About Us
Leveraging all we've learned to advance Christian schooling for the glory of god.
Our mission and vision
Our mission is to advance Christian schooling for the glory of God.
Our desire is for Christian schools to have a lifelong impact on the students and the families they serve.
We believe a “third wave” of contemporary American history in education provides perhaps the greatest opportunity for Christian schools to transform the lives of students, having an enduring impact on families for generations to come.
We exist to partner with Christian school leaders globally to grow greatness in Christian schools, to fulfill their mission, and to have this lifelong impact.
Learning from our trials
After over 170 years, Wheaton Academy is grateful for the blessings of steady enrollment, balanced budgets, dedicated faculty, and hard-working students excelling in all areas.
It hasn’t always been this way. There have been years of declining enrollment, low morale, and strained budgets. But those trials gave us opportunities to grow and learn, encouraging us to develop programs to strengthen our core and avoid repeating our mistakes.
Sharing what we have learned
For the last 30 years, Wheaton Academy’s leadership has set out to learn from the best, refining methods, programs, and offerings to meet a diverse set of its own needs.
The Wheaton Academy Board of Trustees formed the Institute in 2010, as a separate not-for-profit organization, to share what it has and continues to learn with the goal of advancing Christian schooling for the glory of God far beyond the campus of Wheaton Academy.
During this time, we have tested methods and refined offerings to meet the diverse needs of Christian schools across the country and in different parts of the world.
Look below to see what we offer to support you in your own journey to advance the mission of your school!
Offerings
We offer these unique tools:
Annually, the Institute hosts the Best Practices for the Christian School, where, over three days, seasoned practitioners facilitate cohorts of Christian school leaders through workshop sessions on topics associated with their role. These leaders have an opportunity to go deep into best practices and application for their school, learn the “how” (not just the “why”), find time to workshop application to their own school, and connect with colleagues to support them all year long. We then bring whole teams together from schools to prioritize what they have learned and determine what they should bring back to their own schools. Check out our Upcoming Events page for more information about the intensive tracks, schedules, faculty, and specific topics.
Assess your own school’s journey to becoming an “uncommon” Christian school (i.e., a school that has a lifelong impact on the students and families its serves for generations to come) by taking our self-assessment. This assessment evaluates your school in 7 areas – mission and vision, Board oversight, leadership team, culture & people management, marketing & enrollment, programming, and operational excellence. Based on your results, we offer first steps to consider for improving in the areas requiring attention. You can also ask to work with one or a team of our seasoned faculty to address specific areas in your school’s self-assessment through a consulting engagement.
Dig deep into your educational leadership and teacher development with our offering of workshops on learning philosophy, teacher evaluation, and development. Become a subscriber to our performance evaluation tool – the Living Curriculum Development Model.
Join our network of 50+ schools and their leaders managing international student programs by joining our Global Network. You will have access to virtual roundtables, registration at our annual in-person intensive, and a library of helpful documents associated with international student programs.
Through the Institute, you can join a network of school leaders performing the same role as you in our virtual roundtable discussion groups facilitated by our faculty.
You can engage one or a team of our expert faculty to facilitate your school through a “future-back” strategic planning process. We can also provide your individual school leaders with leadership coaching in monthly sessions facilitated by our faculty using a developed methodology and curriculum.
Purchase one of our recommended publications, including Dr. Gene Frost’s Learning from the Best: Growing Greatness in the Christian School or Learning from the Best Volume Two: Growing Greatness that Endures in the Christian School in our online store.
Our team
The Wheaton Academy Institute is dedicated to providing the best care and service to all your educational needs. In each of our roles, we promise to faithfully and whole-heartedly serve you.