Category Archives: School Leadership

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 →

Is Everyone in Your School on the Same Page?

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Written by Dr. John Meyer

Is everyone in your school on the same page when it comes to what effective teaching looks like? I recently spoke with two teachers who were frustrated by their principals’ feedback after a classroom observation.

In one case, the principal had complimented the teacher on his enthusiasm and nicely organized lesson, but suggested the teacher should plan better lesson introductions. The teacher felt like the discussion focused on things that were not very important to student learning. In the other case, the principal left a completed checklist in his teacher mailbox of things observed during the lesson without any written or verbal feedback. Continue reading →

Welcoming Your New Teachers

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Written by Professor Jonathan Schaefer

WELS schools all over the country are receiving new teachers on their faculties. These teachers are well trained and enthusiastic.

During their first year on a faculty, they have several questions, one of which is, “What am I teaching?” That question includes things like curriculum, procedures, and ways the school operates.

Another question involves, “How am I going to teach? How do I bring my own style to get to know and engage my new students?” Continue reading →

Foster Teacher Collaboration with Micro-Credentials

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Written by Dr. John Meyer

What are the teachers at your school talking about? Schools where teachers talk positively about ways to improve teaching and learning are more successful than those that complain about students and parents (Ronfeldt, Owens Farmer, McQueen, & Grissom, 2015; Gruenert, 2005). Principals and teachers can use micro-credentials as a tool to create the kind of positive, professional collaboration that improves student achievement (Crow & Pipkin, 2017).

Micro-Credentials: Formal Recognition for Informal Learning
Earning Micro-Credentials is a way that teachers can receive formal recognition for skills learned informally. After all, teachers are constantly reflecting on and improving their practice. They experiment with new approaches learned through books, articles, inservices, and conferences. These new skills become effective teaching strategies in a teacher’s toolbox. But such competencies don’t show up in credits or clock hours. Micro-credentials give teachers a way to receive formal recognition for their skills from a respected institution, including colleges like the University of Wisconsin, MIT, Penn State, and Martin Luther College. Continue reading →

21st-Century Skill Development

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Written by Matthew Moeller

21st-Century Education
The fundamental issue is not of new versus old education nor of progressive against traditional education but a question of what, if anything whatever, must be worthy of the name Education. John Dewey, 1897 (Nutbrown & Clough, 2014)

Are the educational activities that we design for our students worthy of the name education? Are we preparing our students for success as employees and citizens in the 21st century? Reflecting on these questions and determining what needs to be changed in our classrooms and schools can be uncomfortable, messy, exhausting, and complicated, but it is a tragedy to prepare students for a future that doesn’t exist. Continue reading →

How Much Digital Postage Do You Pay?

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Written by Dr. Jeffrey C. Lemke

Your church and school likely have regular mailings that go out to families and prospects. These mailings carry important announcements, prompt critical action steps, and develop a unified direction for your ministry. Mailings and postage are built into our organizational budgets. Since the days of Martin Luther and the invention of the printing press, the power of mailings as a communication method has become universally understood.  Continue reading →

Early Childhood Outreach Requires Planning and Teamwork

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Written by Michelle Dobberstein

Early Childhood Ministries (ECM) provide a natural way for churches to share the gospel with children and families. Families seeking early childhood education come for a quality education and end up receiving so much more. They learn about Jesus and his love. 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 →