BVCHEA

 

 

December 30, 2005

 

RE: OPEN LETTER FROM THE BVCHEA PRESIDENT

 

Fellow Home Schooling Families,

 

I wanted to take a few moments to share with you some significant changes the BVCHEA Board of Directors recently made to our by-laws. We prayed, discussed, sought counsel and then made changes that we believe can transform BVCHEA into an organization of excellence. Obviously, we cannot do this alone and will need your prayers and help, but I am encouraged by the thought of what we could do together. Our new by-laws explain not only the mission and purpose of BVCHEA, but also our structure and chain of accountability. I strongly encourage you to visit www.bvchea.org to review the new by-laws for yourself. I would, however, like to highlight one important change in this letter.

 

The major change to the by-laws is the establishment and definition of formal membership. For several years, there has not been membership in BVCHEA, only affiliation. This loose structure has made it difficult to build community and a spirit of cooperation among the home schoolers of the Brazos Valley, and did not always lend itself to excellence or accountability. I am excited to say that we will be pursuing these two attributes under the new by-laws. Now, some of you may be adverse to the idea of filling out a membership application (available on the website) and paying another fee, but membership will enable us to continue and/or establish enrichment opportunities for your students. We've listed the many benefits to membership on the website, but the main benefit is the ability to be a part of the Christian home school community through our activities and events. Again, I want to reference you to the website for a list activities and events that are upcoming. Further, the Membership fees are only $20 per year, per family, so as not to be burdensome. Let's face it, most of us pay something close to that for a trip to a fast food restaurant!

 

Lastly, I want to assure you that we are seeking to remake BVCHEA into an organization that homeschoolers can be proud of. I know this will take great effort and patience on all our parts but I believe whole-heartedly that it can be done. So, whether your experience has been positive or negative with BVCHEA in the past, I would ask you to pray for us and come along side us to do a great thing for the home school community in our area. My heart is for the Christian home schooling community to let our light shine brightly as we train our children in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. My prayer is that we would be united based on our mutual love for our Savior and our children. As Jesus told us in John 13:35 that all will know we are His disciples by our love for one another, so let us strive for being His. My hope is that you will join me in looking ahead, not behind, so that we can move forward in this new light.

 

Respectfully,

 

Douglas E. Platt
Chairman, Brazos Valley Christian Home Educators Association
PO Box 11397, College Station, TX 77842
Web: www.bvchea.org       E-mail: info@bvchea.org