Building a Collaborative Relationship: The Crucial Bond Between WELS Principals and Pastors

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Written by Adam Bilitz
MLC ’20, ’24 and is the principal of Emanuel First Lutheran School-Lansing MI

Building a Collaborative Relationship: The Crucial Bond Between WELS Principals and Pastors

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1

A recent survey revealed a common belief among Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) principals and pastor teams: collaboration plays an essential role in successful ministries (Bilitz, 2024). Both parties see the value of a unified relationship that promotes a strong spiritual and educational foundation for students, congregation, and community.

This study examined the professional relationship dynamics between pastors and school principals, identifying factors that support collaboration or lead to challenges. Data were gathered through an initial survey and follow-up interviews. CLS distributed the survey to 962 participants, and 249 completed the survey.

The research found that the pastor-principal relationships are overwhelmingly positive. Survey results revealed that WELS pastors and principals largely recognize the importance of a collaborative partnership. The findings allowed current pastors and principals to reflect on their relationship status and identify areas for improvement. Through interviews, participants shared experiences with both collaborative and challenging interactions. It became clear that WELS principals and pastors share a strong understanding of their joint mission and the critical need to build and sustain effective collaboration.

Huebner (2021) highlighted that the benefits of working together are practical, emotional, and spiritual, thus demonstrating that collaboration is beneficial for everyone. However, the journey to a truly collaborative relationship is not without challenges.

Follow-up interviews showed that both pastors and principals have encountered instances of conflict and camaraderie. This finding underscores the need for intentional efforts in nurturing these relationships and highlights the specific strategies that facilitate effective collaboration.

Mutual Support and Understanding of Roles: The Foundation of Collaboration

In interviews, WELS pastors and principals emphasize the importance of a shared understanding of their respective roles. While both people aim to serve their congregation and school, achieving unity requires mutual support and an appreciation for each role’s unique responsibilities.

Typically, principals handle the day-to-day operations of school life, focusing primarily on academic growth and student well-being. Pastors concentrate on spiritual guidance for all congregation members and school families. Recognizing the complementary nature of these responsibilities creates a foundation of respect, which is crucial for a smooth partnership and collaborative spirit.

Schuetze (2017) emphasized the critical role that trust plays in leadership, particularly in fostering relationships with those under one’s care. This principle is evident in the strong commitment to mutual support observed between pastors and principals, even in challenging situations. In interviews, principals expressed a desire for pastoral guidance to help maintain the school’s spiritual values, while pastors appreciated principals’ dedication to academic success and student development. This shared trust underscores how deeply understanding each other’s roles not only strengthens their professional bond but also amplifies the positive impact of their work on both students and the congregation, a shared mission that brings trust to both roles. To cultivate and sustain this trust, both pastors and principals are encouraged to embody qualities like compassion, patience, resilience, and a sincere commitment to serving others, as noted by Schuetze (2017).

Addressing Issues When Problems Arise

While the survey and interviews highlighted many positive aspects of principal-pastor relationships, they also revealed challenges, particularly around communication gaps, conflicting priorities, and physical separation. Principals and pastors often juggle busy schedules, which can lead to missed meetings or miscommunication.

Additionally, differing perspectives on priorities can sometimes strain their relationship. For instance, a principal might prioritize academic outcomes, while a pastor emphasizes spiritual growth. These challenges require open dialogue and a commitment to understanding each other’s perspectives.

To address these challenges, respondents suggested solutions such as setting up regular check-ins and maintaining flexibility in their schedules to ensure consistent communication. When differences arise, both parties have found that taking time to clarify roles and listen to each other’s concerns helps resolve misunderstandings effectively. Some even recommended engaging in occasional team-building activities to strengthen personal bonds, which can help during periods of tension or misalignment. It’s important to tackle these issues to ensure that the church and school work well together (Huebner, 2021).

Building a Path Forward

The findings from WELS schools underscore the importance of fostering a collaborative relationship between pastors and principals. Through mutual support, open communication, shared activities, and a commitment to addressing challenges respectfully, pastors and principals can build a relationship that not only serves their immediate needs but enhances the mission of their ministry. Building strong relationships within leadership teams is crucial (Osborne, 2010).

By prioritizing these strategies, WELS schools can create a united front that effectively supports both academic and spiritual growth, setting a positive example for students and fostering a cohesive and supportive community.

References

Bilitz, A. (2024) The principal-pastor relationship. [master’s thesis, Martin Luther College]

Huebner, P. (2021, December 7). Church and school working together in Unity. Issues in Lutheran Education. November 25, 2023.

Osborne, L. W. (2010). Sticky teams: Keeping your leadership team and staff on the same page. Zondervan.

Schuetze, J. D. (2017). Doctor of Souls: The art of pastoral theology. Northwestern Publishing House.

Best Practices to Train and Retain Early Childhood Teachers

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Written by Tarah Beduze

Best practices to train and retain early childhood teachers

Early childhood education is as important now as it has ever been. Parents in the workforce need care for their children and evidence shows that approximately 76% of children are enrolled in a form of preschool or childcare prior to attending Kindergarten (Green et. al., 2012). This influx of children leads to a growing demand for early childhood teachers. However, despite the great need, there is a generally high teacher turnover rate in the field of early childhood education. This issue of turnover results in a predicament for many early childhood centers and schools offering early childhood programs, as they are often not well staffed (Bridges & Carlat, 2003).

How do we best train and retain high-quality early childhood teachers in our ECM programs?

The predicament of poorly staffed early childhood programs caused by significant teacher turnover must be addressed to offer high quality programs for the children in those programs. Addressing the state of early childhood must begin with the current teachers in these programs. The theme found in research related to early childhood staffing is that supporting the teachers in early childhood programs is essential to their success and retainment. Some supports that are highlighted in research include ongoing teacher training, encouraging the pursuit of a degree, continuing education initiatives, mentoring programs, and creation of a strong sense of community within the program (Mims & Scott-Little, 2008; Bridges & Carlat, 2003; Blank, 2010; Lipscomb et. al., 2021). Each of these supports has lasting effects for the teachers and the early childhood programs in which they are serving. If the goal of a program is to develop high quality care and education and to retain high quality teachers, it is necessary that teachers are equipped with the appropriate tools for success—both as new teachers and as veterans.

In which ways can we support the novice and veteran staff working within our WELS ECM programs?

WELS early childhood ministry programs that were identified as having low teacher turnover rates describe in a recent study that there are key processes in place to support new and existing staff which lead to increased retention rates and higher program quality. One example of this support is a robust onboarding program that includes time for orientation in which new staff will be placed in classrooms without the responsibility of direct supervision of children. This allows these new staff members to observe practices and routines established in the classrooms and to build a sense of community allowing them to comfortably learn from and ask questions of their peers. Additionally, as staff are hired and continue in their education, many WELS early childhood programs require and develop trainings that exceed the requirements for training that have been set by the state. These trainings can include many topics and may take various forms depending on the unique circumstances of an early childhood program.

Continued education is an emphasis for WELS early childhood programs with high retention rates. Support for teachers must not stop after the orientation and onboarding period. Instead, early childhood program directors who find success in maintaining low teacher turnover rates often encourage and assist teachers in the advancement of their careers in the field of early childhood education. Throughout the WELS, hands-on trainings, encouraging and supporting teachers through the WELS ministry certification program, and online training programs are utilized to support existing teachers. A valuable resource available to early childhood program leaders as they provide support for their staff is the four-tiered training offered by MLC. The training modules in this program were designed to support teachers new to the field of early childhood education through those looking to receive an Associate of Science in Early Childhood Education degree (https://mlc-wels.edu/continuing-education/four-tiers/).

Internally, these early childhood programs also set time and effort aside for mentoring programs, peer and/or director coaching opportunities, and regular opportunities for staff to work together so that they can learn from each other and grow professionally. For more information about how WELS early childhood ministries are supporting staff, please refer to the full study Best Practices of Teacher Training on Teacher Retention in Early Childhood Education (Beduze, 2024).

References:

Beduze, T. J. (2024). Best Practices of Teacher Training on Teacher Retention in Early Childhood Education (Master’s thesis). March.

Blank, J. (2010). Early childhood teacher education: Historical themes and contemporary issues. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 31, 391-405.

Bridges, M., & Carlat, J. (2003). Training and retaining early care and education staff. Bay area child-care retention incentive programs: evaluation. PACE.

Green, B. L., Malsch, A. M., Kothari, B. H., Busse, J., & Brenna, E. (2012). An intervention to increase early childhood staff capacity for promoting children’s social-emotional development in preschool settings. Early Childhood Education Journal, 40(1), 123-132.

Lipscomb, S. T., Chandler, K. D., Abshire, C., Jaramillo, J., & Kothari, B. (2021). Early childhood teachers’ self-efficacy and professional support predict work engagement. Early Childhood Education Journal, 50(4), 675-685.

Mims, S. U., Sott-Little, C., Lower, J. K., Cassidy, D. J., & Hestenes, L. L. (2008). Education level and stability as it relates to early childhood classroom quality: a survey of early childhood program directors and teachers. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 23(2), 227-237.

Academic and Career Planning: The School Mission Implementation Plan

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Part 2

Written by Grey Davis

Putting ACP into Practice

Post-secondary readiness has undergone significant changes over the past decade. The traditional model of providing a college preparatory education is no longer sufficient. This outdated approach limits the potential of young adults and does not align with the modern-day need to prepare students comprehensively for life beyond high school.

While preparing students for college remains important, there is a growing recognition that a holistic approach is necessary to equip students for various aspects of adult life. Schools across the United States are adapting to this trend by focusing on broader life skills and readiness (Redefining Ready, 2017). Continue reading →

Academic and Career Planning: The New Post-Secondary Plan

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2

Part 1

Written by Grey Davis

The Paradigm Shift

There is a change happening in the way young people and their parents in the United States view the purpose of education. Previous generations saw bachelor’s degrees as a means to economic achievement and a way to secure a better future than their parents. In that climate, a college prep focus in high school was coveted. From 1950 to 2010, the percentage of people in their twenties with a bachelor’s degree grew from 7.7% to 31.7% in the U.S. (Horowitz, 2018).

More recently, the proliferation of college degrees and the lack of practical application for many majors results in college graduates filling low-paying, unskilled positions or retraining for useful trades. At the same time, salaries in skilled trades are rising due to a shortage of workers in these fields. Critical skilled job hiring in the U.S. could be more than 20 times the projected annual increase in net new jobs from 2022-2032 (McKinsey and Company, 2024). Continue reading →

ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence in Education

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Written by Michael Plocher

For some time, artificial intelligence (AI) methods have been used in education. Until recently, most uses of AI focused on data analysis and have been learner-oriented, instructor-oriented, and institutional system-oriented (Zawacki-Richter, Marín, Bond, & Gouverneur, 2019). AI used in this way includes adaptive or personalized learning systems, such as plagiarism detection, automatic feedback on submitted work, and online quizzes that automatically adjust the difficulty of questions based on students’ responses.

ChatGPT – A Natural Language Processing AI
Within the last four years, a type of AI called Large Language Models (LLM) has enabled large-scale Natural Language Processing (NLP) research (Gruetzemacher, 2022). This form of artificial intelligence focuses on how computers can process language like humans do. Continue reading →

Saxon Math Is Going Away—What’s Next?

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Written by Dr. James Carlovsky

With many WELS schools using Saxon Math as their curriculum, this recent information may have come like a punch in the gut. “Well . . . I’m contacting you on behalf of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt regarding your interest in Saxon Math. I wanted to let you know that the program will be fully retired and no longer available after 6/20/24.”

I’d like to share with you some essential philosophies to keep in mind, some common curricular alternatives, and some valuable resources for your classroom. In full transparency, most curricula have very similar scopes and sequences. So, what has the most significant impact on student learning? Teachers crafting quality lessons? Peers influencing understanding in a culture of discussion? Individual students who show grit? Curricula that give students meaningful experiences? Continue reading →

Empowering Parents as Family Spiritual Leaders

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A Role of Growing Importance for WELS Teachers

Written by Brad Gurgel

The number of Americans who don’t practice any form of religion in their homes is growing rapidly. Today, a staggering one-third of all U.S. adults under age 30 consider themselves religiously unaffiliated (Pew Research, 2020). Premier Christianity magazine reported that only 13% of adults ages 18-35 who identify as Christian read Scripture individually or with their families at least a few days per week (Hailes, 2019).

An ever-increasing number of children from these biblically disconnected homes are showing up in Lutheran school classrooms. Many parents today fully outsource any religious instruction for their children to church leaders or Christian teachers.

It’s tempting to react to this societal shift by offering more programs where children can hear the Word of God and to find solace in such thoughts as, “Well, at least they are getting the gospel message when they are with us at school.” Continue reading →

Foundations for a Strong Staff Culture

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Written by Charles Galecki

A positive, strong staff culture requires ongoing meaningful investment from school leaders and staff members.

The devil works tremendously hard to create and tear open cracks in our schools that distract us from our mission. We need hard work and God’s blessings to keep our strong foundation. The goal of this blog is to equip the reader with practical tools to invest in their staff culture to better serve the Kingdom. Staff culture is divided into three areas:

  1. Spiritual Foundation
  2. Fellowship Foundation
  3. Professional Foundation

Continue reading →

Cracks and All, We Stand in His Strength-Part 2

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Written By Dan Nommensen, LPC, NCC, BC-TMH, CEAP
Christian Family Solutions

This is the second of two blog posts written by Dan Nommensen. The first blog post reminds us that we are all fragile jars of clay and that we need to focus on what is inside the jars.

Support for Your Fragile Jar
A few years ago, after Christmas was over, I was packing away the decorations, and I broke one of our favorite glass stars. It slipped right out of my hand and onto the hard floor and it shattered into many pieces. It was one of a set of six stars that stood on the fireplace mantel. My wife was able to find all the pieces and through a long process of restoration and a bottle of glue, she was able to get it back together—but it is extremely fragile. Now, when we set it out on the mantel, we carefully prop it up alongside the other stars to give it some extra strength.

It reminded me that in our fragileness, God places us together with other jars.

Isn’t it common to withdraw from others during times of challenge? Withdrawal is actually one of the most common signs of depression. Maybe we try really hard to give the appearance that our jar is as solid as others, or maybe we struggle with perfection and endlessly try to hide the cracks in our jar. Whatever the reason for that effort to hide our fragile condition, sometimes we just need that extra support from friends, family, coworkers, other called workers, or Christian counselors. If we all had impenetrable steel jars, I have a feeling we would all be quite lonely. We not only have the knowledge of salvation . . . we have others alongside us who are willing and able to be a support when those cracks feel deep.

As public ministers who face the reality of sin in these times, we see an opportunity to view challenges in ministry using this “jars of clay” analogy shared by the apostle Paul. God knows what we need. He is telling us it is better in the long run to be “only clay” than “lonely steel.” Continue reading →

Cracks and All, We Stand in His Strength-Part 1

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Written By Dan Nommensen, LPC, NCC, BC-TMH, CEAP
Christian Family Solutions

Called workers have one of the world’s best occupations! What an amazing opportunity to serve the Lord in a full- or part-time ministry and watch the Holy Spirit kindle or grow the faith of those you serve. You are devoted and faithful pastors, teachers, and staff ministers who also know you are fragile “jars of clay,” as the apostle Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 4:7.

Fragile Jars of Clay
The message of the gospel and the mission to be a light in the darkness is entrusted to all Christians. Whether we are called workers or lay workers, we are all fragile jars of clay. We humbly agree that even though God created and fashioned us for his purpose to hold and share a mighty message of salvation, we are fragile indeed! Sometimes we can’t even believe that God chose us to share this message! We’ve got cracks in our jars, and sometimes it seems we are ready to collapse.

Pastors, do you feel your fragileness more lately? Teachers and staff ministers, are those cracks in your emotional health feeling more difficult to handle?

Perhaps the events in our culture over the last couple of years have placed even more pressures on our fragile natures. Perhaps you have considered what life might be like apart from the public ministry. Maybe that thought crossed your mind after you got home from a tough meeting with a parent who took the opportunity to list every mistake and fault you have. Maybe that thought crossed your mind after you finished listening to the multiple voicemail messages from members with so many needs that you feel ill-equipped to handle the demands.

These feelings are the cracks in your jar. Some have described burnout in ministry as the final breaking of the jar—a complete feeling of brokenness. Continue reading →