This fool of a writer is developing a philosophy of Christian Education. This entry is a foray into developing a philosophy of administration in a Christian school. Perhaps you, beloved, will be edified.
But whoever would be great among you must be your servant and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
~ Mark 10:43b-45
Christian schools are unique environments, with astounding potential for positive change in society and the Kingdom of God. The beautiful and intentional blurring of the divide between secular thought and sacred relationship with God, through the Person of Jesus Christ – in the power of the Holy Spirit – produces one of the most productive environments available in the Great Commission. Where people learn that all of life is about Jesus and the Gospel, and that the Gospel is relevant to all areas of thought and learning, great good can happen.
An organization like a school is also unique because of the diverse interests that must come together to produce an effective, safe, enjoyable, and peaceful learning environment. In a school, or district, an administrator sits along the nexus of resolving the ongoing organizational conflict, and the policy and educational tensions between a board of governors, staff, teachers, students and parents. While a school is somewhat of a business, the products are not widgets or data – it is, rather, the relevant value added to already infinitely valuable souls. And as such, an administrator is serving an organization whose measurements of success go far beyond some sort of bottom-line accounting.
Of primary importance for an administrator, is the requirement that they be growing in integrity. As teachers are easily identified by students if they are hypocritical, teachers, parents and governance will quickly lose faith in an administrator who is not really working to serve and lead and grow. No one should expect any person to be perfect, but a school has the reasonable expectation that a leader in a Christian school be a man or woman who is growing in their relationship with Jesus, and manifesting the fruit and gifting given to them by Him.
Additionally, an administrator must have a wide range of tools in his/her “toolbox” in order to be effective. They should have teaching experience, but also an understanding of (and experience in) leadership principals, management and ministry. On top of that, in the 21st century, it is optimal if the administrator has a solid grasp on data and information theory and technology. Beyond the “hard skills,” an administrator must come with a clear vision for helping the school integrate the content the students learn into heart-motivated and effective action in the world.
Further, to get things done, instead of simply “telling people what to do,” a Christian school administrator must build consensus across a diverse group of people, by clearly communicating governance’s vision and goals with his/her team. Servant leadership is not a term that can be given mere “lip-service” in a position like this. While the administrator holds positional authority, he/she has around them a wide and deep pool of talented educators, There is the need to identify their talents and gifting, that actual authority may be delegated (and cultivated) to a number of working and interdependent teams. And while clear organizational charts, and loci of responsibility are required, the ad hoc nature of many management activities at a school require active participation by teams of teachers and others who are empowered by administration to get their job done well.
In terms of strategy, a successful administrator will work to fulfill the definition of his/her title. This will involve a working style that is completely geared towards service, servant leadership, stewardship of resources, attention to detail, and exemplifying helping, discipline, clarity and transparency. Further, a good administrator will properly interpret the direction of governance and translate these mandates into appropriate programs and projects to fulfill their direction.
In addition to an active stance of service, an administrator will be well-studied on the latest body of knowledge in education, and clear about what they think. They must be willing to stand on issues, but also an administrator must be willing to modify their positions based on the inputs of a broad range of people who may bring new light to bear on a situation (including Scripture and the direct leading of the Holy Spirit). Said simply: administrators must be flexible without being fickle. And to this end, an administrator will often be casting and re-casting vision, and sharing his/her findings with the staff and teachers and students.
Beyond casting vision on various academic subjects, a Christian school administrator is tasked with the serious mission of helping teachers continuously integrate their teaching plans and materials with the Word of God. In doing this, great care should be taken to assure we don’t just “tack” Bible verses onto our lessons. We need to be helping teachers to develop vision for how the manifold wisdom of God is the very wellspring of human knowledge; that our subjects do indeed flow FROM His Word and the general revelation of creation. When we get this flow right in our hearts and minds as administrators and educators, the Bible will become a live and exciting platform from which to launch into every discipline we teach.
Education is changing rapidly. With the exponential growth of good content now instantly available online, great leaps forward are being made in active, and flipped-classroom learning. The whole purpose for being in a classroom is moving UP Bloom’s taxonomy towards the higher order thinking skills of analysis, evaluation and creation. The need to “retain content” is quickly becoming outdated. Memorization of generic content, while a useful mental exercise (and excellent for integrating core ideas of Scripture, and other discipline’s axioms), is not a required skill in the information age. It is, quite frankly, impossible (and even counter-productive to attempt) to memorize the body of knowledge in any field. All are growing at ever-accelerating rates. A good administrator will be well-versed in the latest research on where classrooms and teaching approaches are “going,” and help a school move along a careful, but assertive path of continuous improvement.
In terms of academics, one the vital functions of administration is to help create a learning and curriculum map wherein a school can identify and analyze whether it is meeting its goals. Information tools exist today that can vastly expand a school’s capacity to accomplish inter-discipline education (synergy), and avoid gaps in a cadre’s learning portfolio. However, technology by itself is not a solution. An administrator must be able to manage the projects required to help the school to develop its data metrics, curricula/resources, planning requirements, human resources, facilities, capital and other items in line with the goal of comprehensive Christian education.
In addition to global (school-wide, district-wide) mapping of outcomes and learning flows, an administrator must work tirelessly to develop the capabilities of other staff and teachers. Wherever possible, the goal of an administrator is to expand the ability of teachers to teach, staff to do their job, and students to learn. Perhaps the clearest way to say this, is that an administrator’s strategy should be to actively develop and mentor a number of people who could eventually do his/her job much better than they themselves could have ever imagined doing it. There is no space in Christian education (or 21st century “light-speed” education) for building of “empires.” The mission is simply too dire, and the environment too fluid, to imagine reaching some sort of stasis, and an administrator “coasting” to retirement or the end of a contract.
Another strategy an administrator must follow is to be a balancer of requirements. There will always be necessary competition and conflict in a school for space, headcount, funds, equipment, and other resources. An administrator must constantly seek God, and good human counsel, for wisdom to balance nearly-limitless needs against limited resources. There will be times to go fast and have high quality. This will cost more. There will be times where the money will not be there, and high quality is still required. And a wise administrator will set slower schedules to allow talent to make up for lack of funds. Certain outcomes will be impossible, and it is also the responsibility of an administrator to feed “bad news” back to governance in a timely manner to avoid major organizational problems.
An administrator’s job is not really something that ever ends. However, in closing, here is a sampling of the practices of a good administrator (no particular order):
- Love is the profound concern for the wellbeing of another without regard as to whether the other loves me back. Apply Love liberally. If the Love does not work, use more.
- Meet with you core team for five minutes every morning.
- Learn something new every day. Reflect on something you did wrong the day before.
- Team members shall never be afraid to express an idea or to disagree. Never. Period.
- Champion people. If someone is going to “take a beating,” it is going to be you first.
- Mistakes/failure are allowed by everyone, and utilized as an opportunity to learn.
- Organizational conflict is a given. Develop processes for quick and Biblical resolution.
- Be the first in, and last out of meetings, etc.
- Constantly ask teachers, in casual conversation, good questions about what they are learning and what they need to do their job. Then listen to the answers.
- Exemplify a solid work ethic.
- Seek to understand first, because you probably don’t.
- Communicate, communicate, communicate.
- Be out of your office more than in it. Manage by being with your team.
- Drive your decision cycle a few days ahead of expected deadlines.
- Avoid the imperative, unless absolutely required.
- Give people what they need to do their job, and support them as they do it.
- Challenge people. Never bury them in requirements.
- Stay in the Word. Read. Believe. Obey. Repeat.
- People like to be treated like people. Do this. Period.
- Rarely correct people. Speak rather to who they are, and how they are strong.
- Do not quickly dismiss a crazy idea.
- Say no when necessary.
- Keep a running “top 10” list.
- Re-center on Christ at least 2x per day in intentional prayer and devotions.
- Do not be whipped around by every fad or idea.
- Have an open door policy to all appropriate persons.
- Gently insulate against intrusion from others. Have a gatekeeper.
- Actively invite input on issues from relevant persons.
