When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, ² and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”

³ Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”

⁴ Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. ⁵ Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of^[b] the builders.

⁶ So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. – Nehemiah 4:1-6

I’ve been involved with education and education reform since I graduated from college in 2006. Back then, charter schools were new and No Child Left Behind was major bipartisan legislation that was meant to shine a light on performance on all students, increasing transparency and removing, as President Bush said at the time, “the soft bigotry of low expectations.”

People still don’t understand charter schools. They believe they are taking away resources from public schools when, in fact, they are public schools. They trade increased autonomy for increased accountability. They are schools of choice, meaning they are open to any child in the district. They try to succeed in areas where the predominant neighborhood schools have not. If they don’t, they are shut down.

In Tennessee, if the local district does not view a charter favorably, they can deny them the ability to operate. The school can appeal to the state. There are politics involved. If the state approves the school on appeal, it can operate, but in many cases, the most suitable buildings to operate a school inside of the district are owned by the same district that didn’t want them to begin with. They can deny access to the school by not leasing or not selling the property to the charter organization.

That’s what is happening currently in Binghampton. I’m biased for Drew Sippel and his team at Lester Prep because I know them. I know how much they care and are working to improve the educational and life outcomes of their students and their community. They are seeing results but were denied by the local district for charter renewal. However, they were approved by the state. So far, the district has not been willing to engage in leasing or selling their current space. The local school board rep does not want them around.

I’m reminded of Nehemiah and his decision to keep working despite those nearby, those with local power and influence, working to sabotage his efforts in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. Tonight, I lift up the same determined spirit for the Cornerstone Prep and Lester Middle School community to the Lord. May their work continue, not in vain, but with support from above. Lord, we ask for softened hearts to listen to the requests of this school organization. We pray for a home for the students and faculty that bears fruit. We pray for a transformed community, where health and improved outcomes are evident based on the work of this group.

Lord, encourage those working for good and seeking Your will. Bless Capstone Education and Drew Sippel’s leadership. Open the doors You want them to walk through.

In Your Name, amen.