible-believing Baptist pastor such as Arlen Payne did not let the odds deter him. He believes that when God reveals something to you that He wants you to do, you just do it.

So, taking one small step at a time, he opened his small office--a tiny room in a single-wide modular structure--and welcomed his first student. He gleaned some materials from a similar institution, still not knowing how he would fund his own school.

God rewarded his faith and things began to happen--items he wished aloud for suddenly were donated. Bookcases, to be precise. The exact color he wanted. And in mint condition.

Then the Tribal Office allowed him to lease the modular buildings once occupied by the Tribal Education Office. The matter of furnishings was largely taken care of when a school similar to his advertised that it was closing its doors, and giving away all of their furniture and supplies. All Rev. Payne would have to do was state his circumstances, if the school's Board of Directors chose him, he could have all the stuff for free. Chickee Christian Academy won the nod.

Although the academy opened in September of 2000, the formal dedication did not take place until April 10, 2001 when the facility had become better furnished. The academy was dedicated to Gladys W. Wigden and H. Pepper Harris, two missionaries who have given the past 34 years of their lives to helping the Seminole people. Most Christians on all the reservations attribute their coming to faith and spiritual growth to those two faithful women.

Chickee Christian Academy was off and running. The news about its School of Tomorrow curriculum and individualized format quickly spread around the reservation. Enrollment soon swelled to capacity. Visitors were stopping in, with children in tow. They observed the quiet intensity of the students in their assigned carrels. Each worked from individualized prescribed packets--called PACES--for each of the basic subjects.

"The basis for the school is two-fold," Rev Payne states. "Firstly, it is distinctly Christian. Principles are Bible-based and are taught througout the curriculum. The students have daily devotionals, which include time for Bible study and prayer."

"Secondly," he states, the school provides a culturally sensitive environment. Students will observe events that are relevant to them, such as funerals in the community and Native American Day in the fall."

Believing that self-esteem is also important, Rev. Payne further states, "They are also taught Mikasuki, their native language, by a Native speaker. And we will be phasing in a Native crafts class. They need to know that they matter as individuals, and that their culture matters. This curriculum is designed to reinforce those concepts."

Though the school is currently serving only Native youth, the headmaster and pastor is quick to add that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity or gender. "We're a Christian school, and we practice what we preach. All are welcome here."

Rev. Payne also explains that students who have met with failure in other settings generally experience success in the ungraded, self-instructional, individualized program. That success is ensured partly by the administering of a diagnostic test to all students before they enter, to determine their academic levels. They then begin where they can perform and progress at their own pace. "Youc an see the lights go on in their heads as they grasp information that confounded them before," he says.

"There is little room for failure, if they apply themselves," states KiKi Schaller, who assists Rev. Payne. "If they don't do well on something, they are given the help they need until they master it." She further states that the program returns education to the basics, and to its Biblical roots. "It stresses character development, responsibility, and accountability," she adds.

Schaller, a member of the Cherokee Confederacy Tribe, is a former educator in the public schools of Palm Beach County. She holds a Masters degree, and is an independent consultant and instructor, who manages the school's cultural programs. Through the component, students participate in art shows, dramatic presentations, and field trips. The school also has two managers, a monitor, and an itinerant language instructor.

Rev. Payne expects the school to continue growing. "We want all of the reservation kids to come here, so that they can take advantage of what we have to offfer," he says.

But that would take more teachers, a larger facility, more personnel, more equipment and supplies. But that doesn't worry this man of God. With his bulldog faith, all of that is sure to come in due time.

K.B. Schaller is a freelance writer/photographer living in Plantation, Florida, a few miles from the Seminole Indian Reservation, who specializes in articles of interest to Native readers.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Intertribal Christian Communications
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group