Best Practice: Sustainable Competitive Equity September 2013 Exemplary School: Crean Lutheran High School – Irvine, CA Presenters: Principal Jeffrey Beavers and Assistant Principal of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment (CIA) Dan Moyer
Crean Lutheran High School administrators present an approach on how you can equip your team to better understand their role in sustaining the mission of your school, ministry or organization to further advance the mission and vision in order to fulfill The Great Commission. This webinar explores CLHS’s strategic partnerships, learning formats and their unwavering commitment to mission that attributed to their ongoing success.
CREAN LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL’S APPROACH
Content modified from CLHS’s Sustainable Competitive Equity Google Doc
To better comprehend CLHS’s success, Jeffery Beavers and Dan Moyer reflect on The Great Commission.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
The Great Commission – Matthew 28: 19-20
- Being Intentional, having an owner’s mentality and valuing immediacy cannot be understated. Each faculty member has a vital role and as a collective team representing Christ as crucial to your school’s (church/organization) mission and vision as placed in greater context of the Great Commission. (Biblical Basis: Mark 1:16-20)
- Vitality: Why and how faculty and staff members perform in their roles provides the foundation for maintaining the mission and vision – the lifeblood of the school/church/organization. As workers strive to be intentional in providing services “worthy of Christ” and having an owner’s mentality, their Call is to focus their efforts with a missional eye to the long-term welfare of the ministry rather than solely internally with regard to only the needs of the day, hence, Sustainable Competitive Equity.
- Sustainable Competitive Equity: Shared understanding and working definition
- Sustainable
- Capable of being sustained.
- Of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged (e.g. sustainable techniques, sustainable agriculture); b. Of, or relating to, a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods (e.g. sustainable society).
- Competitive
- Inclined, desiring or suited to compete
- Equity
- The value of an owner’s interest in a property in excess of claims against it (e.g. as in the amount of a mortgage)
- Sustainable
SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE EQUITY
In today’s fast-paced and competitive marketplace, the growth, nurture, and harvesting of educational resources with an approach that protects them from depletion and damage is of paramount importance, allowing these resources to serve as continual sources of revitalization for the ministry and providing an ongoing competitive advantage that positions the organization ahead of its financial value.
TOP FACTORS
Top factors at Crean Lutheran High School (CLHS) that led to this current best practice:
- Avoiding Mission-drift: Remaining steadfast and Christ centered, devoted to the mission of Proclaiming Jesus Christ through excellence in education!
- Stewardship: Fiscal wellness and good stewardship practices – running the school like a Christian business, including best practices
- Dedication: Dedicated administration, faculty, and staff
- Global/Community Knowledge and Understanding: Understanding the current landscape in the Southern California region, creating a vision, conducting research (becoming a student), strategically implementing, etc.
- Access for All: Level the playing field and give access to technology and internet resources to all
- 1-to-1 program included in tuition
- Campus-wide WiFi access
- Professional Development: Education and training of faculty and staff on delivery systems (e.g. Moodle), technology, pedagogy, 21st century learning, best practices in online and blended education, etc.
- Compatible Scheduling: Modified block schedule design and change from perpetuity to “college like.”
- Partnership: Developing sound partnerships and maintaining them
KEY PARTNERSHIPS
CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY, IRVINE
Partnership: Early College Courses (ECCs) offered on our campus
Cost: Approximately $30,000
True Value (Equity): Partnership with a local Lutheran university; innovation leading to other ideas (e.g. Medical Cohort Program); collaboration amongst faculty at both campuses; significant added value for parents; future college savings for students; Concordia scholarship
Website: www.cui.edu
CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY, SEWARD
Partnership: “Dual Credit” Program Option (our courses approved by CUNE; parents purchase the credit units)
Cost: Parents pay $85 per credit; faculty spend additional time with CUNE – preparing resumes, syllabi, and an assignment designed to validate course integrity; administrative time to set up and manage courses
True Value (Equity): Partnership with CUNE; student teachers pool; resources for faculty; invitation to annual department meetings on the CUNE campus; added value for parents as their students may receive inexpensive college units
Website: www.cune.edu
IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGE
Partnership: Early College Courses (ECCs) offered on our campus
Cost: Approximately $50,000
True Value (Equity): Community partner, educational resources, new offerings available for students that would otherwise be unavailable (e.g. Visual Basic Programming)
Website: www.ivc.edu
THE PRINCETON REVIEW
Partnership: Training and instruction for students at no additional cost to parents
Cost: Approximately $49,000
True Value (Equity): Added value for parents; students better prepared for SAT/ACT; higher scores on SAT/ACT; increased admissions in top tier universities; is a component in providing adequate preparation
Website: www.princetonreview.com
MOODLE
Partnership: Our Course Management System (CMS)
Cost: Approximately $18,000
True Value (Equity): Priceless – 100% of colleges and universities will use some type of course management system; our students will be prepared; portability; educational design; online access; blended access; usability and adaptability features
Website: www.moodle.com
TOSHIBA
Partnership: Provider of our faculty, staff, and student computers
Cost: $524 per unit
True Value (Equity): Leveling the playing field with technology by placing a tool in the hands of learners to advance 21st century teaching and learning; access to all learners; accelerate 100% portability; increased digital content – allowing us to be locker-less
Website: www.toshiba.com
CLHS INFORMATION & HISTORY
- 7th academic year
- 685 students
- Faculty: 36 full-time; 6 part-time
- Staff: 19 full-time; 6 part-time
- 74 Rigorous CP courses
- 11 Honors Courses
- 19 AP Courses
- 20 Early College Courses (94 units)
- Robust international department
- 20% of the student body from 17 nations
BLOCK SCHEDULE
BENEFITS OF BLOCK SCHEDULE
- Replicates the college schedule way of life for post high school in higher education
- Allows us to fold in Early College Coursework (ECC) programming
- Allows for us to fold in professional collaboration and learning through Online Learning Days/Faculty In-service Days
- Adds value and structure for our students on days we gather to grow and learn
- Modified block slows the learning day down (less transitions than a traditional 7-8 period bell schedule)
- Allows students and counselors to be creative (some students attend only on blue day or only on gold day, rest of their schedule is online or blended)
— This story is written by Kali Thiel, director of university communications for Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor. She may be reached at kali.thiel@cuw.edu or 262-243-2149.
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