Dr. Randy Martinez of J.B. Sutton Elementary School: A Title I Principal Works Hard to Create Community and Provide Learning Amidst Challenges

The return of "What About?" Wednesdays! Text us your questions for apologist and pastor Robby Lashua!For twelve years, Northwest Christian School has been involved in an annual, school-wide "Missions Learning" effort:  providing Hope to families in what is arguably the neediest public school district in the state, the Isaac School District.  All those years ago, it started with J.B. Sutton Elementary and a campaign to provide several dozen Thanksgiving meal food boxes for Sutton families that needed it most.  Over time, the effort has grown to envelope twelve different schools within a campaign that encompasses 1,500 Thanksgiving meals valuing $60K, Christmas gifts for students in three different schools, and countless volunteer hours in which Northwest Christian students are serving Sutton students, families, and teachers.The effort has grown to include dynamic partnerships as well.  The Legacy Foundation is the largest non-profit foundation in Arizona and they have worked closely with Crusader student leaders to write grant proposals that have yielded financial grants as well as access to the Working Poor Tax Credit--both of which complement the generosity of Crusader families.  This year, the campaign will be coupled with the Avondale campus of Christ's Church of the Valley--pointing the families on the receiving end  of the Sutton Project blessings to CCV Avondale as an avenue to find true hope in Christ.Our guest within this episode of Kingdom Culture Conversations is Dr. Randy Martinez who has served as the principal for Sutton for the last four years.  Martinez is a charismatic catalyst who refuses to acknowledge the many challenges in his community--poverty, language barriers, COVID-19--as anything more than the opportunity to dig deeper and work harder to create family-like community with staff and students and provide authentic learning during a time characterized by pandemic-driven learning loss.In today's episode, Mr. Brown and Dr. Martinez address all of these things and talk about the enduring relationship between Northwest Christian School and J.B. Sutton Elementary School.To support this effort financially, including the opportunity to take advantage of the Working Poor Tax Credit, please visit:  https://www.ncsaz.org/giving/sutton-projectFor more information on Dr. Martinez, please visit:  https://www.isaacschools.org/o/jbbes/page/meet-the-principalTo learn about J.B. Sutton Elementary, visit:  https://www.isaacschools.org/o/jbbesFor more information on the Isaac School District, visit:  https://www.isaacschools.org/"Kingdom Culture Conversations" is a podcast created through Frameworks, a Biblical worldview initiative of Northwest Christian School.For more information on Frameworks, please visit:  https://frameworks.ncsaz.org/For more information on Northwest Christian School, visit:  https://www.ncsaz.org/ "Kingdom Culture Conversations" is a podcast created by Northwest Christian School in Phoenix, Arizona.For more information on Northwest Christian School, visit:  https://www.ncsaz.org/To reach out to Geoff Brown, please email [email protected] or you can reach him by cell phone:  (623)225-5573.