The religious affiliation of the founders of the school, 12 mothers from the same church - is the Unification Church, but it is not a church school and no religion classes are offered. Nevertheless, the Unification Church (and its founder Sun Myung Moon) is controversial. The school was set up using a "community of religions" model of allowing expression of faith instead of banning them. Most of the students and even most of the faculty are not Unification Church members.[1] Rather they represent a variety of religious beliefs and practices. The school is legally independent of the Unification Church, governed by a board of directors set up by the founding mothers, which consists of people who have varying current relationships to the Unification Church as well as members of other religions.[4][5]
Challenges
The aging building, a former public elementary school built in the 1940s, had a leaky roof until a second mortgage was taken out in 2003 to pay for $600,000 in renovations which included replacing the roof, various upgrades, automated library services, and a new science lab.[6] Even so, not every physical aspect of the school was renovated, but the school as part of its mission to serve Prince George's County deliberately seeks to keep tuition costs low.[7]
References
^ ab"Dream school gives parents New Hope", by Nicole Barnes, Journal staff writer, Prince George's Journal, Feb. 25, 2000
^Home. New Hope Academy. Retrieved on August 26, 2018. "New Hope Academy 7009 Varnum Street Hyattsville MD"
