Are we “edutaining” or inviting? Are we covering content or uncovering opportunities? Are we interested in correct responses or thoughtful reflection? At Byron Center Christian School, these guiding questions help us pursue our mission of providing an excellent education that is rooted in God’s Word as we prepare our students for lifelong service in the Kingdom. Using the Teaching for Transformation framework has empowered our staff and students to engage in deeper learning experiences. We are shifting away from breadth of content to depth of content. With that shift in mind, we are focused o ..read more

There are very few educators with a completed to-do list—there is always more to plan and implement, and every day creates new challenges to add to issues from yesterday that are still unresolved. As we look back at the school year (that either just finished or will finish soon), there are certain to be items we had to leave unchecked. Why is this the case? Partly, this reflects the reality of working in today’s schools, with so many different constituent groups pulling us in different directions, and projects and tasks that pile up as the tyranny of the urgent rules the day. But if we’re hon ..read more

Have you ever taught a class or subject that was the last thing you ever expected to teach? For me, that subject was speech and debate–oral interpretation and public forum debate, to be specific. I was a little terrified. A few years in (and a large learning curve later), debate has become one of my favorite topics to teach.  The word “debate” is a loaded term these days, and it can be easy to shy away from incorporating debate in the classroom. However, if harnessed correctly, a debate has the potential to be an engaging, empowering activity for students, one that requires them to think ..read more

Kigali International Community School (KICS) is located in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. Surrounded by textures and shades of green, both the school and the city are beautiful. The country of Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills. Rwanda is also infamously known for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi where over a million people were killed in a 100-day period. April 7, 2024 will mark 30 years since this tragedy occurred. Whereas this atrocity must be remembered, there is so much more to Rwanda than what happened in 1994. Rwanda’s story is one of resilience, determination, and ..read more

Teaching is toil. Planning, grading, instructing, disciplining, assessing, reteaching, reassessing, re-reassessing–rinse and repeat. The struggle never ends. What’s worse is that you rarely see the fruit of your labor. For example, when’s the last time you felt a deep sense of completeness after planning a lesson? After teaching a lesson? After an assessment? After a school day? After a school year? If you’re like me, you question the relevance of that analogy you used, the lesson structure you created, the questions you put on the test, the long-term plan you had or didn’t have. These questi ..read more

Part 4: The Amazing Opportunity in Front of Us Over the past three posts in this series, I took a brief look at the recent growth of our schools, several foundational elements that ensure school sustainability, and present trends (and potentially future trends) that impact the way we do our work. In this final installment, I will emphasize the amazing opportunity our schools have to impact our communities and the world. With the data and knowledge we have from the past 100 years of independent schooling, we can and do understand how trends (be they educational, civic, political, religious, bu ..read more

As soon as I hear the opening notes of Avril Lavigne’s hit song “Complicated,” I’m immediately transported to another place and time. It’s 2002, and I can feel the sun’s rays on my face and smell the chlorine of Island Park Pool in Fargo, ND. The air is thick with humidity and laughter. I’m sitting next to my best friends, kids I have known since kindergarten, and we don’t have any cares in the world (except for getting a nice tan, obviously). It’s safe to say that “Complicated” is part of the soundtrack of my high school experience. I’m sure anyone reading this post has similar associations ..read more

It’s either really close or just happened. . . . These two words make every student and every teacher light up—Spring Break! On behalf of CACE, we wish for you, or hope that you had, a time of refreshment and renewal. When I started my teaching career in the Dinosaur Era, spring break always coincided with Good Friday and Easter. While that scheduling meant the break started on March 25 or waited until April 25, I always appreciated what I referred to as Easter Break. As a former school calendar creator, I realize the challenge such a range brings to the school schedule. Still, there was some ..read more

Whereas I love being a history teacher, as a student I didn’t always love history class. Though I always had some interest in the stories of the past, that was usually in spite of my history classes, not because of them. It’s telling that I remember what the walls and windows of my high school classrooms looked like, but not so much the faces of my history teachers. I recall a multitude of packets and worksheets, but not much of an invitation or reason to engage with this history stuff outside of class. I am hopeful that students at Southwest Christian experience something other than what I d ..read more

Much has changed since Converge 2022, when over 900 Christian school leaders gathered in San Diego for encouragement and refreshment after a trying three years of disruption. Since then, and as we look to Converge 2025 in Orlando, some things have improved: COVID has largely faded into the background, and interest and enrollments in Christian schools are significantly up. At the same time, challenges remain or have become amplified in the education sector—like educator stress and burnout, teacher shortages, student mental health concerns, and divisive politics—all of which impact Christian sc ..read more