Category Archives: School Leadership

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 →

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 →

Newsletters That Really Deliver, Part 2

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Written by Laurie Gauger-Hested

In “Newsletters That Really Deliver, Part 1,” we discussed the importance of producing high-quality newsletters. As your public face, your newsletter should send two fundamental messages to parents: that you’re professionals who are giving their children an excellent education, and that you’re strong Christians who love Jesus and their children.

Part 1 listed three important directives for achieving this goal: (1) write with a smile on your face; (2) write humbly, which translates to “be brief”; and (3) write for the eye as well as the ear, which means using an easy-to-read format.

Part 2 has three equally important directives. Please read on. Continue reading →