Category: post 4.1

Response to “Post 4.1 Chances to make a difference” 

Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/robtegelberg/2018/10/26/post-4-1-chances-to-make-a-difference/

Hi Rob! I believe this is the first time I am responding to one of your posts. I am glad I have the chance to get a glimpse of your school. After reading this post, I would not mind getting more information about your school.

It seems to be a great school with a positive administration who understands the vision and a principal who is very transparent and encouraging with her evaluation. I cannot say I have been this way all the time. I leave most of the teacher evaluations of my teacher coordinators. In Paraguay, all private schools have teacher coordinators who work between the teachers and the principal. Something we did not have when I taught in the US.

In the US, the Christian school that I worked at also struggled to create a blue ocean in a red ocean. The school never did go the path of being missional, although I would have liked it. Your school seems to have found that path and appears to be making a difference. Currently, I do work at a school whose mission is to be missional. The vast majority of our students come from non-Christian families, and a significant number are a low income, the reason why we offer scholarships to 60% of them.

I believe the role of Christian school cannot be to the only cater to Christian families. A book that has been very significant to me is Wolters (2005) Creation Regained. As Christians, one is called to regain in creation what has been lost through the fall. Not just to regain but to also renew, heal, and restore. Christ himself said that He did not come for the healthy, but the sick (Mark 2:17). I see education sometimes as an excuse to bring people back into a personal relationship with God. Yes, we want to bring excellence in academics, sports, etc. But, that is not the end, our goal is to transform people through Christ.

Blessings,

Reference

Wolters, A. M. (2005). Creation Regained: Biblical basics for a reformational worldview. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

This is a response to Stella Peters blog “If Only I Had the Chance”

If Only I Had the Chance… (Post 4.1)

Thank you, Stella, for this walkthrough of what you would change and what you can change in your school. This dream and this vision you have for your school I which and hope my teachers can have for our school as well. As Lepsinger (2010) says, “vision helps drive execution” (p. 36).

I worked as a teacher for many years, and now I am an administrator. It has been very eye-opening to see things from another perspective. I have to confess that as a teacher I did criticize many decisions the principal made. Now, I wonder what my teachers say.

You mention that pay could improve, especially for teachers that have been around ten years or more. I have addressed salaries with our board, and I also wonder if we could not do better. In reality, we are part of a Church association that owns several other schools, and there is this thinking that mission schools do not necessarily need to pay as much as other private schools. It is similar to what happens at church occasionally. We give to church when there is an excess of time, money, clothing, etc. I am learning to give my best, my career, my life, to serve the Kingdom. I also used to think that way and sometimes still do.

What a reality check. Does our school make a difference in our community? Are we faithful to our mission? For three years we have been gone out into the neighborhood and picked up trash. Paraguay is not a clean country. People throw trash everywhere. We also offer adult trade classes to parents and the city, and we have started volunteering with our students in other schools that are less fortunate. We want to make a difference; we do not want to be irrelevant. God calls us to be salt and light. We cannot be lukewarm. As an institution, we seek to influence the community. Hughes, Colarelli-Beatty and Dinwood (2014) speak of strategic influence, and although they speak more on a personal level, I think the institution also tries to connect, mobilize, weave, and transform the community (pp. 178-179).

Since I started my masters, I have tried to own Spears (2010) 10 characteristics of a servant leader. I am teaching these to a group of students, to my staff, and my leadership team. As you say, “ it’s my turn.” What can I do influence and make a difference?

Thank you for what you are doing at your school. You are and will be a blessing to the school, to the administration, and your friends. And by the way, you do have the chance.

Reference

Hughes R., Colarelli-Beatty K. & Dinwoodie D. (2014) Becoming a strategic leader. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Second Edition.

Lepsinger, R. (2010). Closing the execution gap. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Spears, L. C. (2010). Character and servant leadership: Ten characteristics of effective, caring leaders. The Journal of Virtues & Leadership, 1(1), 25-30.

Organizational Success

            As the principal at Colegio Johannes Gutenberg Campo 9, I have the responsibility and the obligation to lead and direct the school on the right path. Our school is young; we just celebrated our 5^th anniversary. We are still trying to find our way and rhythm of work. Just like a child, a young institution seems at times somewhat unbalanced and fragile, yet can show high energy and enthusiasm. During the early stage of an institution, it is essential to find the right path that will lead to healthy growth and bring the institution into full maturity.

As a former principal once said, “the school is what the teachers are.” Human resources are key to the success of any institution. As Galbraith (2014) mentioned, “hire hard, manage easy” (p. 53). It is yet a dream to have more options while hiring. We have great difficulty finding well-prepared staff. Much of the training and preparation we do in-house. We invest in training. Our board allows us to spend much more on training than other schools in the area.

Barriers

I see the list below as a few of the challenges that we face in our country, in our community, and in our school.

• Shortage of well-trained staff and people that carry Christian values.
• Lack of commitment to a profession.
• Lack of professionalism in the career.
• Lack of understanding of teamwork.
• Low quality and a shortage of training opportunities.
• Low salaries for teachers.
• Staff members and board members sometimes have a short-term focus
• Lack of trust among people.
• Corruption in all areas of society.

Hope and Renewal  

This past Spring semester I took the LDRS 624 class. During the course, we were able to design our school and create a hiring, training, and discipline and dismissal policy for a new school we created as a team (Longmire, Somers-Harris, Warkentin, and Williams, 2018). I envision these policies as best practices for my institutions. Following these steps, I believe, will also bring continual renewal to the school.

• Staff Selection Policy:
  • evaluate the written application
  • job interview – triangulate interview between the leadership team
  • teaching observations

Currently, I am not able to follow through with all of these steps. This year I had three staff members walkway from their jobs, and I had to hire fast three people to replace these teachers. I was only able to follow through all these steps before hiring the new teachers.

• Orientation and Support policy:
  • Welcoming teachers to the school
  • Mentorship
  • Supervision and Evaluation
  • Professional Development
  • Orientation for all new teachers to the school from the Principal

We have not been able, at this point, to implement a mentorship and well-structured supervision and evaluation. We offer an orientation to new staff members, we offer once a month training to our staff and have professional development money available.

• Discipline and Dismissal policy:
  • We have already implemented the Restorative Discipline Method where we follow a respect agreement.
  • Dismissal is the last option when the restorative discipline has not worked.

I believe that if we can implement and carry through the policies mentioned earlier, we will be able to have a more significant impact in our community, create a corporate identity, and build a stable organizational culture where staff members feel at home and can professionally grow.

I also believe that if we can implement the earlier policies we will be able to shift the negative impact, break down some of the barriers that we currently encounter, and refocus to reclaim organizational purposes.

Besides, to bring renewal to our institution, we have started a conversation with a Christian university to start a new branch in our town. It will yet take a long process but it is something could cause a significant impact in our community. We have also started a new partnership with a local church to start a new sports ministry. This ministry has the purpose to train future leaders and teach biblical values and principals to children in the neighborhood.

Reference

Galbraith, J. R. (2014). Designing organizations. Jossey-Bass & Pfeiffer Imprints, Wiley.

Longmire A., Somers-Harris R. L., Warkentin M., Williams T. (2018) Inquiry Based Project [LDRS 624]. Unpublished Manuscript. Trinity Western University.