A Pennsylvania Pastor Leads His Community’s Fight for Educational Freedom

Originally published at Reason

Pastor Joshua Robertson didn’t set out to become a leader in the educational freedom movement, but when his community called, he answered.

It was several calls, in fact. In spring 2020, Robertson’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing. “I was receiving 40–50 calls from parents every single day,” says Robertson, the senior pastor of The Rock Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

These were the early days of the COVID-19 lockdowns. The move to remote learning gave parents a closer look at their children’s schooling—and they didn’t like what they saw.

“All these parents were venting about the school system,” Robertson recalls. “They would say to me, ‘My kid is smart. I can’t understand why they’re not doing well academically.’ Then throw in the violence in our schools. You’re talking about kids who are in fistfights every other day.” 

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