Schoolbox: Startup program for Christian schools nears 30,000 students

A nationwide program that helps people launch Christian schools is serving over 27,000 students this school year and is expected to continue growing.

The Herzog Foundation’s Schoolbox has launched 763 schools – ranging from hybrid schools, micro schools, farm schools and more – in its four years of operation. With 94% of those schools still open, Schoolbox Director Jonathan Edmondson says he doesn’t see the market for Christian schools closing anytime soon. 

“People are being innovative, pushing the boundaries of what school could mean or needs to mean, and that’s important to differentiate these schools from each other, from what already exists and from options parents have,” Edmondson told Heartlander News, which is published by the Herzog Foundation.

Schools typically have a maximum number of students they don’t want to exceed in order to preserve the school’s culture, Edmondson explained, so as more students choose Christian school, the demand for more schools grows as well.

School doesn’t have to look like the traditional model, Edmondson adds, and over half the Schoolbox schools don’t meet five days a week.

The variety is also important in light of the limitations of public education.

“It really is an unrealistic expectation for a public school, as broad as they are, to be able to meet every kid where they’re at and get them into a situation where they can educationally thrive,” Missouri Rep. Josh Hurlbert, R-Smithville, told Heartlander News.

“Parents have to be empowered to make those educational choices for what best fits their kid.”

Edmondson said he talked with a kindergarten student who had just started public school and her overwhelming reaction was that school is boring. She sits in a classroom all day, which is something she’s not used to.

“Hearing that school is so boring already for a 5-year-old really stinks, and I think a lot of parents feel that same disconnect between what school could be and the joy that their children have in learning at home.”

EdChoice’s 14th annual Schooling in America (SIA) survey revealed that parents who send their children to private school are more satisfied with their schooling than parents whose children go to traditional public schools.

“People are looking at education, thinking about what is the most valuable thing, and it’s beyond just regurgitating information and sitting in a classroom,” Edmondson said.

Schoolbox started 67 schools in its first year, 2023, and 271 schools have launched for the 2026-27 school year. Edmondson said he’d like to see at least 300 schools start up next year, and more than 100 have already signed up.

For more information on the program, visit HFSchoolBox.com.