In an era marked by plummeting test scores, political division in school boards, and rising distrust in public education, a bold new vision has emerged from the Heritage Foundation. Released in March, the Phoenix Declaration offers seven guiding principles for renewing K-12 education in America—principles that call not merely for reform, but for restoration.
As one of the members of the drafting committee, Dr. Donald W. Sweeting explains it clearly: “The Phoenix Declaration is a statement of principles calling for the renewal and strengthening of American schools.”
As the Chancellor of Colorado Christian University and a respected theologian, educator, and former seminary president, Sweeting brought both pastoral care and academic clarity to the drafting process. He is also the son of the late Dr. George Sweeting, a prominent voice within the evangelical movement, former president of Moody Bible Institute, and former NRB board member.
Born of months of collaboration among policymakers, educators, and thought leaders, the Declaration doesn’t simply critique what’s broken—it casts a compelling vision for what education should be.
“Education is the cornerstone of individual opportunity, family flourishing, and national prosperity,” Sweeting said. “We believe in permanent things—transcendent values that should guide the formation of souls and minds.”
By invoking classical ideals of “the good, the true, the beautiful,” the Declaration reaches beyond curriculum standards to address the moral and intellectual formation of young people. Sweeting believes these values are necessary for a thriving civilization and increasingly appealing even to secular thinkers: “We’re seeing an intellectual awakening.”
He warns that education divorced from these values leads not only to cultural confusion but moral collapse. “What’s happened in the West,” he explains, “is we got rid of the religious part, then we got rid of the character part, and now we’re even getting rid of excellence and merit.”
Rather than outlining policy prescriptions, the Phoenix Declaration offers seven foundational principles to guide reform. Sweeting speaks of them not as a checklist, but as a holistic framework built on truth, character, and liberty.
He begins with the conviction that parents must be placed back at the center of education. “Parents are the primary educators of children and should have the freedom to make decisions about their kids’ education,” he said. That foundational belief, he argues, sets the stage for every other reform. From there, transparency and accountability must follow. Schools, Sweeting says, have too often hidden curricula and policies from the very families they serve.
“Students should learn there’s objective truth,” he said, “and that good and evil exist and subjects like science should be grounded in reality, not ideology.”
Dr. Sweeting also stresses that education must involve transmitting the cultural heritage that has shaped Western civilization. This includes America’s founding principles, the Judeo-Christian tradition, and what Matthew Arnold called “the best which has been thought and said.” Without this, students graduate unmoored from history and unprepared for citizenship. Academic rigor, he believes, cannot be sacrificed, emphasizing that students must leave with real mastery, not vague credentials.
“Information without moral formation is insufficient,” Sweeting said. “Cultivating virtues and discipline is necessary for self-governance.”
Dr. Sweeting is actively working to bring the Phoenix Declaration to national attention. He has written to President Trump’s domestic policy advisor, urging the administration to formally adopt the Declaration as a guiding framework for education reform. Several states have already shown strong interest and support.
He sees this as the beginning of a larger movement. He hopes the Declaration will eventually spark a similar renewal in colleges and universities across the country.
“We’re seeing a collective wake-up call,” Sweeting said. “Now is the time.”
For Christian communicators and media professionals, the Phoenix Declaration offers both a message and a mission. By supporting schools aligned with biblical truth and academic excellence, Christian broadcasters can use their platforms to educate audiences, highlight successful models, amplify parent voices, and create space for serious conversations about the future of American education.
In doing so, they become more than media professionals—they become catalysts for national renewal.
Read the full declaration from The Heritage Foundation at this link.
Colorado Christian University has been an NRB member since 2016.