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                                        THE LAUNCHING OF ACSINY


New York Christian School Leader,
It is with great anticipation that we send this initial email newsletter to you, the Christian school community of New York. In several areas across the Northeast Region of ACSI we have been working collaboratively to build networks enabling Christian Schools to be more informed, organized in working with other private school leaders in the state, and with the state legislative bodies and state Departments of Education. We have found that the timing seems right and there is a sense that this is a movement of God for such a time as this (Esther, 4:14). Many schools have engaged. We have had great success in both Pennsylvania and in Maryland. After an initial meeting of over thirty interested ACSI administrators at the NY Independent and Private Schools Conference this fall, we have accomplished a great deal.

There is now a website established (www.acsiny.org), a database to help manage our work with Christian schools to facilitate quick and efficient communication, a group of school administrators committed to be leaders (ACSINY Leaders) to help organize our efforts, and a great relationship and plan to be a part of effective strategies with key leaders in NY. This first email newsletter contains a way for you to help get the Christian school community more strategically involved in the efforts to pass the NY Education Tax Credit.

IF YOU ONLY HAVE TIME TO SKIM THIS NEWSLETTER, PLEASE SKIP TO THE TIMELY LEGISLATIVE ACTION ALERT BELOW WHICH WE NEED TO GET TO OUR SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES BEFORE THE GOVERNOR INTRODUCES HIS BUDGET ON THE 13TH.

However, please take the time to read from our local, regional, and national leaders who have been a part of putting this effort together! I am excited to be working together with you to advance the kingdom in New York!

Dr. D. Merle Skinner, ACSINY Leaders (Administrator, Champion Christian School)

    From the ACSI Regional Director


Welcome to the ACSINY network! You are among those in New York State who have a passion for quality Christian schooling. As the ACSI Director for the Northeast and as a former head of a Christian school in New York, I share your passion. Christian schools have never been more needed in our culture than they are today. In order to preserve the heritage and future of Christian schooling in New York, we have to come together to influence public policy and legislation. On our website you will find tools for yourself and tools that you will be able to share with others in your sphere of influence to accomplish this effort of being informed and impacting public policy. May I strongly encourage you to engage in this process? You are needed....remember the teaching of Solomon taught in Ecclesiastes, if we stand together we will not easily be defeated (Ecclesiastes 4:12). I pray the Lord will bless you in your efforts to support His schools in New York.

John W. Storey, Ed.D., ACSI Northeast Director

    FROM ACSINY Leader, Katie Hills; NYS Education Commissioner's Advisory Council for Nonpublic Schools & Board Member to the NYS Coalition for Independent and Religious Schools (NYS CAPE Affiliate)


The Association of Christian Schools International - New York (ACSINY) is a newly established network consisting of Christian School administrators, faculty members, and concerned individuals who have a heart for Christian education within New York State. Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) has previously established other similar networks in Pennsylvania (ACSIPA) and Maryland (ACSIMD).

ACSINY is committed to these goals:
1. To connect New York Christian School administrators to resources that may benefit their schools, and also to provide collegiate support among the schools which could possibly assist with utilizing available services.
2. To enable New York Christian Schools to receive pertinent information from the New York State Nonpublic School Commission or other reliable Christian and private school resources which will alert schools to upcoming regulations, possible pending legislation, and state wide initiatives while providing a direct opportunity for schools to respond to those issues.
3. To provide opportunities for administrators to network on a deeper level about New York State and Northeastern regional issues.

As your representative on the New York State Nonpublic School Commission, I will send any current concerns that might be pending that will affect our Christian Schools. Thank you for your desire to make our schools ones that will impact our world for God's Kingdom!

Mrs. Katie Hills, Head of School; Loudonville Christian School

    From the ACSI National Director of Government Affairs


It is my great pleasure to welcome you to ACSINY, the state-level entity designed to make your engagement in New York public policy as easy and convenient as possible. We've found that similar efforts in Pennsylvania and Maryland have a powerful multiplier effect, so it is very exciting for us to expand into New York in this way. My principal focus is at the federal level and it has been exciting to see the growing engagement and powerful influence of our schools at the state level thanks to this method of organizing ourselves. We are praying for all of you in New York as we launch out in a new and exciting endeavor. May the Lord add His blessing as we move ahead and trust Him for the results.

P. George Tryfiates, Director for Government Affairs, ACSI National

                        Legislative Alert: ACTION ITEM-RESPOND ASAP


This is our first effort at getting the Christian School community involved more strategically as a collective group in legislative initiatives by encouraging the passage of the New York Education Tax Credit. We believe this credit will benefit Christian schools, businesses, and families in significant ways in NY as it has in other states across the country. The first step is to lend our voices to the increasing amount of positive voices supporting this effort. We are encouraging the Governor to include this once again in this year's budget, and for our local legislators to support it. It is a small but important first step.

We are asking that administrators share the following information with their staff, parents, and wider school communities and to take literally one minute to use our ACSI Voter Voice tool to support the Governor's inclusion in the budget. The following is a sample that you can adjust to suit your own community. You can also find additional information at www.acsiny.org.


Christian School Family,
We are a part of a new network in the state of New York which is working to provide avenues for the Christian school community to become more involved in public policy, and to be a part of raising awareness for the needs of Christian schools in the state. This group is called ACSINY (Association of Christian Schools International-New York) and you can find out more on our website at www.acsiny.org. It is a part of the larger network of private schools, NYAIS (New York Association for Independent Schools). Our first goal is to become a part of a bigger movement of working toward the passage of the Education Tax Credit, and the first step is to encourage the Governor to include it in the budget and for legislators to support it from the beginning. We are asking you to take one minute to visit the ACSINY Voter Voice website to register your support for the credit by sending an email to the Governor and your legislators. It will take just a minute, but will be an important step. Please take a moment to register your opinion at: www.votervoice.net/ACSI/campaigns/43868/respond.