Amish Takeover? How the Amish Quietly Transformed an Entire Public School District

Assumed to be a timeless relic of the past, the Amish are a dynamic, rapidly expanding community who are remaking rural America in their own image. (Photo by Gadjoboy on Wikimedia Commons)

The Amish have embraced public education and are remaking it in their own image. In Holmes County, Ohio several public elementary schools now cater exclusively to the community. The Pledge of Allegiance has been ditched in favor of morning prayers while the school’s administration works with an Amish Advisory Board to ensure the curriculum aligns with the community’s needs. Lesson plans must align with Amish beliefs which means there’s no mention of evolution during science class. Homework is never assigned unless absolutely necessary to avoid conflicting with the chores and farm work many Amish children carry out after school. It’s a far cry from the one-room schoolhouses that have served as a defining pillar of Amish society and their steadfast rejection of modernity. But for many Amish parents Amishcentric public schooling represents the best of both worlds allowing them to tap into the vastly superior resources of the state while still upholding the values of the community.

Even more interesting is that this seemingly flagrant disregard of the separation of church and state has generated next to no controversy or pushback. Like much of rural America, Holmes County has endured decades of population decline and falling enrollment in local schools. The local school district actively courted the Amish…