Is There Room for the Common Core in Lutheran Kindergartens?

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Written by Rachel Arnold

Like it or not, we live in a world where graduation requirements have been raised, where academic content has been pushed downward, and where teachers are expected to cover more advanced material in developmentally appropriate ways.  No amount of complaining about push-down academics and bemoaning the influence of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will change that reality.  Our question should not be “Can play and push-down academics co-exist in the kindergarten classroom?”  Rather the question should be “How can we as teachers ensure that play and push-down academics co-exist in the kindergarten classroom?” Continue reading →

Prospect Management for Schools — Part 2: Filling Your Database

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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 →

Getting Lutheran Students Out the Door

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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 →

Lutheran Schools Need More Male Teachers

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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 →

How Can Lutheran Schools Serve Children in Poverty?

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Written by Julianne Foelske

The number of children living in poverty is growing, even in suburban schools. Children living in poverty face many challenges, including emotional and social challenges, chronic stressors, and cognitive lags, which have negative effects on behavior and educational achievement. WELS educators who understand the impact of poverty will be better equipped to help their students achieve academic success. Continue reading →

Prospect Management for Schools – Part One

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This article is part 1 of a four-part series.

Written by Martin Spriggs

One important but often neglected function of any school office is “prospect management.” It wasn’t always that way. In the early days of our church-connected schools, we relied on filling our desks with the children of members and the only “managing” that we needed of those prospects was generating a list of all the kids in our congregation. We then simply made sure we had enough space, textbooks, and teachers to meet the need. Those days are over. Continue reading →

Principles of Branding a School

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Written by Ian Welch

When talking about your school’s brand, we are really addressing its visual identity and how it communicates to parents, students, and the community. A brand can tell people who you are, what you do, the quality of education you provide, even the reputation and impact you have in your community. Continue reading →

My Favorite Leaders: 12 Ways They Made Service a Joy

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By Laurie Gauger

Articles on leadership are a dime a dozen, and I’m not going to pretend this one will offer you any penetrating insights.

In fact, I’ll tell you upfront I’ve never taken a leadership course and I’ve never been in a leadership position, except as a teacher, which hardly counts since my “followers” were high school kids. Continue reading →

WELS Schools Must Teach Evolution

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by Mark Bergemann

Evolution with its billions of years is a lie that has shipwrecked the faith of many. Why must we teach it? To prepare our students for a life in today’s world. Specifically:

  1. To blunt the temptation of evolution for students.
  2. To aid students as they minister to other Christians tempted by evolution.
  3. To give students a pre-evangelism resource for leading certain people to listen to the gospel message (Bergemann, 2015).

Continue reading →

A Case for Professional Development

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Written by Andrew Willems

The case for WELS teachers entering into ongoing professional development should be clear. As I’ve taken post-graduate classes, I appreciate those teachers who seek to stay current with readings and new technologies and modern pedagogy. As a parent, I have bad thoughts about my daughter having the same college professors I had–hoping they don’t use the same old strategies they taught me as a student! As a teacher, I know my students can instantly seek answers from the world wide web. Why can’t I? Continue reading →