In his blog from April “The Right People in the Right Seats” Tim Van Soelen encourages Christian schools to attract talent into their school through the lens of Collins’ research on Good to Great businesses. This sparked a question from a number of friends who were in the midst of hiring for next school year, which was: How do we … Read More
Christian Schools Are Good News for Society at Large
**Richard Edlin, in his book, “The Cause of Christian Education” explores the reasons for and the distinctives of Christian education at the school and higher education levels. Edlin highlights foundational belief perspectives and shows how these apply in curriculum and related areas such as vision and mission, the place of the Bible, evaluation and assessment, the teacher as mentor, and … Read More
Independent School Marketers: 3 Steps to Maximize Your Marketing
Independent School marketers are always looking for the best way to attract and engage target markets to content. As a graduate student in the Northwestern Medill Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program with expertise in independent school marketing, I have found two articles you will find interesting and insightful. In “The Importance of Visual Storytelling to Marketing Strategy” by Kasey Larsen on VerticalRailCreative.com, the … Read More
Learning More About Deeper Learning
In my recent posts, I have mentioned the term Deeper Learning. This term was actually coined by the Hewlett Foundation to describe the practice of a network of schools who are “doing school differently.” In this post I would like to describe the aspects of Deeper Learning and give resources for further exploration. The Deeper Learning Network consists of individual … Read More
Marketing Research, Part 2: Satisfaction in a Changing Market
This is the second blog in a 5 part series on the types of marketing research that prove to be the most effective for Christian schools and how to think strategically about research. My goal is to provide a small toolbox of articles that can be used by Christian school leaders to assess their overall approach, and supplement, where possible, … Read More
Rethinking Recess
Some of my clearest memories of elementary school are the all-out sprints from the door to be the first to the basketball court, baseball diamond or the merry-go-round at recess. I remember, like it was yesterday, how hard it was to stay in the single file line from the classroom to the exit door, frustrated by how slowly the line had to … Read More
Support and Experiences: The College Advantage
As a college counselor at a highly regarded academic institution, my students are consistently seeking for the best in collegiate education. However, the cultural pressure to attend a highly selective university often outweighs the benefits students may gain from other less notable possibilities. Frank Bruni has written recently in an Op-Ed about what is happening near me in Palo Alto … Read More
Marketing Research, Part 1: Price
This is the first in a 5 part series on the types of marketing research that prove to be most effective for Christian schools and how to think strategically about research. This blog series will explore the following elements of marketing research: Pricing Satisfaction Message testing Brand Positioning Brand Awareness & Perception Let’s start with pricing research – maybe the … Read More
Connecting Christian Education, CSI History, and Deeper Learning
(In the last two posts I wrote about a student engaged movement that is growing among Christian schools and how this type of education is gaining popularity; it seems to be more congruent with Biblical views of students as image-bearers. In the last post I mentioned several organizations that are offering professional development opportunities in this area of emphasis. I … Read More
Leadership Lessons from a Hospital Room
I have been having many fun conversations about education recently, and have other blogs that I am working on entitled “NCLB Reauthorization and Private Schools”, “I Hate Homework”, and a follow-up to “Innovation and Digical Schools”. However, March 2015 is Multiple Myeloma Awareness month, and I thought I would share some leadership lessons from my journey through the early days … Read More