Tuesday, January 26, 2010

School Improvement: 10 Questions for Leader Reflection

Dan Beerens
Director of Instructional Improvement, Christian Schools International
Click here to read the original post on the Nurturing Faith blog.


Through my work with schools via accreditation and school improvement visits, I often come away impressed by how much individuals can make a difference in the decision making process and how much one individual can impact the direction of an organization.

This is undoubtedly one of the more difficult times of testing in the history of Christian education. So, how does a leader keep an organization from retreating into just thinking about budgets, enrollments, and marketing?  May I suggest 10 questions for reflection and discussion?
  1. Is your mission strong, understood by faculty and parents, and actionable? How do you know you are meeting it?
  2. Do your teachers know how to articulate a Biblical perspective at the unit level?
  3. Does your entire staff model and develop Christlike relationships with students and parents?
  4. Do your staff development and teacher evaluation processes reflect a balance between grace and truth, between helping people grow and holding them accountable? Do you regularly encourage your teachers?
  5. Do your budget choices keep teaching and learning in the forefront and are funds administered justly?
  6. Are you reaching out to, and impacting, your local community where God has placed your school?
  7. Are you asking students, teachers, parents, alumni, and broader community if you are meeting the mission of your school?
  8. Are you encouraging teachers to collaborate, share ideas, and are you providing  opportunities (time) for them to discuss and improve their practice?
  9. As a leader are you building capacity into, and developing the skills of, the next generation of those who can lead our schools?
  10. Are you committing to a process of improvement such as accreditation?

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Pipes and Reservoirs


Originally posted by Tim Challies on his blog:  Challies.com
Click here to view the blog.
Tim writes: Yesterday I began reading Michael Emlet’s CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet. Just eight pages in I had to stop and reflect on this quote. Though targeted primarily at those who are in vocational ministry, I immediately saw its application even to my task as a father. - or (Nancy adds) as a Christian School teacher.
*****
A temptation in ministry is to think that just because we prepared a Bible study, a sermon, or a discipleship appointment (or wrote a book like this!), we are deeply engaging with the God of the universe. But that’s not necessarily true. It’s easy in ministry to live more as a ‘pipe’ than a ‘reservoir.’ That is, it’s easy to live merely as a conduit to others of the transforming truths of God’s Word, rather than as a changed and transformed reservoir who overflows with lived-out gospel truth. You wouldn’t imagine cooking meal after meal for your family without sitting down to enjoy that nourishment, would you? To paraphrase James 1:22, let’s not merely be hearers or speakers or counselors of the Word, but doers, first and foremost.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

God Bless the English Teachers

You think English is easy???

1) The  bandage was
wound around the wound.

2)  The farm was used to
produce produce.

3)  The dump was so full that it had to
refuse more refuse.

4)  We must
polish the Polish furniture.

5) He  could
lead if he would get the lead out.

6)  The soldier decided to
desert his dessert in the desert.

7)  Since there is no time like the
present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A
bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9)  When shot at, the
dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not
object to the object.

11)  The insurance was
invalid for the invalid.

12)  There was a
row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13)  They were too
close to the door to close it.

14)  The buck
does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a
sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his
sow to sow.

17)  The
wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18)  Upon seeing the 
tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19)  I had to
subject the subject to a series of tests.

20)  How can I
intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.


And one more thought . . .

 There is  a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that  is
'UP'

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call
UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.  To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.

And this
UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty  mixed
UP about UP. To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of  the many ways UP is used.  It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.

When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things
UP.

When it doesn’t rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it
UP , for now  my time is UP ,  so........it is time to shut UP

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

You're Fired! I Quit!

Originally posted on The Christian School Journal
Dr. Barrett Mosbacker, Briarwood Chrisitan Schools (Birmingham, AL)


How to Avoid Horror Stories in Board and Administrator Relationships

I don’t like horror films.  I find nothing redeeming about them and I don’t like leaving a movie theater feeling worse for the experience. Therefore, I don’t watch horror films.


But there is no escape—the horror stories still manage to find me.  I frequently receive calls and emails from frustrated board members, administrators, and pastors concerning alleged bad governance and inappropriate interference by the school board or the alleged ineptness of the school’s administrator.  I’ve heard some pretty horrible stories and I’ve seen some pretty bloody outcomes.

Of all of the challenges facing Christian schools, tense relationships between the school board and administrators rank in the top five. Why is this the case and more importantly, how do we turn these horror stories into love stories?
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."  (John 13:34-35)
There is very little I like about growing older and “more experienced”.  The one redeeming blessing is that, by God’s grace, one gains perspective and at least a modicum of wisdom with age.  With the prayer that the Lord might grant a bit of wisdom in the writing of this short article about fostering effective and positive relationships between the school board and chief administrator, I will share a few insights I have gleaned through God’s word, careful observations, and personal experience.

When Boards Behave Badly . . .

Originally posted on The Christian School Journal.


When Boards Behave Badly, Trust is Broken
Mr. Bill McGee (Headmaster, Hill Country Christian School of Austin)

If one were to conduct a nation-wide poll of non-public school leaders asking them to identify the greatest threat to the health, stability, and future of their schools, undoubtedly there would be a myriad of opinions. Negative influences such as a toxic youth culture, dysfunctional families, unreasonable parent demands, rising tuition rates, a shortage of qualified teachers, and the emergence of charter schools and home-schooling would certainly make the top ten list of concerns for most non-public school administrators. Indeed, these trends and issues have been the subjects of articles published in leading educational journals for years.

Yet, as difficult and perplexing as these challenges are, they are not the greatest menace to our non-public schools. No, the most serious threat to our schools may be their own governing boards. A lack of knowledge, understanding, and application of sound governing principles, what the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) calls “Principles of Good Practice”, poses the greatest danger to the health and stability of non-public schools. When boards behave badly, when they are guilty of unethical practices, when personal agendas emerge, and when shortsighted decision-making is the norm, a trust is broken and the entire school community suffers. It is time for regional accrediting associations and professional membership organizations to do more than publish another article urging school boards to invest in their own development. Serious threats call for serious measures.

Click here to read the rest of the post - including a list of propositions to be considered regarding board development and board accountability.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

The Master’s College Essay Contest 2010

The Master’s College Essay Contest 2010


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Win a $4000 Scholarship to The Master’s College in Santa Clarita, California, one of the best Christian colleges in the world and led by president and pastor/teacher John MacArthur.


GRAND PRIZE: One $4000 tuition scholarship to The Master’s College PLUS free airfare, lodging, and meals to College View Weekend, March 25-27, 2010 at The Master’s College.


ENTRY PRIZE: All who submit a valid essay will receive a free copy of John MacArthur’s excellent book, Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong.


ELIGIBILITY: All high school and college students who could attend The Master’s College starting in the Fall of 2010.


ESSAY TOPIC: Write a letter to Charles Darwin explaining why you believe biblical creationism is more plausible and reasonable than Darwin’s theory of evolution.


ESSAY LENGTH: 900 – 1200 words


DEADLINE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2010


RESULTS: The essay contest winner and his/her essay will be posted no later than March 5, 2010 on TheChristianWorldview.com.  The top five essays will also be posted on TheChristianWorldview.com.


For complete information, please visit:  The Master’s College Essay Contest 2010

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Service - with a Smile!

A list of "100 Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do" was recently published in the New York Times.   On his blog, The Christian School Journal, Dr. Barrett Mosbacker writes:


I found the following list of “rules” fascinating for several reasons: 
  • It gives me a glimpse into the restaurant customer service world
  • I found many (not all) of the rules outlined to be consistent with biblical principles of courtesy, and 
  • It got me to thinking, “what would my list look like if I wrote one for Christian  teachers and administrators serving students and parents?” 
He "wonders" - If there are 100 (rules) for restaurant service staff, surely there are 100 (rules) for serving our parents.  After all, they are paying customers of the educational services we provide.


Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Does Mist Matter?

As originally posted on "Nurturing Faith" - Christian Schools International



“Lord willing” was a commonly heard phrase in my childhood years. Perhaps having parents who had seen war and depression made them more aware of who was really sovereign.  Or perhaps it was a phrase reserved for older people, who live more with the realization of shortening years or have experienced the unpredictability of life. James reminds us:
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.’ Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15.
What power or influence does mist have? Can mist control very much or is it subject to other forces such as heat and light? If we are mist, it certainly puts the phrase “Lord willing” in a different light. This year ahead brings uncertainty at an earthly level – we have no guarantees for ourselves or the schools/churches/organizations we serve. We are here at God’s desire and for his purposes – what a delight to rest in that fact. We operate at his will and for his pleasure– let’s acknowledge our temporality and his sovereignty – even in our daily speech. We must trust he has “prepared in advance” the work that he wants us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)