Sessions & Presenters 2022
VISION & LEADERSHIP
Harnessing the Revolution: Recognizing and Leveraging the Revolution That is Taking Place in K-12 Education
Dr. Gene Frost, Executive Director | Wheaton Academy Foundation, West Chicago, IL
Now, more than ever, our Christian schools cannot stand still—the weaker schools are dying, and the stronger schools are thriving. What’s the difference? It’s not demographics, tuition rates, a particular curriculum, or any other number of traditional explanations. Christian schools that are failing are doing so because they are following a failed model. Conversely, Christian schools that are thriving are following a different model. Which model are you following? This breakout will explain the answer to that question and help you set your school on a path to transformational success.
The “Who” Matters—the Importance of Personnel in Transforming Your School
Dr. Gene Frost, Executive Director | Wheaton Academy Foundation, West Chicago, IL
Jim Collins, in his landmark book “Good to Great,” explains that “Who” comes before “What.” You will never be a great school unless you have great people in the right seats. This breakout will not only focus on the importance of personnel but on how to get the right people in the right seats on your bus and the wrong people off the bus. Bring your tough personnel situations and questions and be prepared to begin the transformation of your school through the transformation of its personnel.
What I Wish I Knew
Steve Bult, Head of School | Wheaton Academy, West Chicago, IL
Lessons are often learned from making mistakes or from trial and error. Sometimes, the best way to keep from making painful mistakes as leaders is to learn from the mistakes and journey of another leader. Steve Bult has served for over 23 years in school leadership as assistant principal, principal, and head of school. In this session, Steve will share some of what he has learned over the years from making mistakes himself or from learning from the mistakes of others. This session will be especially helpful for new leaders or those who are mentoring new leaders.
Developing Leaders and Teams that Thrive
Kori Hockett, Principal | Wheaton Academy, West Chicago, IL
In this season of intense pressure for those who lead, the need for leadership training has never been more significant. In this session, we will discuss how to identify and develop individual leaders, how to build trust within an effective leadership team, and how to cultivate unity in Christ by leveraging the different backgrounds, perspectives, and gifts our school leaders bring to the table.
Cutting-Edge Neuroscience Meets Practical Strategies in Leadership, Influence, Resilience and Team Building
Tony Woodall, President | Rootstock, Inc.
In this session we will equip you with cutting edge, practical strategies – based on neuroscience – for organizational health that motivates leaders to lead, with genuine confidence, from the core of who they are. Covering topics and strategies related to emotional intelligence, the neuroscience of bond and influence, and recovering from challenging experiences as a cohesive team.
Anticipating and Accommodating Explosive Growth
Gregg Pinick, Executive Director & Head of School | Trinity Lutheran School, Bend, OR
I was an Executive Director/Head of School in my first year at a new school with a new leadership team when the pandemic hit. Over the next 22 months, we witnessed many twists and turns, and a better understanding of what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote Ephesians 3:20-21. I’ll share what we learned, how we pivoted, and where we are heading, going toward a great future that includes 80% growth in enrollment over that time period.
LGBTQ, Social Justice, and More: Toward Writing Policy on the Tough Issues for Today
Dr. Ben Shin, Professor | Talbot Theological Seminary and Local Pastor and Christian School Board member | Pasadena, CA
This session will explain the process and criterion for developing policy on the challenging issues that Christian institutions face today. This includes subjects such as sexuality and social justice. More than the conclusions of the “what” to write for these subjects, this session will highlight the “why” and “how” as a part of the process.
Transformational Change in the Christian School: From Data to Decision-Making
Clint Holden, President | SchoolRight
It would be foolish to trust your instincts when trying to captain a large vessel, rather than rely on the expertise of data to help you navigate the open seas. What if you were right 50% of the time? How about 65% of the time? A lot of lives are in your hands. A lot is at stake. Those odds aren’t too comforting, are they? You get the picture. This would be foolish leadership. The same is true regarding educational and institutional change. Data is the rudder that helps guide wise leadership and decision-making. It’s been said that, “Without Data, you’re just another person with an opinion” (Demming). Learn how properly collected and analyzed data can help you lead transformational change in your school.
Moving from the Salary Grid: Transforming the Child’s Education (dual track with SF & P)
Simon Jeynes, Executive Director | Christian School Management
What kind of performance do we want to pay our teachers for? For most Christian schools, we pay for breathing (experience) and paper (education). The Gospels and educational research suggest that neither of these actually impact the child. The salary grid is now officially over 100 years old. It’s time to move on.
Curriculum & Instruction
Moving Students from the Passenger Seat to the Driver’s Seat is Up to You
Susan Macaluso, Director of Curriculum & Instruction | Wheaton Christian Grammar School, Winfield, IL
How are you leading your K-8 students to understand, practice, and apply the learner characteristics of resilience, motivation, growth mindset, and inspiration? What strategies can educators utilize to awaken learners to engage in the learning process with ownership, discipline, and compassion? All teachers have a great sense of efficacy, desiring to accomplish these outcomes. And research would show that this generation has great learning and leadership potential. Let’s unpack how our actions can matter, building habits of the mind, so we understand how to lead with strategies that awaken the learner to meet classroom expectations, poised for engagement, and successful at life.
The High Impact of Having a Portrait of Your Graduate (dual track with SL & SL)
Dr. Matthew Northrop, Associate Head of School — Academics and the Arts | Oaks Christian School, Thousand Oaks, CA
As students graduate, families and schools take an abundance of photographs. But, what if we could also take a picture of WHO our students had become while attending our school? We spend a lot of time thinking about what we want our students to know—are we spending time purposefully thinking about who we want them to become? At Oaks Christian, we developed an exciting framework we call our Portrait of a Graduate. The application of this tool has been a difference maker as we think through Spiritual Life, Student Life, Curriculum Development, Communication/Marketing, Advancement, strategic Planning, and much more. Whether you are interested in developing your own Portrait of a Graduate or want to discover how you might use a Portrait of a Graduate to help students flourish, preparing them not only for graduation, but to difference-makers in college and beyond, then this is a session you won’t want to miss.
The Transformative Power of a Maker Space
Miguel Almena, Technologies Integration Learning Environment Director | Maranatha High School, Pasadena, CA
The Importance of Teacher Evaluation and How to Do It Well
Kori Hockett, Principal | Wheaton Academy, West Chicago, IL
The competitive market demands the delivery of an outstanding education to all students. This requires leadership investment in faculty development. A quality teacher evaluation program is essential to growing a strong faculty that lives the Christian curriculum and advances the mission. Living Curriculum Teachers invest in students’ character and learning habits so that students not only gain knowledge, but also the character traits and skills necessary to be successful in life after high school. During this session, Kori will walk you through Wheaton Academy’s Living Curriculum Teacher evaluation approach and criteria. The breakout will include a practical discussion of how to implement and maintain a strong faculty evaluation model in your school.
The Living Curriculum Teacher Development Model™
Kori Hockett, Principal | Wheaton Academy, West Chicago, IL & Phil Strzalka, Executive Director | Wheaton Academy Institute
Any teacher evaluation system requires leadership, a process, and a system. In this session, Kori and Phil will walk you through the Living Curriculum Teacher Development Model™ (LCTDM), a system created for Wheaton Academy’s teacher evaluation process. In this breakout, you will see and discuss the features of and process for teacher evaluation.
Transforming Your School and Its Mission through Distance Learning in 2022 and Beyond
Dr. Josh Thomason, Executive Director | Ethos
Thought leaders are now considering how COVID has accelerated the pre-existing changes emerging in parent choice and sociological change that is underway in learning—not returning to past models, but leading the way into the future. This session will discuss ways in which school leaders can navigate these needed changes in meaningful ways that honor and respect the past, while remaining responsive to the changing needs of our students and families for the future.
Transformation Within the Classroom: I’ve got the POWER! The Classroom Power Dynamics
Joel Hazard, Head of Academic Collaboration and Culture | Fellowship Christian School, Roswell, GA
A major concern for any educator is losing control of his/her class. Due to this concern, educators can often structure their class in a way that stifles student engagement, buy-in, and creativity. In this session, educators will learn reasonable strategies for sharing the power dynamics in the classroom while still maintaining control.
Teaching for Transformation: Transforming Your School by Transforming Your Students (dual track with SL & SL)
Dr. Timothy VanSoelen, Professor of Education | Dordt University, IA and Director | Center for the Advancement of Christian Education (CACE)
This session is designed for K-12 teachers and administrators to explore what it means to design deeper learning experiences that invite, nurture, and empower students to play their part in God’s story while meeting the expressed mission/vision of their school. Workshop participants will be introduced to the Teaching for Transformation framework through K-12 learning stories that illustrate TfT’s core practices. The deep hope for this session is that you will be encouraged to imagine deeper learning that invites you, your students, and your school to play their role in God’s story.
Transformation Within the School Community: Diversifying Your School amid CRT (dual track with SL & SL)
Joel Hazard, Head of Academic Collaboration and Culture | Fellowship Christian School, Roswell, GA
The conversation surrounding CRT has generated a heightened sense of fear and/or concern in our school communities. It seems to be common ground for some stakeholders to liken our diversity efforts to the teaching and training of CRT. Due to these misguided notions, schools have found it more difficult to have conversations and continue in their efforts to diversify their school community. In this session, you will learn how one school is navigating the CRT terrain while moving forward with their diversity initiatives.
The Cheapest Way to Transform the Child’s Experience: the Stewardship of Sacred Time
Simon Jeynes, Executive Director | Christian School Management
Why do so many children in our Christian schools love their teachers but not their experience? Why are they proud of their schools and intend to stay in them but not look forward to coming to school every day? Come to a workshop on scheduling – bring your master schedule with you – and let’s look at our schools through the child’s eyes. Scheduling change is the cheapest way to transform the student experience. But it is not easy and challenges old paradigms. Ready for the discussion?
School Finance & Promotion
Discover How You Can Raise the “Serious Money” You Need to Run an Excellent School in the 21st Century
Dr. D. Bruce Lockerbie, President | PAIDEIA, Inc.
In 1996, D. Bruce Lockerbie, Chairman/CEO, PAIDEIA, Inc., reported on a national study of how Christian K-12 schools were funded. The short answer was “poorly” or “inadequately.” But Lockerbie’s book, From Candy Sales to Committed Donors: A Guide to Financing Christian Schools, offered multiple solutions to the Christian school’s lack of funding—beginning by asserting its mission and vision as reasons for support. Twenty years later, in 2016, a second edition of From Candy Sales to Committed Donors had an entirely different story to tell: In two decades, most Christian schools had abandoned the sale of trash ‘n’ trinkets in favor of promoting their high purpose and fulfillment in the lives of their students and alumni. The result was evident in generous financial support.
Moving from the Salary Grid: Transforming the Child’s Education (dual track with V & L)
Simon Jeynes, Executive Director | Christian School Management
What kind of performance do we want to pay our teachers for? For most Christian schools, we pay for breathing (experience) and paper (education). The Gospels and educational research suggest that neither of these actually impact the child. What would your child’s education look like if we held our teachers accountable to being “renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16) on behalf of the child and then attached their pay to that renewal? The salary grid is now officially over 100 years old. It’s time to move on.
Successful Capital Campaigning in the Christian School Culture
Schuyler Lehman, Principal | Mission Advancement
Mission Advancement will help you bridge gap between the implementation of a best-in-class capital campaign and the Christian culture that often feels overlooked. Mission Advancement is a firm that shares your Christian culture and values, and has led countless successful campaigns in Christian schools across the nation. This session will begin with the philosophy that must undergird an extraordinary campaign and walk through planning and implementation best practices.
How True Development Can Transform Your Christian School Forever
Clint Holden, President | SchoolRight
A properly designed and implemented development program does a lot more than just raise a dollar. It influences lives and creates lasting legacy of sustainable funding and financial growth. This workshop will help leaders understand what needs to happen developmentally to move their school financially from where they are to where they want to be.
He Said, She Said: Learning to Build a Network of Parent Ambassadors and Promote Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Sally Strzalka, Parent Ambassador Coordinator | Wheaton Academy, West Chicago, IL
How harnessing the power of word-of-mouth marketing through an ambassador network can attract prospective families to your school and transform the customer experience for your newly enrolled families.
The Best Practices and Common Pitfalls of Facility Improvements
Peter Baldwin, Owner/Principal | AMDG Architects, Grand Rapids, MI
Space matters. When designed well, physical environment can amplify learning and instruction. It can enhance community and significantly alter the trajectory of how you’re able to deliver your mission. Alongside his team, Peter Baldwin, owner and principal of AMDG Architects, has developed best practices for successfully improving facilities. He will share the dos and don’ts of the design process as well as bring light to the many resources at hand and how to use them to their fullest potential.
Student Leadership & Spiritual Life
Moving from Teaching to Discipleship: Discipleship Strategies for the Classroom
Doug Franklin, President | LeaderTreks, Wheaton, IL
The promise of Christian schooling is more than just knowledge—it’s discipleship. Join Doug as he takes an intentional look at how to integrate discipleship and education. Learn practical tips and tricks for building meaningful relationships, sharing personal stories, asking intentional questions, helping students make life applications, and holding students accountable.
Teaching for Transformation: Transforming Your School by Transforming Your Students (dual track with C & I)
Dr. Tim VanSoelen, Professor of Education | Dordt University, IA and Director | Center for the Advancement of Christian Education (CACE)
This session is designed for K-12 teachers and administrators to explore what it means to design deeper learning experiences that invite, nurture, and empower students to play their part in God’s story while meeting the expressed mission/vision of their school. Workshop participants will be introduced to the Teaching for Transformation framework through K-12 learning stories that illustrate TfT’s core practices. The deep hope for this session is that you will be encouraged to imagine deeper learning that invites you, your students, and your school to play their role in God’s story.
Transformation Within the School Community: Diversifying Your School amid CRT (dual track with C & I)
Joel Hazard, Head of Academic Collaboration and Culture | Fellowship Christian School, Roswell, GA
The conversation surrounding CRT has generated a heightened sense of fear and/or concern in our school communities. It seems to be common ground for some stakeholders to liken our diversity efforts to the teaching and training of CRT. Due to these misguided notions, schools have found it more difficult to have conversations and continue in their efforts to diversify their school community. In this session, you will learn how one school is navigating the CRT terrain while moving forward with their diversity initiatives.
Circles of Care: achieving transformation through relationships
Ray Endacott, Associate Head of School for Academic Life | Village Christian School, Los Angeles, CA
Village Christian School’s Circles of Care is a research-based model that builds on the school’s core value of “Real Relationships.” Combined with the signature academic program of “Concentrations,” this program helps students and their parents build a team of supportive, trustworthy, and accessible adults around each student. Through core curriculum in biblical studies courses and the use of meaningful events, students identify and are empowered to reach out to adult mentors.
How to Build a High Impact “Wellness Center” on Your Campus without Breaking the Bank
Tom Konjoyan, Head of School | Village Christian School, Los Angeles, CA
The need for counseling and psychological support services for our students has never been greater, but our budgets are already stretched. Tom Konjoyan, Head of School at Village Christian School in Los Angeles has found a way to build a high quality, high impact counseling resource on his campus by working with local colleges and universities using their internship programs. Join Tom as he explains how this all works and how it might work for your campus as well.
Pray for Me
Doug Franklin, President | LeaderTreks, Wheaton, IL
God has designed his family to experience the generational benefits of being in a relationship with each other. Research shows that intergenerational relationships are a central factor in helping young people flourish in both faith and life. This seminar will explore how schools and families can be intentional in helping young people have the Christ-centered adult relationships they need to flourish in faith and life for a lifetime.
Moving Students from Participants to Leaders
Doug Franklin, President | LeaderTreks, Wheaton, IL
The Leadership Pathway is a tool designed to help you answer the question, “How do I develop leaders in my school?” Join Doug Franklin as he teaches through this simple, practical, and straightforward approach to leadership development that can help you train and equip student leaders, moving them from participants to leaders. You’ll learn five steps that include: Invite, Discover, Equip, Risk, and Sharpen.
The High Impact of Having a Portrait of Your Graduate (dual track with C & I)
Dr. Matthew Northrop, Associate Head of School — Academics and the Arts | Oaks Christian School, Thousand Oaks, CA
As students graduate, families and schools take an abundance of photographs. But, what if we could also take a picture of WHO our students had become while attending our school? We spend a lot of time thinking about what we want our students to know—are we spending time purposefully thinking about who we want them to become? At Oaks Christian, we developed an exciting framework we call our Portrait of a Graduate. The application of this tool has been a difference maker as we think through Spiritual Life, Student Life, Curriculum Development, Communication/Marketing, Advancement, strategic Planning, and much more. Whether you are interested in developing your own Portrait of a Graduate or want to discover how you might use a Portrait of a Graduate to help students flourish, preparing them not only for graduation, but to difference-makers in college and beyond, then this is a session you won’t want to miss.
The Head, The Hand, and The Heart: Essential Elements of Whole Student Transformation
Bill Simmer, Consultant & Executive Coach | Christian School Management
Are our Christian Schools facilitating the discipleship of our students effectively? How do we enhance relevance and world impact while maintaining a biblical counterculture? This question cries out ever louder as we prepare to welcome a wave of former public-school families into our schools. What will the impact on our school cultures be? What should it be? And what programmatic, personnel, curricular, and professional development practices do we need to have in play to be transformational in the lives of our students, whatever their background. This workshop will discuss what CSM sees as several key elements of whole student transformation. Come share with your fellow Christian educators and see what elements you might want to take back to your school.
Inklings on Philosophy and Worldview: a new (and fun) way of learning and teaching about building and sustaining a Christ-centered biblical worldview
Matthew Dominguez, Author, Teacher, Trainer, Curriculum Designer | InTheTrueMyth.org
Matthew’s groundbreaking insights into how to equip people to view the world through the lens of reality will impact the way your school thinks and talks about worldview across all disciplines. His engaging, relevant, and accessible “Expedition 3:15” curriculum (based on I Peter 3:15) helps students, parents, and educators make sense of the world of philosophy and worldview in a simple and honorable way with “gentleness and respect.” In fact, a firm understanding of the nature of reality and a personal grasp of the implications of individual trust will equip students to confidently move beyond observation to accurately perceive, engage, and influence the world in which we live with grace and truth. Matthew has a passion for Christ-centered discipleship and worldview, empowering others in creating and sustaining kingdom fellowship and equipping leaders and educators with life-giving principles and effective practical tools for Christ-centered leadership, discipleship, and spiritual formation.