Category Archives: School Leadership

Serving Families in Crisis:

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Understanding What Is Needed in Light of the ‘One Thing Needful’

By Dr. Joshua Mears, Christian Family Solutions

A child suddenly loses a parent. A teen begins acting out after years of abuse. Chronic illness. Suicide. Divorce. Addiction. All of these situations shake individuals to the core and threaten to destroy the foundational units of society—our families.

Called workers often have the distinct opportunity to minister to families in their times of greatest need. I want to encourage and embolden you, “and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

While assessing needs and intervening with appropriate treatment is the work of a clinical counselor, called workers can be an important support. Clinically trained Christians in the counseling vocation see called workers as important partners to serve families in crisis. Continue reading →

Sustaining Compassion in Education, Part 1

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A Lutheran Educator’s Reflection on 2020

Written by Kelli L. Green

Why has teaching become so stressful? Am I trusting God enough? These are questions you may be asking yourself. Here’s my reflection.

Remembering Why.
Last month, as I opened a Special Education Task Force meeting, we took a moment to share how God called us into the teaching ministry. Over Zoom we took turns sharing our “Why.”

Some mentioned external factors, and others mentioned internal factors used by the Holy Spirit to guide them into education and to Martin Luther College, formerly known as Dr. Martin Luther College, as preparation. Thinking back on the original reasons for entering the teaching ministry, I became overwhelmingly aware that the purpose had evolved over time. Continue reading →

Six Top Anxiety Management Strategies

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Written by Dr. Jennifer Londgren

Lutheran teachers, you have a lot on your plates right now. Whether it is managing the educational needs of your own children or the stress and anxiety of students, parents, and congregation members in your care, dealing with those things along with your own personal emotional reactions can feel like too much. Developing outlets and ways to cope is essential. I believe that Christians who develop strategies to take care of themselves are better able to serve others.

Taking care of ourselves is not something we should “get around to doing at some point.” It is necessary for our health and wellbeing. As a Christian, university professor, mental health clinician, wife, and mother of three, I understand how important it is to create harmony between my roles. I have a set of self-care strategies and tools that I apply to myself and teach to my students, clients, interns, and even my friends. Continue reading →

Changing Our Relationships with School Families

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Written by Brett Bengel

Even though parents and teachers both want what’s best for children, they often find themselves at odds with each other. Educators receive emails, phone calls, and after-school visits from parents who are frustrated with out-of-touch, disconnected, and unsympathetic teachers. Teachers are frustrated with clueless, distracted, and overbearing parents. Who is correct? Continue reading →

Is School Choice the Right Choice for Your LES?

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Written by Dan Johnson

The model of parish education is changing in our synod. A greater number of schools are looking outside the church walls to continue their ministry, and that brings up questions of funding. How does a church continue to carry out the Great Commission and fund a well-rounded education? The student tuition could be raised, but higher tuition means that many families will be unable to consider the school because of their financial situation. The answer for many schools and congregations is to turn to school choice programs, using public money to pay for private school education. Continue reading →

Administrative Release Time: A Paradigm That Requires Change

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Written by Harmon Krause

In the last two years, 60 principals walked away from their positions in a Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) school, affecting 19% of the schools (J. Rademan, personal communication, October 9, 2019). These principals either resigned, retired, or took non-principal positions. The WELS school system cannot sustain these losses.

I was one of those casualties. In particular, I struggled to maximize my Administrative Release Time (ART). ART is the time that schools release principals from teaching to focus on administrative tasks. I wasn’t open and transparent about how I used my ART, and that caused friction and trust issues between my staff and me.

For me and many other principals who teach and serve as principal, issues of administrative release time (ART) are critical. My master’s thesis sought to expand on previous research about ART conducted by Schmill (2009) and Meyer et al (2015). Here’s what I learned. Continue reading →

Bridging the Gap Between Preschool and Elementary School

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Written by Shawna Tech

Just because parents choose to send their children to a Lutheran preschool doesn’t mean that they will have them continue at the Lutheran grade school. What can Lutheran elementary schools (LES) do to bridge the gap between them and their preschools?

As ministers of the gospel, Lutheran school teachers want to share the good news about the Savior with as many children as possible. Unfortunately, many LES have seen a decline in enrollment over the years. Possible factors include families having fewer children, charter schools offering a “free” education, and homeschooling. Opening a preschool to feed the LES may seem like a viable solution to declining enrollment, but it seldom works as hoped. Continue reading →

Make Your School More Effective

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Written by Steven Haag

The Case for Professional Learning Communities
The best way to make your school great is to empower teachers by boosting their collective efficacy. Hattie (2017) found this made schools four times more effective than typical schools. Professional learning communities (PLCs) create that kind of teacher empowerment. When teachers work together to further develop their craft, they are building their collective efficacy, and PLCs provide the structure for them to do just that.

A professional learning community is a structure in which supportive professional relationships foster a collaborative culture that continually drives for successful change. PLCs affect positive school outcomes, primarily in the form of improved teacher efficacy (Kruse & Seashore Louis, 2009; Hord, 1997) and increased student performance (DuFour, Eaker, & DuFour, 2005). Continue reading →

Building Bridges Between Preschool and Lutheran Elementary School

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Written by Brad Gurgel

The connections between a congregation’s preschool and K-8 program can sometimes be weak. There are many reasons this can happen. The two programs vary in families served, regulations, and policies. They often have separate histories and leaders. And the families from the two programs don’t have many opportunities to interact.

Because of this, it’s not unusual for the preschool and elementary school at a congregation to drift apart over time. And when the transition between preschool and kindergarten arrives, families see this as an ideal time to return to the local public school or look around at other local schools instead of seeing the Lutheran kindergarten as a natural progression. Continue reading →

Flexible Tuition: A Solution for Struggling Congregations

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Written by Bill Fuerstenau

The Problem
Many WELS congregations that support elementary schools are struggling. Membership in our churches is shrinking, and with that, financial support as well. When this happens, church leadership must choose where to use their limited financial resources to remain good stewards of their financial blessings from God. For smaller churches, this restricts the programs and services they can provide to their members if they are also to maintain a fully staffed, effective school. Continue reading →