St. John’s Antigua- The Baptist Academy has responded to questions posed by four parents querying the reason why their children will not be readmitted into the educational institution for the next school year.

At least four families have been affected and, of those, two parents went public.

The first was a father, Kendall Samuels, who penned a letter indicating that, though his four-year-old son maintained an A average and was awarded for high academic achievements, his contract was not renewed.

A day later, a mother told OBSERVER Media her child too suffered the same fate.

Principle of the institution, Dr Hensworth Jonas, in a letter to OBSERVER Media, claims the few parents considered to be “not a good fit” for the school presented a variety of challenges. They included, he said, a clash in philosophy or methodology of education, or an adversarial and ungodly disposition in their dealings with the administration and staff.

The principle claims some parents are attempting to undermine the efforts of the ministry.

He also cited situations where there are students with special needs for which the school is not equipped to provide. Dr Jonas accused some families too of unwillingness to adopt the school’s religious commitments.

The principle continued, “It should be clear by now that attending the Baptist Academy of Antigua is not a right, but a great privilege.

“It should also be clear that our priorities are more than financial or even the academic performance of the children, for we are not a business, but an agency of a conservative Baptist church and ministry, affirming the reformed faith.”

He said the high value of a Baptist Academy education should be obvious to all.

“It does not surprise us that the affected families now have some regrets about their loss of access to our programme.”

Dr Jonas warned parents and guardians to assess their attitudes and actions, for such matters can affect families’ access to the programme.

“Over the years, the overwhelming majority of our parents and guardians have been exemplary in their conduct and in their support of the priorities and programmes of the school. We are determined to be true to our motto, ‘academic excellence with Biblical values’,” the principle added.

Tags: academic performance | academy education | baptist academy | conservative baptist church | dr jonas | reformed faith | religious commitments | students with special needs