Bahá’í school
A Bahá’í school at its simplest would be a school run officially by the Bahá’í institutions in its jurisdiction and may be a local class or set of classes, normally run weekly where children get together to study about Bahá’í teachings, Central Figures, or Bahá’í administration but often seek to serve the community and may minimize such topics in favor of an academic strength, often with a internationalist form often with accreditation from a variety of sources. Examples include Maxwell International School and the Nancy Campbell Collegiate Institute in Canada, the Townshend International School in the Czech Republic, or the New Era High School in India. Bahá’í membership is not required. In Iran, where the persecution of Bahá’ís routinely leads to their expulsion from universities and other forms of higher education, a sophisticated University-like institution has arisen to fill the gap: the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education.
In recent years, a trend away from central schools in favour of neighbourhood children's classes has taken hold in most Bahá’í communities, at the urging of the Universal House of Justice. This is not meant to replace central schools but to provide spiritual education on a local basis. In some communities this has resulted in the closing of a central "Sunday school", while in others, both approaches are maintained.
