Category: Educational Leadership

5 Elements of Faculty Culture for a New School to Implement on Day 1

With the skyrocketing number of new classical schools opening each year in the United States and beyond, the launch teams for these schools are no doubt busy working to prepare for the first day of school. On the one hand, this inaugural day probably feels far away yet. But on the other hand, for these pioneers, it is coming all too fast.  To prepare for a launch year, there are a number of elements for school founders to discuss, care for, and organize into a cohesive plan. These elements, many of which are minute, taken individually may at times feel

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The Goal of School Education

What is the goal of school education? This is a foundational question that demands an answer. Organizations are complex entities with moving and disparate parts. Schools are no exception. Facilities, insurance, safety, technology, admissions, marketing, communications, and development are all essential functions of school operations, and I have yet to even mention academics. Each department of the school must be aligned toward a singular purpose, what we call the school’s mission. This mission must answer the question: What is the goal of school education? To consider a response, let us turn to philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff (b. 1932), whom I have

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An Educational Renaissance for the Development Shop

The purpose of Educational Renaissance is to promote a rebirth of ancient wisdom for the modern era. Through synthesizing the insights of the great philosophers of education across time and place with contemporary findings in modern research, we aspire to serve fellow educators in the worthy calling to educate future generations for the good of society and in service to the church.  If you are new to this blog, you will notice that we typically focus on wisdom and modern research for the classroom or homeschool. As classical Christian educators who have been profoundly influenced by the educational philosophy of

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Ending the Year with a Strong Parent Partnership

One key end-of-the-year objective for teachers is to bring parent partnerships to a positive conclusion. All year long teachers have worked diligently to facilitate these relationships. From first contact at a back-to-school event to parent-teacher conferences to ad hoc meetings, teachers have likely interfaced with parents on a number of occasions. To end the year positively, teachers do well to think through how to complete this partnership on a strong note. Most teachers, of course, do not enter education because of their passion to partner with parents. However, it does not take long for a new teacher to realize that

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Building Culture: The Architecture of a Successful Classroom

Previously I explored how we can create culture in our classrooms to foster growth in habits through the installation of rich values that inspire students to reach for personal excellence. Since then, I have had many opportunities to further my thinking and interact with even more perspectives to equip teachers to lead their students towards success. In this article, we will develop a framework for the classroom centered around the idea that each class is a team. This framework revolves around two general concepts: strong relationships and strategic routines. These might seem either obvious or overly general. But we shall

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Refining the Mission for an Aligned Community

In organizational development, scholars often make the distinction between an organization’s vision and mission. While there are numerous ways to differentiate between the two, generally speaking, an organization’s vision is an inspirational picture of the future. It is the aspirational end state that comes from asking the question, “What if the world could be different? What if it looked like…this?”  A vision, as you might expect, is purposefully general. It can be so broad, in fact, that it can entail a number of pathways to achieve it. This is where an organizational mission comes in. A mission is a purpose

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3 Leadership Books for Teachers

Teachers are the leaders of their classrooms. Now, this may seem obvious (who else would be in charge?), so let me explain. Teachers are responsible for the execution of classroom objectives and the development of their students. In a healthy school, they are given the freedom and responsibility, within a broader structure of administrative oversight, to make key decisions pertaining to how they will empower their students to learn and grow. For example, a teacher responsible for teaching The Great Gatsby must consider how the book will be taught, what she will focus on, and how she intends for students

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Creating Culture: The Ultimate Habit Training Tool

The lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) is such a lovely plant. By all appearances it is a delicate flowering plant. Dunbar refers to “the Lily of the Valley | With its soft, retiring ways.” in his poem “Lily of the Valley” (1913). Despite its appearance and reputation, the heartiness of the plant is one of its most striking features. All through the winter, its stalks remain green, awaiting the merest hint of Spring to begin unfurling its twin leaves. A stem reaches up in late Spring displaying a vertical row of white flowers, which will transform into tiny red

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So, You Think You Want to be a Principal…

School Principal Job Description Unclogging toilets and mopping up sewage in the restrooms of your new facility Setting up hundreds of chairs for an event on your own because you know you can’t ask any more of your teachers or volunteers Subbing for Calculus one day and Kindergarten the next, outside of your comfort zone and with unclear lesson plans Kindly mediating an hour and a half long meeting with a teacher and an unhappy set of parents who will likely leave the school Trying to keep track of complicated budgets for various areas of the school, when you’ve got

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7 Notable Schools: Educational Renewal across the Globe

I visited Ireland a few weeks ago and met with a group of homeschool parents just outside Dublin. As I was presenting on Charlotte Mason’s method of narration, it struck me that the principles and values of our educational renewal movement are not beholden to one single culture. Across the globe a Christian liberal arts education utilizing great texts with a sound pedagogy can flourish wherever it’s planted. Classical Christian education is not merely the domain of the US, but is taking root throughout the world. In this article I want to chronicle some of the exciting locations where some

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