Lifewise Academy says Public Schools are Dark Places
Lifewise rules for their Facebook group say to be respectful of public schools, COO calls schools dark places. Do as I say, not as I do.
Lifewise Academy created a Facebook group for its North Carolina programs to share information. North Carolina State Director Christy Smith posted a video explaining the group and its rules. One rule is to speak respectfully about schools, teachers, and administrators. The group is monitored by corporate, and the official Lifewise Academy Facebook account is listed as an Admin of the group.
A few days later, an interview with Lifewise Academy COO Steve Clifton was posted on YouTube. Clifton referred to public schools as “dark places” and said, “the lights aren’t on.” 90% of students attend public schools. If an interview with the COO can’t be posted in the group, that is all you need to know about Lifewise. The Lifewise State Director had to make the post, indicating they anticipated people saying unkind things about public schools. The majority of churchgoers also attend public schools. Speaking badly about the schools is speaking badly about the teachers and staff who run them. These are the same people who attend churches. Lifewise CEO Joel Penton joked about abolishing public schools. From the top down, Lifewise views public schools as harmful.
Never mind that Lifewise has hired staff who were later convicted of abusing minors. Lifewise serves 62,000 students out of the 50+ million in the country, 0.1% of students, yet it still acts like public schools are a scourge on society. Lifewise fought in court to block the release of documents indicating Lifewise completed full background checks on staff. The hypocrisy at Lifewise is thick.
Lifewise is using the public schools, not helping them.