Did Lifewise Academy CEO Joel Penton Mislead the Ohio House of Representatives?
Joel Penton, CEO of Lifewise Academy, testified in support of HB 445. In his testimony, he stated that “almost none of our students miss any class of any kind” by attending a Lifewise class. Joel Penton's testimony made it appear that almost all Lifewise classes are during lunch and recess. This is not true. Many Lifewise programs operate during specials or other instruction time that is not lunch or recess.
In an interview, LifeWise Representative Ben Ruprecht explained how his favorite way for Lifewise to integrate into the school's schedule is when the school administration creates a special class for Lifewise. This scenario also increases Lifewise's enrollment numbers. There are other options, like students missing a class, such as gym, art, or technology. Lastly, he says lunch and recess are options for students to be released from school. If schools take an existing period and
David Chavon, a Lifewise Program Director, said students would miss a class during the school day at Highland Elementary School.
During a video created by Lifewise, Vincent Coleman, Lifewise CityWide Director, spoke about the benefits of Lifewise in the Columbus City School District in Columbus, OH. He stated that one benefit is the smaller class sizes for public school teachers. Coleman said the smaller classroom size allows public school teachers to give more attention to students. Coleman is verifying that students who attend Lifewise are missing instruction time.
When a Lifewise program is started in a school, a decision has to be made about when students will attend. Ohio Revised Code 3313.6022 states, “(6) The student assumes responsibility for any missed schoolwork.” Students who do not attend LifeWise should not have their schedules modified because of Lifewise or other religious classes. If Lifewise classes are scheduled during lunch, recess, or study hall, there is no missed instruction time. We know Lifewise employees push to have Lifewise classes replace existing instruction time. This means students who don't attend Lifewise should receive regular instruction, and those attending Lifewise should be making up the missed work. There are no reports of students who attend Lifewise making up missed work.
Lifewise provides documentation to help schools and the local Lifewise program decide when to hold classes. This document suggests nine different options, none of which are at lunch or recess. A footnote on the document says the Ohio Department of Education has no problem with Lifewise scheduling classes during existing related arts classes. This is Lifewise stating they asked the Ohio Department of Education if students can miss classes.
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Several examples indicate that students are missing specials or that schools are adjusting their schedules to accommodate Lifewise. Integrating Lifewise into the existing specials rotation means students are missing classes that were previously available for instruction time. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5 Example 6 Example 7 Example 8 Example 9 Example 10 Example 11
I think Lifewise pushes for this type of schedule because they know from real-world implementations that enrollment is higher when students can miss a class and not be required to make up any work. Lifewise classes are not graded and have no mandated assessments. Lifewise allows students to miss class, have no responsibilities, or be held accountable for any work. Then Lifewise says students are signing up, and it's a huge success. I know kids who would go to the dentist or doctor to miss school. This isn't the success they think it is. It would be a different story if students had to make up missed work on their own time and parents had to assist with making up the work.
Schools that offer students the opportunity to attend Lifewise during the lunch/recess period face other challenges. Students who receive free/reduced lunches have to pick up their boxed lunch from the cafeteria before leaving the school for Lifewise. This requires the cafeteria staff to have a different lunch process for Lifewise students, which is an extra burden on the school. The Lifewise program in the Northern Local School District (Ohio) made a post on Facebook that the students really miss having a hot lunch and it's a big deal for the students.
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Again, Joel Penton testified before the Ohio House Primary and Secondary Education Committee and stated, “Almost none of our students miss any class of any kind.” This is a false statement. Lifewise's own documentation, presentations by Lifewise program directors, and interviews with employees all state that Lifewise wants classes held during the existing students' class schedules and not during lunch or recess.