Written by Philip M. Gustafson
Enrollment in Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) schools is declining. Since enrollment peaked in 1990 with almost 32,000 students, enrollment has declined to 24,170 students in 2013-2014 (WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools, 2014). Since our WELS school system is so vital to us as a synod, that is cause for alarm, right? After all, with lower enrollment comes fewer students hearing God’s Word and fewer future synod leaders. Continue reading
Written by Martin Spriggs
In part three of this series on prospect management, we examined the different ways data could be stored and then accessed to manage prospect interactions and communications. Now in the final article of our series, we will deal with perhaps the most effective prospect identification and nurture tool schools have ever had available to them: social networks. Continue reading
Written by Andrea Van Sice
“What is left when you give 100% to your ministry? Nowhere does God expect that” (Bauer, 1983, p. 7). Vocation is a fruit of faith and a matter of Christian freedom. When a teacher works out of obligation, their desire for ministry can be depleted. The utilization of called workers should encourage the teaching ministry as a fruit of faith, not an obligation.
Written by Adam Mateske
The use of technology is commonplace in the lives of today’s students. Consider the dramatic change these students endure after they step into their elementary or secondary schools and are asked to sit in desks and focus on traditional teacher-led instruction. In response, classrooms around the world are introducing flipped learning to students. A flipped classroom model provides teachers the opportunity to effectively focus on student achievement while allowing student learning to excel and grow. Continue reading
Written by Martin Spriggs
This article is part 3 of a four-part series.
In part 2 of this series, we dealt with the process of prospect “acquisition” and answered the question of how to build a database of prospects. After all, your prospect database has to have real live prospects in it! Yet having a database full of names, addresses, phone numbers, and notes isn’t enough. What can you do with that data? How is it useful to you and your school? That is the subject of this third installment of “Prospect Management for Schools.” Continue reading
Written by Dr. John Meyer
Recent reports claim that pressures on WELS principals are threatening the position’s viability and contributing to a personnel shortage. For example, a 2015 synod convention report stated that inadequate compensation may “influence strongly . . . the difficulty the synod is having in filling principal vacancies” (Ad Hoc Commission II, 2015, p. 187). Similarly, the 2013 synod convention reported that “nearly 40 percent of our principals would prefer not to be principals,” adding “that if WELS had an improved model of principal training as well as the necessary time resources to fulfill the role well, that a greater number of our men would be more receptive to the idea of entering into and remaining in the principalship” (Task Force on Lutheran Schools, 2013, p. 55). Are these claims actually true? Continue reading
A small, rural Minnesota town where half the students are on free or reduced-price lunch hardly seems a likely place to support a vibrant, growing Lutheran school. Yet St. John enrollment has grown by 54% in the last five years under a ministry-focused, low-tuition approach. Principal David Gartner shares the story of God’s blessings and provides a model for other Lutheran schools.
By David Gartner
It’s Call Day in 1992. I wait with eager anticipation. Where will I be assigned? Then comes the announcement. “Dave Gartner, St. John Lutheran School, Redwood Falls MN, grades 2-3, athletic director, Minnesota District.” Redwood Falls has a population of 5,200 and relies a great deal on its farming community, but I grew up in Milwaukee. Enough said. Continue reading
This article is part 2 of a four-part series.
Written by Martin Spriggs
In part 1 of this series, we explored the foundational elements of prospect database maintenance and activity tracking. The accuracy and completeness of your list will insure that your outreach activities to potential students and their parents will be as good as they can be. Only when your school records every “touch” with a prospect can you build an accurate picture of the relationship and determine next steps. These touches need to be faithfully recorded into the database by everybody who might have a role in the prospect nurture process.
Today’s post deals with another kind of process: prospect “acquisition.” Just how do you begin to build a useful database of prospects? Continue reading
Written by Jeremy Seeger
Outdoor schools have seen growing popularity in the last few years. Perhaps you have seen the posts about them from a friend on Facebook, or perhaps you’ve seen an article about one online. Norway and Switzerland both have well known and successful outdoor preschool programs that have served as a model for some startups in the United States. Continue reading
Written by Harmon Krause
I did not expect to hear anything unusual while MLC President Mark Zarling gave an update at my teachers’ conference. However, as Zarling gave his presentation on the college, he stated something that took me a bit by surprise. He said something that would make an applicable introduction for this article. He said, “Men aren’t going to college, and I don’t know why.”
Zarling’s comment comes from an even larger issue than men going to college — a lack of male educators. Continue reading