At long last, NBC News has found and reported on content it deems objectionable for public school kids. Not porn-adjacent or grooming-adjacent materials, or lurid novels with graphic descriptions of rape…but Bible education that is held offsite so as not to conflict with existing rules.
Of course, it’s Antonia Hylton:
ANTONIA HYLTON: As classmates head to the library, this group of Whitehall School District students in Ohio put on matching shirts and board a bus and head half a mile down the road to church. There, elementary students like Emanuel and Savannah Brady pray --
CHILDREN: Amen.
HYLTON: And study Scripture. This is LifeWise academy, a nonprofit bringing the Bible back into the public school day.
CHILD: The learning really helps you learn about Jesus and what happened in the past.
HYLTON: How popular would you say it is at school?
CHILD: Mainly, like, the whole class is, like, over at LifeWise.
HYLTON: LifeWise started in 2018 with two schools. Today it partners with more than 300 schools in a dozen states. It's funded by private donations, and it's legal, so long as it's optional, off campus, and not during essential classes like math. Though to some it represents an increasingly blurry line between the separation of church and state. Doug Shoemaker, a Whitehall administrator, says the district has allowed this kind of program for decades.
DOUG SHOEMAKER: We neither discourage participation or reward or encourage it.
HYLTON: Dad Darryl Brady says LifeWise lessons positively motivate Emanuel and Savannah. Do you think church has a place in school?
DARRYL BRADY: I mean, we're trying to bring churches back into schools for a long time.
HYLTON: Some of these sessions take place when library periods would be happening in school. Are you worried about your kids missing out on that experience?
BRADY: Not at all. I mean, there’s 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament.
“Bringing the Bible BACK into a public school day” is a bridge too far for Hylton, who in the past, and among many other things, has:
- Misrepresented public school industry advocates as “concerned parents” for purposes of cheapshotting Prager U
- Protested policies implemented by duly elected conservative school board members
- Triggered a federal investigation into a conservative school district
- Protested the removal of inappropriate LGBTQ-themed books from school districts
Never mind that privately-funded LifeWise is busing the students offsite, and does their instruction so as not to conflict with core subjects such as reading or math. The idea of exposing elementary school students to something other than 57 genders and graphically-illustrated how-tos appears to be a bright red line for Hylton. The clear tell here is in her protestations of the students doing LifeWise during library periods, which is exactly where students are most likely to get exposed to the groomy stuff.
Hylton goes on to decry the nefarious tactics resorted to by LifeWise in order to incentivize growth and further attendance, such as…ice cream and popcorn parties?
What we witnessed, and watched so you don't have to, is not serious journalism. This is leftist indoctrination advocacy disguised as journalism- and a tantrum over the left’s ongoing loss of influence in public education.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on NBC Nightly News on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024:
LESTER HOLT: Back now with our NBC News exclusive. A group in Ohio has been allowed to bring Bible study to public school students during the school day, but there are critics who fear it's eroding the boundaries between church and state. Here is Antonia Hylton.
ANTONIA HYLTON: As classmates head to the library, this group of Whitehall School District students in Ohio put on matching shirts and board a bus and head half a mile down the road to church. There, elementary students like Emanuel and Savannah Brady pray --
CHILDREN: Amen.
HYLTON: And study Scripture. This is LifeWise academy, a nonprofit bringing the Bible back into the public school day.
CHILD: The learning really helps you learn about Jesus and what happened in the past.
HYLTON: How popular would you say it is at school?
CHILD: Mainly, like, the whole class is, like, over at LifeWise.
HYLTON: LifeWise started in 2018 with two schools. Today it partners with more than 300 schools in a dozen states. It's funded by private donations, and it's legal, so long as it's optional, off campus, and not during essential classes like math. Though to some it represents an increasingly blurry line between the separation of church and state. Doug Shoemaker, a Whitehall administrator, says the district has allowed this kind of program for decades.
DOUG SHOEMAKER: We neither discourage participation or reward or encourage it.
HYLTON: Dad Darryl Brady says LifeWise lessons positively motivate Emanuel and Savannah. Do you think church has a place in school?
DARRYL BRADY: I mean, we're trying to bring churches back into schools for a long time.
HYLTON: Some of these sessions take place when library periods would be happening in school. Are you worried about your kids missing out on that experience?
BRADY: Not at all. I mean, there’s 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament.
HYLTON: Founder Joel Penton said he saw a growing need, including those unable to afford private Christian schools. In this area about 50% of the students take part in LifeWise. What do you think that means for the other 50%? Do I don't think they feel left out?
JOEL PENTON: I wouldn't characterize it that way. Kids go different directions all the time. On the playground, some kids play kick ball. Other kids will go to the monkey bars.
HYLTON: This is a little different because these kids are going to physically be gone.
PENTON: Sure. I mean, hopefully LifeWise is an attractive thing that people will want to participate in, but we certainly don't ever want to put any undue pressure.
HYLTON: But Ohio mom Sarah Meyers says that LifeWise does exert pressure. She’s a Christian with a daughter in a school partnering with them. She won't ever let her take part, though.
SARAH MYERS: It is all above board until it's not. No school staff person does anything until they do.
HYLTON: Chapters promised ice cream or popcorn parties if kids got their friends to sign up. Another Ohio mom sent NBC News this note her child received from a classmate on LifeWise letterhead, prewritten to say "My favorite part of class is…,writing, “everything”, and inviting the child to join LifeWise. LifeWise told NBC news that like many youth groups, they offer incentives for students and families to learn more, and that they are no different from other organizations that advocate for the policies they believe in. What do you think LifeWise is trying to do?
MYERS: Influence, slant, if you will, public schools.
HYLTON: Joel says he pays little attention to critics.
PENTON: In the United States, there are 13,000 public school districts. There are 50 million public school students.
HYLTON: And he hopes to make Biblical lessons available to every one of them. Antonia Hylton, NBC News, Columbus, Ohio.
