Category Archives: Administration

Academic and Career Planning: The New Post-Secondary Plan

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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 →

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 →

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 →

Lutheran School Principals: A Changing Paradigm

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Written by Dr. John Meyer

Five years ago, I asked the question, “Can Lutheran schools reimagine the principal position” (Meyer, 2017)? The answer is a resounding “Yes!”

At that time, the Wisconsin synod had just begun a system-wide effort to increase Lutheran principal time, training, and compensation. The goal was to increase principal effectiveness and retention so that Lutheran schools and students would thrive.

Five years later, new data reveals that those efforts are Continue reading →

Peer Tutoring: Taking Advantage of Our Resources

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Written by Nicole Lehman

The following is a brief summary of Nicole’s Graduate Studies Capstone project, “Developing a Peer Tutoring Program for Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School.” There will be a link at the end of the article if you would like to read her entire paper.

The Problem
“I don’t get it.” “This is too hard.” “It doesn’t make sense.” “Can you help me with . . .?” How often do you hear these or some variety of these statements each week? How often do these questions come 30 seconds before class starts/ends or before you need to get to your extra-curricular? I think we can all agree that we love when our students ask for help and wish we had more time in our day to actually sit down and give them the help they need.

The Solution
Since we don’t have access to Hermione Granger’s Time-Turner necklace, which would give us more time to get stuff done, one solution to this problem is peer tutoring.

We all have students in our schools who excel in one or more subject areas and have the ability to explain/teach what they know to others. The problem is, we don’t always know who they are, and sometimes they themselves don’t realize that they have this gift. Continue reading →

Creating a School Culture That Celebrates Our Faith

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Written by Dr. Susan Decker

It’s the beginning of another school year, and as the students settle into their new routines, I find myself thinking about how much academic and emotional growth they will experience over the year. But what about their spiritual growth as children of God? A student’s walk of faith is the most important part of life’s journey, yet you won’t find a question about their spiritual growth in between the multiple choice and short-answer questions on an exam.

How can we foster a love for God’s Word in our school culture? How can we help our students develop an authentic, personal connection with their faith that goes beyond memorization of Bible verses and regurgitating the expected catechism answers? Continue reading →

Putting on Our Own Oxygen Masks First

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Strengthening the Foundations of Spiritual, Emotional, and Physical Health

Written by Greg Schmill

The Plane
I imagine most of us have been there. We are sitting on a plane waiting for take-off and half-listening to the flight attendant’s speech. Then we hear the familiar statement, “In case of an emergency, put on your own oxygen mask first before you try to help others.”

We understand that makes sense. It will be impossible to help others if we have blacked out due to oxygen starvation. But we’ve heard that speech before and it barely registers, and who knows how we would respond in a true emergency. In the midst of the turbulence, would we remember to put on our masks first, despite the clear reminder? Continue reading →

Rethinking Leadership:

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What’s Missing, and How Does it Impact Our Leadership and Our Students?

Written by Dr. Donald R. Kudek

It is estimated that $166 billion is spent annually on leadership development in the U.S. (Westfall, 2019). That is nearly $1,000 for every person between the ages of 18 and 65 (60% of 332 million people). Books, seminars, coaching sessions, and even degrees are offered as ways to enhance one’s ability to lead. Has anyone spent that amount on you? Did you or they get their money’s worth? What impact has all of this training had on those we are entrusted to teach? In some cases, it is having a negative impact.

What Makes a Good Leader?
Like all areas of study, the study of leaders and leadership has evolved over time. In the late 1800s, it was believed that certain individuals were born leaders, and either you had it or you didn’t. Continue reading →