Category Archives: Healthy Schools

Differentiation for Students with Disabilities

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Written by Amanda Weinrich

The Issue
As I began my teaching ministry, I quickly realized that I was underprepared to help the students with disabilities that I had in my classroom. I did not know the best way to teach them. I concluded that other WELS teachers might experience the same problem.

Since teachers who receive even a brief introduction about creating diverse lesson plans have been shown to include more modifications, alternatives for communications, and activities that involved students (King-Sears, 2008), I decided to help a fellow teacher learn about differentiation as part of my capstone work in my master’s program. The results are important for all teachers because all teachers will at some point have students with disabilities, and the number of students with disabilities is on a steady increase (Allsopp, Kyger, & Lovin, 2004). Continue reading →

The State of Special Education in Lutheran Schools

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Written by Calista Leistekow

Lutheran schools often struggle to balance the desire to serve all children who seek a Christian education with the ability to provide sufficient resources and support for students with special learning needs. To learn the extent to which this struggle occurs and what Lutheran schools are doing about it, I conducted some research. Continue reading →

You Want Me to Differentiate What?

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Written by Rachel Timmermann

Teachers commonly complain about the lack of instruction time, improper resources, and mixed student results as they provide spelling instruction. Individualized development is attainable for each student through a research-based approach.

What does the research say?
Historically, spelling and reading instruction has begun with phonics and memorization. This is problematic, since the instructional level of spelling words corresponds to words students read with automaticity; it does not correspond to words they must decode (Templeton and Morris, 1999). In the 1950s, Horn’s research studies cited that the irregularities in the English language required students to memorize words. Horn developed grade-level lists of words for students to learn. But students learn best when instructed within their developmental level (Ouellette, 2013). Continue reading →

Preparing English Teachers for the Future

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Written by Larry Czer

The first secondary teachers graduated from DMLC in the spring of 1993. The then STEP program was designed as a means to meet the needs of an expanding WELS area Lutheran high school movement. The original concept was to prepare students to serve as either elementary or secondary instructors. The assumption at that time was for these students to serve in an elementary setting prior to receiving a call at the secondary level. Those emphases have changed over the last 25 years. Now our newly minted teachers are entering a field where accreditation, licensure, and credibility are requirements. The English Division at MLC prepares teachers to meet these expectations. Continue reading →

Students with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): They Really Are Trying!

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Written by Nicole Lehman

According to studies reviewed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 to 5 out of every 100 students in the United States are somewhere in the range of the fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (“Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders,” 2018). This means at some point in your ministry, you’ve probably encountered at least one student with FAS in your classroom or in your school. Some of these students may have very recognizable physical characteristics or intellectual disabilities, while others may just appear to be “lazy” and/or “defiant” when it comes to getting homework done—doing well on tests and quizzes, memory work, paying attention, and following instructions. This can be extremely frustrating for you, the teacher: no matter what you do or say, and no matter how many times you try, they just don’t seem to get it! Continue reading →

Labeling Your Students

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Written by Kimberly Rehbaum

This article was originally published in 2015.

Let us know what you think.

  • Can you share an experience (no names, please) when labeling a student resulted in benefits for the student’s learning?
  • Can you share an experience when labeling hurt a student?
  • In your experience, do the advantages of labeling a student outweigh the disadvantages?

The process of labeling is currently one of the most controversial topics in the field of special education. Should students be labeled with such disabilities as autism, ADHD, IDD, and EBD? According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), in order to receive public government funding for special education, students must have a label. Some educators believe these labels have more disadvantages than benefits, but I am led to believe that labeling leads to accommodations that will enable students to succeed in academics and understand their specific abilities. Continue reading →

To Voucher or Not to Voucher?

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Written by Rendy Koeppel

That is a question many more WELS school leaders are asking themselves. Government-funded programs that give parents vouchers or tax credits for school tuition are on our national landscape for the foreseeable future. Accepting state funding for tuition in WELS schools has been implemented for at least 20 years. It is a somewhat controversial concept in our Lutheran schools and congregations. Leaders have to decide whether they will participate. And why! Continue reading →

Early Childhood Ministry: Addressing Staffing Challenges

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Written by Julianna Kiecker

Early Childhood Ministries (ECMs) are consistently growing in Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod (WELS) churches! Did you know that 10,754 children attended a WELS ECM in 2017? (Commission on Lutheran Schools, 2017). For some congregations, the results are easy to see: adult confirmations and families joining their congregation. Others struggle to see these blessings from their ECM efforts. “We’ve had the preschool open for years without so much as one worship visitor!” Continue reading →

Working Together in Support of Lutheran Elementary Schools

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Written by Nathan Reich

Historically, most congregations that operated Lutheran elementary schools (LES) did not have any sort of outreach program. They really didn’t need it. It was almost a given that member children would attend the LES. That is not true anymore. Principals, school boards, and councils need to have plans to promote their school among their members and the greater community. Cradle rolls, moms-and-tots outings, and Sunday school programs are excellent ways to promote an LES within a congregation. Continue reading →

The Shema – Hear and Carefully Obey

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Written by Kenneth Kremer

We live in a godless age. Historians have dubbed it The Post-Christian Era. Believe it or not, we have been living in a secular culture for a half-century. Who knew?

Some of us are still having a hard time accepting this fact. Others have accepted it, but have no clue how to deal with it. A few lash out in anger and frustration, without knowing who the enemy is. But on the whole, most people have assimilated this radical shift in norms without a lot of fuss. They have moved on, living with a new set of ethical standards that have redefined the moral life in godless ways.   Continue reading →