As parents of two Aletheia students who have attended for three years now, I have a profound sense of gratitude for the many teachers, administrators, classmates, and fellow parents that have made it an encouraging and safe environment for academic learning, spiritual development, and athletic competition. Our gratitude also extends to the many people who have come before me to invest in the success of Aletheia as an institution. We realize that creating, building, and sustaining an organization for over three decades is no small task, and the hard work and sacrifice of the founders and contributors along the way that have made this possible have laid a foundation for success.

Recent events, however, have brought into question the effectiveness of the governance structure that is in place and its ability to navigate this organization into a new era of growth and success. Chief among the concerns is transparency. There is no published list of members and officers of the Board of Directors, no access to bylaws or other governing documents, and little to no communication from the board or its officers. The recent decision of the board to replace the Administrator of the school has generated significant backlash from parents. The board’s decision to terminate the Administrator came as a complete surprise, and the unceremonious and lackluster communication sent to parents informing them of a new Administrator has been met with shock and anger.

The Administrator is the face of the organization. He is the one who communicates directly with parents, the one who greets each child by name as he or she enters the school each morning, and the one who communicates the vision and plans for the organization to its most invested members. The board, on the other hand, is completely unknown to the parents. It is both distant and silent, not making itself known and not showing genuine concern for the ones who currently comprise the Aletheia family.

We have been reminded repeatedly that excellence is the goal of our organization in everything we do. The current makeup and actions of the board do not reflect this same commitment to excellence. If Aletheia is to be excellent, then the board of directors must pursue excellence. It is against best practices to have a board that is not connected with its organization’s stakeholders. It is against best practice to have a board without term limits that has remained largely unchanged since its founding. It is against best practice to have undue influence from a single family. It is against best practice to operate with no transparency.

As parents, Christians, and members of the community, we want to see Aletheia excel. In order for this to happen, we believe that significant changes must take place. Here are some recommendations that we believe would have a positive impact on how Aletheia is governed, would establish trust with current and prospective parents, and would honor the original vision and mission of Aletheia Christian Academy:

1. Mr. Jordan Laxton should be immediately reinstated to his position of school administrator 
2. The board should immediately publish a list of directors, officers, and governing documents.
3. The board should identify and utilize training resources to assess the current board structure, policies, and practices. There are resources available through ACSI (https://your.acsi.org/flourishing-board Other resources include ISM (https://www.isminc.com/ and NAIS (https://www.nais.org/ It may be necessary to purchase materials or to enlist the help of a consultant.
4. The board should consider adding additional board members as a strategy for decentralization of power and diversification of skill and thought.
5. The board should consider ways to include parents in the decision-making process by the addition of parent representatives on the board, or by implementing other appropriate measures found by researching best practices.
6. The board should implement term limits for officers and board members to align with best practices and encourage a vibrant and healthy organization. Consideration could be given for creating emeritus positions and/or staggering terms during a transition period.
7. The board should clearly define and publish the goals and responsibilities of the board for transparency, clarity, and accountability.