Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Hang in There!

Dr. Tim Sierer
MACSA President
Headmaster, The Christian Academy



“Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
The Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
And His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
And increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:28-29


Growing ‘tired or weary’ as we draw close to the end of another school year is not uncommon nor an indicator that we are somehow sub-par or sub-standard. It is simply an unpleasant fact and part of the teaching profession. Come mid-May we are physically, and in some cases emotionally, spent from a year of investing ourselves into the lives of our students. Frankly, I would be more concerned if you as a classroom teacher had reached this point in the year and were not feeling that way. I would then ask, “What have you been doing?”

As we drag ourselves out of bed each morning to face another day, we can do so knowing that our strength comes not from ourselves but from the very Creator of the universe. We can face the day knowing that He will provide the strength, energy and wisdom to deal with whatever lies before us. Because of Him, we are able to finish this year strong knowing that He has enabled us for each task that we encounter. What better way to end a school year than to know that we are spent, physically and emotionally, because of investing ourselves into the lives of our students.

HANG IN THERE - the blood, sweat and tears of today will result in great joy when we see what God has done with those seeds planted into your students during this year!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

An end of the year check-up – looking back, looking forward

As originally posted on Nuturing Faith blog (May 19, 2009)
Click here to view the original post.

For most of us it’s time to put things back in the cupboards and close the book on this school year. As a school leader, it is good to reflect back on the school year, and worthwhile to ask yourself some reflective questions:
  1. Did I move my school closer to meeting our mission this year? What evidence do I have? How do I know?
  2. How did I as a leader improve the school this year? Did my words and actions encourage faith and motivation to learn in my staff and students?
  3. Did I settle for only visible improvements of bricks and bucks or did I also improve the less visible aspects such as the quality of instruction, the distinctiveness of the curriculum, the quality of instruction, and the bondedness of the staff and parent community?
  4. Was my focus on how successful my school was or how much students and staff understood how to be bringers of shalom?
  5. What must I commit to in the next school year?

Recently McKinsey & Company put out an interesting report “How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top.” In the report they make this summative statement: “The available evidence suggests that the main driver of the variation in student learning at school is the quality of the teachers.” They go on to say that high-performing schools consistently do three things well:

  • Hire the right teachers – “The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.”
  • Develop teachers into effective instructors.
  • Put in place systems and targeted support to make sure that each child benefits from excellent instruction.

According to their synthesis of research, each principal’s time in effective schools is focused on instructional leadership. In our schools spiritual leadership is even more important. What implications does this have as you make plans to foster spiritual and instructional leadership growth in your school next year?

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Summer Break at the Philadelphia Zoo

Did you know . . . the Philadelphia Zoo offers a FREE Summer Break pass to CLASSROOM TEACHERS (public and private)?

Get Your Summer Break Pass!
Register online before June 30, 2009.

This pass, along with a teacher ID, union card, or school district pay stub, entitles teachers to receive FREE Zoo admission anytime from June 1 through August 31, 2009, Monday - Friday only. Come as many times as you’d like all summer long!

Click here
to register. Registration is online only, and ends on June 30, 2009. (Please allow 2-3 weeks to receive your pass.)

Teacher Passes are available for classroom teachers only, and are not transferable.

Please note: In order to receive free admission, you must show your Teacher Pass, along with your teacher ID, union card, or school district pay stub, every time you visit the Zoo.

Your Summer 2009 Teacher Pass is valid for your Zoo admission only. There are no discounts or parking privileges associated with this program.

Your Summer Break Teacher Pass can help you plan your fall field trips and see all the new animals and adventures your students will encounter. As America’s first zoo, and one of the region’s foremost conservation education organizations, we are sure that your students will enjoy an enriching and fun-filled experience that they will remember for years to come. Thank you for your support of the Philadelphia Zoo. Enjoy your visit!

Monday, May 18, 2009

PLAN to Finish Strong!

Nancy R. DeHaan
Executive Director, MACSA

About twenty years ago, my family and I were preparing for a 700 mile “cross country” move – from Michigan to New Jersey. We had about a month to pack and get ready for “moving day.”

I remember those first few days and weeks of packing. The boxes were chosen with care – not too big (they would be too heavy) but not too small (who wants to haul bunches of little boxes). Packing tape, rolls of bubble wrap and color coded “room labels” were ready and waiting! Each box was packed with care, carefully taped and accurately labeled – not just with the color coded room label, but with an “inventory list” taped to the outside of the box! We were organized – and we were moving right along! We didn’t ask for much help – we knew how we wanted it done, so “Thanks, but no thanks” was often the response!

And then . . . the days were passing faster than we were packing! We had deadlines to meet and the moving day was not very flexible. So . . . the unthinkable happened, we began just putting “stuff” in boxes (and size, any shape – if it was cardboard, it was being used) and labeling them as “Miscellaneous – Kitchen” or “Miscellaneous – Kid Stuff”. Color coded? Who needs color coded labels anyway!

Well – we got the packing (and moving) done – but I still think there might be a few missing boxes!

Interesting story, but . . . what’s the point?

Do you remember those first few days and weeks of teaching? The lesson were chosen with care – not too long (the kids had been out of school all summer and needed to be eased back in) but not too short (you still had to fill a FULL day of school). The supplies were ready: workbooks were new, no dog-eared pages in the textbooks and the lunchboxes didn’t have the “lived in” look (or smell). Your lesson plan book was up-to-date with the specifics of each lesson carefully written in the appropriate square, including the appropriate page numbers and supplemental activities!

And now . . . the days are passing faster and the kids are already “shutting down”. There is still SO much to cover and the last day of school is not very flexible (you can stop praying for a snow day this time of year!) By now – your lesson plan book (if you can find it) is full of arrows, sticky notes and an occasional coherent activity –and you LOVE filling in those squares with the words FIELD TRIP, SPECIAL ASSEMBLY or EDUCATIONAL VIDEO!

Are you about ready to do the “unthinkable” in your classroom? Are you doing “stuff” for the sake of the stuff - just to “finish” the book? Are you letting “group projects” replace your teaching (you HAVE to have time to grade those book reports, right)?

Don’t let the end of the school year just “happen.” Be proactive in your planning – yes, PLANNING. The end of the school year will still be hectic and the kids will still be spending more time talking/thinking about summer vacation than the lesson at hand - unless your “lesson at hand” is about summer and summer vacation – planning a road trip (geography, math, English). With creative planning – you can finish strong and you won’t spend the summer wondering if there were any “missing boxes” from this school year!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Broken Crayons and Dried Up Markers (and a few chewed pencils, too)

Nancy R. DeHaan
MACSA Executive Director (and recovering preschool teacher)

I love school supplies! I can live without dozens of pairs of shoes (with or without matching handbags), I can wear the winter coat for “one more year”, but I can’t start the school year with last year’s supplies! I LOVE to shop for markers, pens, pencils and new pads of paper! Somehow, I feel better starting the school year new and fresh – with none of last year’s wear and tear on my supplies!

This time of year I can tell – without even looking at the calendar – that the school year is almost over. I can see and hear it in the excited voices of the students and teachers – and in the “what am I going to do all summer” faces of the parents! But . . . it’s not the calendar; it’s not the students, teachers or parents. I can tell it’s almost the end of the school year by looking in the students’ pencil boxes – and in my center desk drawer!

The school supplies that were purchased during the summer started the year all lined up and ready to work in pencil boxes and desk drawers – like an army of soldiers ready to do battle! And now . . . many battles have been fought (some won, some lost) – and it’s hard to find a crayon that isn’t broken and/or missing its paper! And markers with caps – the caps were long gone by Christmas! The nub of a pencil hiding in the corner of the drawer can still do the job, but it is showing the toll that the school year has taken. The pencils, markers and crayons all have the marks of a school year almost over – they look well used, worn and weary!

Teacher - are you feeling used up, worn and weary? Do you feel a little broken, dried up and chewed? Even the best of school years can take its toll – draining us of our energy and creativity.

The solution – visit your local discount store or office supply store and buy a new box of crayons, a few new markers and a package of new pencils! Line your new “recruits” up in your desk drawer and prepare to finish the school year strong! Suggest that your classroom parents do the same – and pick a day in the next week and designate it as the “Beginning of the End" Day and recapture some of the excitement and enthusiasm that marked the beginning of the school year.

And next year . . . buy extra supplies in August – and hide them (remember where, so you can find them in May) and bring out the “new” things when you are feeling as weary as your school supplies look - but try to wait until after Christmas!

Please forward this to a friend or colleague who could use some encouragement today - better yet, stop by the classroom with a brand new marker!

Friday, May 8, 2009

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Leading Your School in Uncertain Economic Times

Leading a school brings with it many challenges but none as crucial as doing so during these challenging economic times. Dr. Mosbacker, Superintendent at Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham, Alabama provides fresh insight to how we can secure the future of Christian education in our region. He provides much food for thought as he presents possibilities about how to increase the 'value' of Christian education in the minds of our parents. This thought provoking presentation made at the Spring '09 Administrator's Summit is well worth your investment of time to listen.

Click here to visit the MACSA website for the audio downloads of these sessions. The files are in MP3 format and are rather large. Please be patient with the download!

Listen - then come back to this post and share your thoughts!