One Body - Many Parts

Consider the following two examples of teachers’ response to the following question during a parent/teacher conference:

Parent Question: Hi Mrs. _______________ Please tell me how my child is doing in your class?

Scenario A:
Teacher Response: “Hello Mrs. ____________, let me take a look at how your child has done academically … well based on his marks in my grade book here, it looks as though he handed in all but one assignment, and did very well in his most recent test – wow your child is progressing nicely – you should be proud of him. Let him know that he should keep up the good work”

Scenario B:
Teacher Response: “Hello Mrs. ____________ , I just want to tell you that just yesterday I noticed your son stop what he was doing get out of his desk and pursue another student who is struggling both to understand the work that was assigned, and the courage to ask questions about it. This struggling student has some learning challenges and generally has little confidence in accomplishing assignments correctly. Not only is your son progressing nicely with his individual work, I used that act of kindness as an ultimate example of how I would like to see our classroom exist this year.”

What teacher appeals to you most as a parent?

This past spring our Special Education department went through a difficult time (more so than usual) sorting out their budget, and it was extremely difficult to address how best to meet the needs of our special needs children, given the budgetary constraints that they found themselves under. It is true that we go through this every year, and it is true that we agonize/compromise through it knowing that we just can’t provide everything that we want across the board because there just isn’t enough funding available to do what we want. Last year, in this process we were re-exposed to some beautiful things about our Special Ed. program, our school, and our school community. Of course it’s a little sad that it sometimes requires economic struggles for us to get to this point – but God knows how we work – and generally our attention is especially gained when it affects our pocket book. Nonetheless, what was crystalized was the following:

• Our Special Education Program continues to be sought after in the Abbotsford community

• Although the program in and of itself is excellent, what sets us apart is our philosophy of inclusion and how we see the Special Education program as fundamental to our entire educational experience – not just for students who qualify for funding, but just as important in the building and shaping of all of our students.

• Our inclusion philosophy in no way hinders our march towards academic excellence and relevant learning, in fact it enhances it.

• This model of inclusion is financially taxing on the system – our school community shells out an additional 35 percent of the total cost for this program (approx. $200,000), through its tuition and donation dollars.

• Our community continues to believe wholeheartedly in this philosophy of inclusion and the costs associated with it.

Perhaps you didn’t know one or any these facts. Perhaps you’d like to engage in a discussion about them – we’d love to have them with you – stop by.
In the meantime – click on this video that you can find on our website. It is a new promotional video specific to Special Education and our inclusion model. We’re excited about it and will be using it from time to time in various settings. Thanks Special Education Coordinators and Tym Berger (MS Principal) for piecing it together.

We are one body with many parts. Thanks for being a part of this body, for committing to us being more than just a ‘pay for service organization’, for staying engaged in the life of the school, and for continuing to support us here and throughout the community. ACS is a great community and is committed to accomplishing what we say as Christians about community – we are one body with many parts.

Click on the following link to see more:

http://www.abbotsfordchristian.com/admissions/Pages/SpecialEducation.aspx

A Question of Relevance

Over the summer, as a part of a Fellowship that I am a part of, I attended a week long Professional Development Seminar in Grand Rapids Michigan. It was called the Van Lunen Center (http://www.calvin.edu/vanlunen/). Much of this fellowship was spent reflecting on what Christian Schools in North America are doing as we prepare for the 21st Century. I was saddened to learn that every Christian School umbrella organization in North America (including ours which is called Christian School’s International or CSI) is reporting a shrinking in their schools (in other words - schools are closing) at an alarming rate. Many of the stories that we shared were centered on how we need to be careful not to be a school that is in danger of having to shut down. In digging in to what the reasons might be for this, it often came down to a question of relevance. Are Christian Schools relevant to the 21st century parent? More and more, parents are questioning the cost of Christian Education and asking whether or not it is worth it from a relevance perspective. Even if we don’t necessarily like this to be the question that is first asked, we also have to be realistic and know that this is the New Normal . This is a question that we ask ourselves often at ACS. Are we relevant? Are we relevant to our parents who want the very best for their children? Are we relevant to our students who, more than ever, desire to be fully engaged in their learning? Are we engaging our students in ways that convey an understanding that is relevant in today’s day? In this desire to be relevant, are we staying true to our Mission and Vision as God’s call for our school? We believe that as a school we have no choice. This is not a matter of trying to educate our families to know better. We must be relevant to stay true to our calling as images of our Living God. We must be bold in our quest as Christians if we are to stay faithful to our Saviour. We owe it to every family that is a part of our school to be leading the charge in answering the question of relevance. There are some key areas of our strategic plan that will be rolled out this year that we believe will continue to answer this relevance question in a positive way …
Some things to look for or watch out for in the upcoming year:
• We will review our Library Program this year and develop a plan moving forward.
• We will review our Athletics Program and develop a 5 year plan.
• We will implement Project Based Learning (PBL)and Presentations of Learning (POLs) standards at the Middle and Secondary levels.
• We will investigate “seamless” student access to technology, perhaps investing in / piloting a one-to-one lap-top (or tablet like the IPad) initiative at the secondary.
• We will expand and enhance our global connections initiatives (our connections in Nicaragua) and engage our community in it more so.
• We will create and cultivate an Alumni Association that will be vibrant.
• We will develop a parent ambassador program to help recruit families to our school
• We will develop new recruitment strategies to encourage Christian families outside of the traditional supporting community to send their children to ACS.

Difference Making

At a recent gathering/meeting that I was a part of, the gentleman presenting for the night introduced himself as a proud citizen of Abbotsford, and graduate of Abbotsford Christian School. His presentation was engaging, and the group that he worked with was invigorated by his leadership skills. I was proud to be associated with ACS at that moment – and this is something that happens with regularity. Our school has graduated thousands of Abbotsford citizens that have contributed positively to the people and community around them. This is not only true of Abbotsford, but also of other places in the lower mainland, the province of BC, the country of Canada and around the world. We can be proud of the fact that ACS has alumni all over that are “making a difference” in the world as they follow God’s calling in their lives.

Research will bear this “difference making” out. The Cardus Foundation, along with Notre Dame University recently released some preliminary results from their 3 year study on 24-39 year olds and the impact of Christian education in North America. There is conclusive evidence to support that people who have graduated from Christian schools have made a positive impact on society. “Christian schools seem to be producing “salt of the earth” citizens who provide the backbone of communities, are the pillars of their churches, and are living lives of purpose and hope. Fears that religious schools are the incubators of social unrest, producing a generation of culture warriors, seem to be largely unfounded.” (Ray Pennings, Senior Fellow, Cardus Foundation). For a full picture of the research done go to: http://www.cardus.ca/. We of course have known this information for years, and have been talking about it for years, but it’s nice to have a reputable outside organization, with nothing to gain in its research, say the same thing.

A Community of Grace

During a recent professional development opportunity I was given a book that has deeply affected me and had me come back to the verse that our school has used for guidance: "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ." II Peter 3:18. The book is entitled "Schools as Communities" and it is a compilation of chapters written by Christian education leaders around North America. The initial chapter of the book is entitled "Communities of Grace" written by Bruce Hekman.

On Friday, January 21st at the Staff Retreat, I again was lead to this "theme" verse as well as my reading of this book. And then again at our annual Gala event, I could not help but acknowledge the theme of our school being a community of grace. But perhaps, most consistenly - when I get to experience the learning that happens in our classrooms, and the environment that our students are engaged in - the verse echoes in my mind.

As Executive Director, it should come as no surprise that we aspire to see our school be a community of grace. But what does it really mean to aspire to be a community of grace? It sure is easy to say, and it definitely sounds profound. Interesting that the words grace and community are not all that prevalent (at least not overtly) in the strategic plan. Because ultimately, when we market our school against others; when we strive to convince people that ACS is the place to come; when we seek to be a "sought after Christian school for Christian families"; we are hoping that people will get a glimpse, just a sense of what a community of grace is all about. Perhaps we need to be more intentional?

Bruce Hekman does an excellent job of laying out some characteristics of grace-filled communities:

• places where visitors clearly see God at work in the way relationships are conducted
• the context of schooling is treated as important as the content of schooling
• it is more than togetherness - togetherness is the by-product of trying to be faithful to Jesus
• it is a grateful place that is thankful and celebrates God's blessings
• it is a place driven by its mission
• it is an inviting place
• it is an accepting place
• it is a loving place - seeing people love others authentically

To achieve a community of grace, there are not forty days of anything required, nor are there twelve step programs. There aren't even any specific initiatives in any strategic plan that will point to becoming a community of grace (as indicated above). It does however require hard, patient, and consistent work of an entire community to be committed to achieving the goal. Christian communities have Christ at the center as the members work out their commitments to be prophets, priests, and kings in the culture they find themselves in. If Christ is at the center, then grace will be the hallmark of the school.

The reason for what lead me to this theme during our staff retreat is that at the retreat we had three people lead the staff in reflective talks: one was Jack Boersma who not only was a student at the school, has also been a teacher in the secondary school for 32 years - his stories were filled with our school being that of a community of grace and how his life has been dedicated to serving our Saviour in togetherness and ultimately in community. The second talk was from parent and current board member, Monique Weir, who thanked the staff for how her family has been received into our community of grace, and how her children have truly been lead to seek Jesus at ACS. Monique told the story of how, the second she walked through the doors of the elementary school for the first time, she felt the Spririt of the Lord in the school, and she knew that this was the place for her children. Finally Julie Braun, our beloved Pre-School director spun a beautiful story about her experiences as both a staff person at the elementary school and a parent at the school. These stories gave us a clear sense that our school is a community of grace, a community that puts Christ at the center, that strives for shalom, that seeks to restore the brokenness of the world, and that aspires to the coming to fullness of the Kingdom on earth.

It is, of course, important to remember that we are all sinners saved by this grace and we have been called to serve in His Kingdom. As sinners, we often distort or fall short of a true understanding of grace and often fall into sin as we seek to provide communities of grace. Hekman again, has wise words as we sort out how to act when sin is so prevalent in our lives - and even in our school:

He says - some people replace the grace of the Bible with mercy, and let people off the hook for their sins. Some people want to see others get what is coming to them for breaking the rules. Others want to change other people by making examples of them. However, Jesus shows us a better way in the story of woman caught in adultery. Jesus turns the tables on her accusers by replacing the two categories of sinners: the woman and the righteous to two altogether different categories: sinners who admit their sin and sinners who deny their sin. And then after declining to condemn her, he demands that she "Go, and sin no more".

From my perspective, if we fail to confront people and speak the truth in love, we can ultimately do more damage to our grace-filled communities than what judgementalism can bring. This then becomes the challenging continuum that we find ourselves in, and we can only rely on the wisdom of Christ as we navigate through it.

In looking at the attributes that Hekman stated above: I would ask these questions:

• Is ACS a grateful place? Do we celebrate God's blessings to our school? Do people over-hear others talking about ACS in grateful ways? Are we grateful even in the face of challenging circumstances?
• Is ACS driven by its Mission? Are the things that you see and hear lining up with what our mission says? Are we attaining our mission like we often say we are?
• Is ACS an inviting place? When you walk into our schools do you get a sense that you are welcome or that you belong?
• Is ACS an accepting place? Do we practice love and discipline? Are we striving to restore broken relationships?
• Is ACS a loving place? Is our school characterized by God's love flowing through our relationships with one another? Do we confront people in truth and love?

I would submit that over the years at ACS we are accomplishing our desire to become communities of grace, with the full acknowledgement that we have miles to go. By God's grace we can continue to work together in attaining the Mission of our school. With 2011 still relatively new, may we re-commit to growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Julius Siebenga

Executive Director

Acknowledgments: "Schools as Communities" edited by James L. Drexler and published by Purposeful Design Publications - Colorado Springs, Colorado.