Christian Educators Journal: October 2021

Christian Educators Journal October 2021 Vol. 61 No. 1

Lessons from COVID Chapel in the Time of COVID Using Pre-recorded Lectures during the COVID Pandemic Technology Tools We’re Keeping Panndemic Principal COVID-19 Lessons from a Mother’s Perspective

Future Issues December 2021—Speak Up A look at most elementary, middle, or high school curriculums or standards will reveal that “speaking and listening” is a skill we hope students will learn before heading out into the adult world, but it’s a skill so basic that we may not always think intentionally about how to teach it best. In this issue, we’ll investigate some of those methods, as well as other issues around speech. We’d love to hear from you! English teachers: Tell us about the poetry recitation lessons you teach. Math and science teachers: How do you teach story problems? Theater directors: What are your favorite exercises for projection and enunciation? Speech pathologists: What can classroom teachers do to support your work? Chaplains: Do you train students to read Scripture or share their testimonies in chapel? Debate and forensics coaches: Send us your resources for argumentation and civil discourse.

Counselors and social workers: What sort of social-emotional language are you teaching students these days? And everyone: How do you convince timid students to speak loudly enough for everyone to hear their great answers?

February 2022—School Staff: A Precious Resource Because the quality of teaching makes the most significant difference in the success of any school, the culture of a school faculty and the training and support given to teachers and staff plays a vital role in achieving a school’s goals. In a Christian school, this has implications for the spiritual development of students, as well as their educational success. How do Christian schools develop cultures of learning and growth among their faculty? What types of leadership best help teachers succeed in their work with students? What kind of mentorship and support helps young teachers succeed, and what opportunities and experiences promote longevity and satisfaction in careers of experienced teachers?

What are the elements of successful professional development? And beyond a free pizza lunch, how can we make faculty and staff feel appreciated and supported?

Submissions are open—contact Steve and Abby (cejeditor@gmail.com) to propose an article. Articles are due November 15, 2021.

April 2022—Resource Review Each year we highlight the best books, films, websites, teaching tools, and other resources for Christian school teachers. We publish reviews of student-facing material (like which books to stock in your classroom library), as well as materials relevant to school staff (like curriculums or books about teaching). Submissions are open—contact Steve and Abby (cejeditor@gmail.com) to propose an article. Articles are due January 31, 2022.

Contents

3 Editorial STEVE TUIT AND ABBY ZWART

5 The People-­Centered School:

How COVID Helped Us Find Our Focus LON L. SCHWARTZENTRUBER

9 Chapel in the Time of COVID ANTHONY BIGORNIA

16 Using Pre-­recorded Lectures during the COVID Pandemic

TIMOTHY D. VEENSTRA AND ELISHA INJETI

20 Technology Tools We’re Keeping JENNY SUE FLANNAGAN

25 Three Lessons I Can’t Unlearn from 2020 JOEL R. GAINES

29 Pandemic Principal MICHELLE TUINSTRA

32 COVID-­19 Lessons from a Mother’s Perspective KELLY SAKZENIAN CAGLE

Christian Educators Journal October 2021 1

Christian Educators Journal Vol. 61 No. 1, October 2021 cejonline.com Co-­­­editors Steve Tuit and Abby Zwart cejeditor@gmail.com The Christian Educators Journal (CEJ) encourages letters to the editor in response to articles presented in the CEJ. Letters must be accompanied by the author’s name and email address. The CEJ reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Where a letter addresses issues raised by the author of an article, the CEJ reserves the right to invite the article author to respond to the letter.

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Scripture All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com Printer Color House Graphics, Grand Rapids, MI

Statement of Purpose The Christian Educators Journal Association publishes the Journal as a channel of communication for all educators committed to the idea of Christian day school at the elementary, secondary, and college levels. The views expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the association.

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Co-­­­editors Steve Tuit and Abby Zwart Copyeditor Bethany Murphy Design Editor Klaas Wolterstorff Business Manager Bill Vriesema Webmaster Heather Altena Board of Trustees Dr. Henry Algera Heather Birch Justin Cook Dan Diephouse (Secretary) Albert Kok (Chair) Gayle Monsma Ed Noot Jim Rooks Sean Schat Tricia Stobbe Edith Van Der Boom Heather VanDyke Christine Webb Supporting Institutions Calvin University Edvance Christian Schools Association Institute for Christian Studies The King’s University Redeemer University College Trinity Christian College Tyndale University College Subscribing Organizations Christian Educators Association Christian Educators of British Columbia Prairie Centre for Christian Education Back issues available for 1–10 copies $7.00 per copy 11–30 copies $6.00 per copy 31+ copies $5.00 per copy (cost of shipping to be added to total)

Editorial

“A

smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” It’s one of those sayings of indeterminate origin. Is it an old African proverb? Or was it spoken

by American president Franklin D. Roosevelt? Or maybe it was discovered and translated from Greek on a stone in the Aegean Sea? Regardless, it’s an apt saying for the last three semesters of teaching: we’ve all been challenged, and we hope we’ve come to the end of this thing stronger than we were before.

That is the optimist’s version, of course. There’s no denying the millions of lives lost to COVID-­19, the furloughs and missed mortgage payments, the cancelled reunions and performances, the parents sick in hospital beds and the students who can’t bring themselves to get out of their own. As teachers, we had front row seats to so much of this struggle, and we faced multiple challenges of our own. And this is certainly not over. Though it looked for a while that the 2021–2022 school year might be back to “normal,” COVID variants and vaccine hesitancy continue to make our seas look choppy. Who knows what this school year will bring?

And yet, there is hope. A safe and effective vaccine is readily available in much of the developed world, and there are organizations working to bring it worldwide. Restaurants and concerts and travel and all the other things that fill our non-­work hours are feeling more and more comfortable.

We’re still enjoying that new hobby we picked up during the slightly slower pace of the last year and a half. In June, teachers and students around the continent breathed a sigh of relief, donned their swimsuits, and jumped into the pool. The God who neither slumbers nor sleeps, who sees our coming and our going, has sustained us through a difficult year, granted us summer respite, and brought us back to our classrooms—our callings (Psalm 121).

We hope that rather than sound flippant or out of touch, this issue— Lessons from COVID—celebrates the resilience and agility and positivity that so many teachers brought to their craft over the last few semesters. We found new ways to do old things and reasons to scrap the old things altogether. Some of us discovered practices we had that were unintentionally inaccessible or unnecessarily complicated. Educators of all generations ventured into using technology in ways they had never imagined. We brought the theater production online, and it went well. We held the enrollment interest meeting on Zoom, and new families still signed up. As parents, we learned about our children and their teachers. As coworkers, we stepped up, even when our plates were already full.

In this issue, you’ll hear from principals, chaplains, parents, and teachers about what went well in their COVID school year. Maybe you’ll empathize: I loved Jamboard too! Maybe you’ll pick up a tip: I never considered asking Christian Educators Journal October 2021 3

students to record themselves reading scripture for chapel. Maybe you’ll just be exasperated but encouraged: Wow, at least some teachers had success last year!

But if we can all come away from the rough seas of this most challenging and untraditional year of teaching with at least a couple of things we’d like to keep (please, no one say masks!), we’ll sail truer courses going forward.

One thing I’d like to keep from these COVID school years is my new procedure for cold calling. In the past, I tended to avoid cold calls because I know it makes students anxious. Sometimes they just aren’t ready to answer, or they might be nervous about getting it “wrong,” or, yes, sometimes they aren’t paying attention—but I don’t want to shame them for that very human tendency. But this year, with students learning simultaneously in the classroom and live in my Zoom room (which I could see on an iPad in front of me), I knew I would have to specifically call on my online learners if I wanted to hear their voices. It turns out the solution was pretty simple: I developed a practice of warning students that I was about to cold call. I would present a question or topic to the class, let both online and in-­person learners know that I might be calling on them for an answer, give them about one minute to develop a thought or jot something down, and then I would call on a random student. This easy switch gave me the benefits of cold calling (thus hearing voices that aren’t often heard and improving engagement) while fixing the “gotcha” vibe it can sometimes have.

—Abby Zwart Like Abby, my procedure for calling on students will be improved because of the way I needed to interact with both live and virtual students. (I was totally going to use that one!) But another practice I’ll hold on to is a result of the way we needed to do school at the end of the 2019–2020 school year.

When our school held synchronous online classes during those months, I posted my online lessons much more clearly before each class, explaining step ­by ­step what we’d be doing in class, with all resources (online handouts, slideshows, video segments) linked, then explaining in the same step-­by-­ step fashion what the homework for the following class would be. In 2020– 2021, with some students attending class in person and others virtually, I maintained this practice. It made it easier for virtual students to follow along, but it also helped in-­person students access materials electronically and made it easy for students who missed class to get caught up.

—Steve Tuit

4 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

The People-­Centered School: How COVID Helped Us Find Our Focus LON L. SWARTZENTRUBER

S

ince the COVID-­19 pandemic began, we have all learned a lot about dealing with challenges. Hopefully we have also learned a lot about ourselves, those around us, and the organizations we are a part of and lead. In working with private and Christian schools across the country, I’ve seen many schools successfully deal with the challenges presented by a global pandemic. In every case, they quickly pivoted in order to effectively support student learning, faculty care, parent transparency, and school community engagement. But they did something else even more important. What helped Christian schools succeed throughout COVID-­19 is the same thing that will keep them strong long after the pandemic is over: keeping people, rather than programs or policies, at the center of their focus.

Successful Schools Keep Students at the Center On Friday, March 13, 2020, the governor of Michigan, my state, announced the closure of all K–12 schools in response to rising numbers of COVID-­19 cases. Shortly afterward, one head of school reviewed her “to-­do” list with me. My jaw dropped. The school had one weekend to figure out how to make the shift to 100 percent online learning. But this head of school knew they could do it. She encouraged her faculty with these words: “If we remember to ask ‘What will be best for the student?’ I believe we will get through this and help continue their learning uninterrupted.” Over the weekend, every teacher did what they needed to do to pivot as they took learning online.

In this particular school’s case, asking what students needed uncovered, among other things, a previously unrecognized need for computers at home.

That meant immediately delivering laptops to some households so that children could participate in virtual classes on the coming Monday. With this need addressed, students were better set up to succeed in an unfamiliar educational model. Keeping students at the center of the focus means entering into a space of curiosity as we seek to understand their unique context and needs.

What helped Christian schools succeed throughout COVID-­19 is the same thing that will keep them strong long after the pandemic is over.

Keeping students at the center of the focus means entering into a space of curiosity as

Successful Schools Care for Their Faculty’s Needs

we seek to understand

One of the things that COVID-­19 displaced was our sense of well-­being. How can we feel safe when something we can’t see might land us, our students, or our loved ones in the hospital? Safety has always been important to schools.

But during the pandemic, school safety was harder to define because it

needs.

Christian Educators Journal October 2021 5

their unique context and

At a people-­centered school, when we put faculty in the center of our focus, we invite them to say what help looks like to them, rather than assuming that we have all the answers.

meant something different to almost everyone. There were tangible needs, such as the construction of plexiglass barriers, protocols for mask-­wearing, and hand-­washing stations. But there were intangible needs as well: the need to feel safe, the need for reassurance, the need for good leadership in the midst of significant fear and anxiety. At every school, faculty and staff were, and are still, under significant strain from the demands of the pandemic. Being a people-­centered school means understanding and caring for employees’ tangible and intangible needs.

As the 2020 graduation approached and the realities of hybrid learning were taking shape, a head of school from the Pacific Northwest shared with me the challenges of responding to the needs of her school’s faculty. One teacher in particular was burdened by the constant changes coming from the governor’s office, the daily questions and emails from parents, and his own anxieties about the safety of returning to the classroom. On what otherwise would have been a glorious spring day, this teacher sat in the office of the head of school, nearing a breaking point. The head of school asked gently, “What grace and space can I give you that would be helpful right now?” The teacher’s answer turned out to be a fairly simple request: a day away to hike in a nearby national forest and collect his thoughts by reconnecting with nature. It was an important but easy request to grant. At a people-­centered school, when we put faculty in the center of our focus, we invite them to say what help looks like to them, rather than assuming that we have all the answers.

Successful Schools Are Transparent with Parents

Then came COVID. And so did the calls with questions from worried parents.

Just outside Houston is a school led by a fifteen-­year veteran superintendent. Under her leadership the school has grown in enrollment, successfully added grade levels, and built a student body that is unified and thriving. It’s one of the best-­run schools I’ve ever seen. Then came COVID. And so did the calls with questions from worried parents. They were anxious about a host of issues: the safety of their children, what the COVID testing and quarantine procedures would be, when school would reopen, how to prevent learning loss, and so on. On top of those anxieties, something happened that the superintendent didn’t anticipate: a large employer in the community closed its doors for the foreseeable future.

Suddenly the school had many more parents requesting financial aid.

The school didn’t have unlimited reserves or donors to solicit, so the superintendent and her financial manager started meeting with every parent who needed help. Together they developed a personal tuition plan for each family. This process gave them the opportunity to be transparent with each other. The school learned what the parents needed and why, and vice versa.

This mutual transparency built an amazing amount of trust.

When we truly seek to understand another person’s needs, from their perspective rather than our own, we are able to have helpful interactions that deepen our learning, appreciation, and empathy for the other person.

That’s impossible to do unless people are at the center of our focus.

6 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

Successful Schools Engage Their Broader Community For many organizations that depend on earned revenue, like Montessori and Christian schools, COVID-­19 created financial stress and uncertainty, even with the emergency federal relief packages that became available. As the fall of 2020 was approaching and the financial realities were coming into focus, many Christian schools, including a client of mine in the greater Milwaukee area, began developing and implementing their fundraising plans. In this school’s case, pandemic fundraising meant doing something that the leadership had not done before: openly sharing the school’s struggles with the broader school community.

In times of uncertainty and anxiety, it can be difficult to ask for help.

Some leaders project an ultra-­confident exterior to give people the sense that everything is okay, that a steady hand is on the wheel, especially in a crisis. Unfortunately, this can inadvertently put the leader in the center of the focus. But at this Milwaukee school, the principal intentionally put the community at the center of the conversation. He chose very early in the pandemic to establish a regular routine of constituency communication. This included monthly updates to the school’s entire database on what the school was doing to keep students, faculty, staff, and parents safe; what faculty were doing to help support student learning and faith development online; and how the school was working with parents who found themselves in difficult financial situations. Because the channels of communication were open all along, it was no surprise to the community when the fall fundraising appeal asked for significant help in meeting the school’s financial challenges. The appeal raised more money than ever before.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s taught us the importance of right priorities. Schools who are able to put students, faculty, parents, and the broader community in the center of their focus will succeed long after this strange and unsettling season is a distant memory.

Lon L. Swartzentruber lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his wife, Sandy. He has more than twenty-­five years of professional experience in strategic planning, organizational governance, and transformation. He is the CEO of Design Group International, a community of seventeen process consultants scattered across the country who work with Christian and private schools, universities and colleges, charitable foundations, nonprofit organizations, for-­profit businesses, family-­ owned companies, churches, and denominations. Process consulting practices the behaviors of listening, helping, and learning alongside clients in support of helping organizations and their leaders transform for a vibrant future.

Christian Educators Journal October 2021 7

Pandemic fundraising meant doing something that the leadership had not done before: openly sharing the school’s struggles with the broader school community.

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Chapel in the Time of COVID ANTHONY BIGORNIA

I

n my second year of being the point person for coordinating chapels at the institution I work for, I finally felt like I was starting to get a handle on it.

It’s a lot of work, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this role and consider it a blessing and a privilege to play a part in creating a space for others to encounter Christ. Demographically, our school is a very interesting mix of students. In some of the older grades, our international student population is as high as 45 percent, and it is not a guarantee that our students are ­necessarily from Christian families, let alone consistent church-­attending families. This has implications for teaching and learning from a biblical Christian worldview because we cannot assume that all the students are biblically literate or have been in a church/chapel setting. Despite this, school chapels are a valuable opportunity to share what we believe with anyone who enters our doors, and our diversity makes our student life rich with opportunities for intercultural understanding.

Now before I continue, I want to acknowledge my use of the first-­person pronoun “I” in discussing chapels in Christian grade school settings. Ultimately, I am not the one changing hearts and minds toward the heavens, but it is God who changes the hearts of the students. I work to create space for the individuals within our community to encounter Jesus, and it is he who changes them. In this article, I will recount my past few years coordinating chapels at a K–12 Christian school, particularly the changes and rethinking about the nature of chapel that have come about because of the COVID-­19 pandemic.

Prior to the pandemic, I was encouraged to see a growing consistency in the rhythm and flow of chapel and assemblies. When Friday mornings came, students generally knew what to expect and how to help setup chairs, the transitions from class to chapel were getting smoother, and assembly etiquette had much improved. The number of students who served in the worship teams increased, in large part due to the efforts of our music teachers who led by example and put in many hours of work in inspiring the students to use their music and leadership capabilities to serve. And finally, a culture was emerging in which students were looking forward to the variety of speakers who would visit our school and share what they were passionate about and how God was working in their lives and in their ministry. It wasn’t perfect; not every student was necessarily engaged or even listening.

Perhaps they were exhausted from studying or from other facets of school life, or perhaps they weren’t able to relate to this week’s speaker. But it felt like growth, and it felt like God was slowly working through the students.

I remember a particular conversation I had with a student that challenged and frustrated me. In what I thought was going to be a ten-­minute Christian Educators Journal October 2021 9

School chapels are a valuable opportunity to share what we believe with anyone who enters our doors, and our diversity makes our student life rich with opportunities for intercultural understanding.

In year-­end student life surveys, many students would comment that the most memorable chapel speakers were the teachers themselves.

At the Senior School (grades 6–12), we initially ran chapel in a podcast format.

quick chat, this student spent forty-­five minutes sharing all the ways chapel at the school could be better. Some of the various critiques were that we should stop doing a particular song, we need more contemporary upbeat music, we should get this speaker, we need more time for that, it’s not exciting enough, and the older students don’t care or aren’t engaged. Looking back, I felt frustrated by it because it made me feel like I wasn’t doing a good enough job, and the standards being asked for felt unrealistic in a time-­ bound context of an educational institution. It was also frustrating to hear those critiques come from that student because I knew that the individual was active in their own church but wasn’t necessarily active in our school chapel. I asked the student how they were going to help improve chapel, and I never got a concrete answer. Needless to say, that conversation upset me, and I didn’t fully understand why. I left that conversation with the burden of a list of critiques rather than a hopeful takeaway.

Nevertheless, the school chapels continued, and we were blessed with all sorts of speakers, ranging from people who worked in various ministries to local youth pastors to our own staff sharing their life experiences. In year-­end student life surveys, many students would comment that the most memorable chapel speakers were the teachers themselves, as they shared who they were as individuals beyond the confines of the classroom walls. I even remember a wonderful moment when we had a family worship band play for our entire K–12 school community, and at some point the grade 12 boys joined the band to do some of the actions. This gave permission for the rest of the students to let their guard down and take part with the actions, and so we saw this mixture of different kids of all different ages enjoying the music, dancing along in a celebratory atmosphere.

And then on March 11, 2020, the announcement of the pandemic hit, and our school decided to close early for spring break. At the time, we held a hopeful optimism that the pandemic wouldn’t last too long; we didn’t realize we would have to completely shift the way we conducted school and, consequently, how we ran school chapels. Very quickly, and with little preparation, we had to adapt and use whatever technologies and skills we had available.

At the Junior School (K–5), our principal started “Rudy and Friends.”

Rudy and his friends Barclay, Penelope, and others are puppets. Our Junior School principal has ventriloquist and video editing skills, and so “Rudy and Friends” became a weekly video that featured chapel messages, worship music, skits with the puppets, and slideshows of what the different students were up to during quarantine. This was a hit with our Junior School students, and we kept it going into the following academic school year when we were able to have classes in person, albeit no cross-­cohort gatherings.

At the Senior School (grades 6–12), we initially ran chapel in a podcast format, and I edited different audio clips, piecing together worship music with interviews and messages from different staff and students about time during quarantine. I opted for an audio format because at the time it was easier to edit, especially in a time when everything was in limbo. But then in the new school year in September 2020, we switched to video for the Senior School. Every Friday, students in their cohort classes would watch chapel videos with built-­in time for a discussion period to unpack the message. Because we were allowed to be in the building again with students, it was much easier to film students in person and feature them in videos than 10 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

to get them to film themselves and coordinate a way to send files over the internet, and this opened opportunities for more creative chapel segments.

This is what we did in the past year and a half to keep chapel going at our schools, and it involved a lot of learning and trying new things. Content creation and editing unexpectedly became an unofficial part of my job description, and as many churches and schools can attest, it was a quick turnaround in adapting. While it was overwhelming taking on the technological side of things, it was an opportunity to be creative and to think outside the box, which I relished. I’d like to boil down this past year and a half of coordinating chapels in the COVID era into three takeaway lessons and share some examples of what went well.

Takeaway 1: The way in which we conduct chapel does not need to be limi­ ted to meeting together in a particular space. Because of the restrictions that were placed on mass gatherings, we had to rethink the nature of chapel.

Prior to the pandemic, we had this formulaic way of conducting chapel for grades 6–12: settle in, sing corporate worship, listen to the speaker, pray, hear the announcements. However, switching to online chapels opened up opportunities to try different segments and different ways of delivering messages. A global event like the pandemic reminds us that chapel is not just a formulaic service, it’s ultimately a space for others to be encouraged and to discover who Jesus is.

One way this played out was a shift from listening not just to one voice but to multiple voices. In one of our chapel segments, during our message section, we tried a segment called “Coffee for Three,” in which another teacher and I had a conversation with one of our soon-­to-­be-­retired teachers and asked him about his teaching career, how God has worked in his life, and words of encouragement that he had for our students. Unlike a traditional message, this was filmed as a casual conversation, and many students loved hearing the stories that the now-­retired teacher shared about his life and the words of affirmation that he had for the students in our school.

Another thing we tried was a “3×5,” where we filmed three student-­ leaders sharing for five minutes on a specific topic. In particular, we had them talk about kindness in February, which coincided with Pink Shirt Day (an anti-­bullying campaign in Canada). This was a big-­risk opportunity, and the students needed a lot of coaching through the process. Furthermore, it was nerve-­wracking for these students, and they opened up on vulnerable memories related to alienation and bullying. Nevertheless they did it, and it was meaningful for other students to see their peers take that courageous step.

These are some examples of the well-­received and encouraging formats that have emerged out of the need to be creative in how we conduct chapel.

Even when we do return to a sense of normalcy, these are segments that we would like to continue.

Takeaway 2: Chapel is an opportunity to celebrate the people of the community. If there’s anything the pandemic has taught us, it’s that we need people more than we’d like to admit. Early during the pandemic, one thing that was consistently included in the “Rudy and Friends” videos was a slideshow of Christian Educators Journal October 2021 11

While it was overwhelming taking on the technological side of things, it was an opportunity to be creative and to think outside the box.

Chapel is ultimately a space for others to be encouraged and to discover who Jesus is.

Another thing we tried was a “3×5,” where we filmed three student-­ leaders sharing for five minutes on a specific topic.

the Junior School staff, students, and their families taking part in quarantine activities to the tune of an acapella rendition of “The Blessing,” which is what we sang before the pandemic at the end of chapels. Many people in the community commented about how seeing that slideshow was meaningful to them. Especially in the midst of quarantine, seeing pictures of friends and other families became a life-­giving and important part in our chapels as a celebration of community.

We also filmed question and answer videos where we would ask multiple students across grades questions related to the topic at hand, like “Why does mental health matter?” or “What do your grandparents mean to you?”

Even just filming students reading Bible verses was a nice touch, as students could see people that they recognize and are friends with, even if they can’t interact with each other due to being in different cohorts. Hearing these multiple voices was valuable and reminded us that there are so many different, unique, and interesting individuals within our community, that they all have a narrative to share of how they are growing and changing in their own journey, and that no one is an island to oneself.

In that I found grace.

Something intentional that I did in the editing process was generate some questions based on the message, accompanied by reflective, lo-­fi music.

Takeaway 3: Despite all the ups and downs, the constant changes and uncertainty about expectations and restrictions, God was still working. Above I shared my discouragement when one of the students critiqued the chapel services. It was a conversation that left me feeling inadequate, and that feeling of not being able to coordinate a good enough chapel persisted even through the pandemic. I would question whether I was doing enough or if I could have filmed or edited a segment better. I was uncertain if a segment would work, or I would run into technical issues in the editing process that took way more time than I anticipated. I had fears that students might not be engaged or might find it boring. While I will admit that I genuinely enjoyed the creative process of content creation, it was time consuming and time sensitive, due to the weekly deadlines. The editing process is an entire job in itself, and I have a new-­found appreciation for people who are in that line of work. However, throughout these years, whether chapel was in person or online, I’ve grown to learn that ultimately chapel is not a performance but rather a space for students to discover Jesus. That was an important distinction for me to be reminded of, and in that I found grace. Everyone was doing their best during these times, and I am very grateful to my co-­ workers, who gave me constant feedback and encouragement about chapels.

All this spurred me to continue to pour in the work to help create a space and trust that at the end of the day, I can rest in God’s grace and trust that he will work in the hearts and minds of the students that we work with.

One of the spaces that was a by-­product of online chapels was the time for debrief and discussion on what the speakers talked about during the message. Something intentional that I did in the editing process was generate some questions based on the message, accompanied by reflective, lo-­fi music. Whether it was a video message put out by a pastor from a different church or organization or a speaker from within our own community, watching together with a smaller group rather than in a large congregation allowed for teachers to unpack what was said. A recurring thing I heard from my colleagues was that the best part of chapel was the post-­video discussion time with the students. Often when we go to church, we hear a powerful message that impacts us, and then we leave the church and go 12 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

throughout the day, without meaningfully reflecting on what we just heard with someone. But because we watched videos as a cohort together, there was a natural flow into discussion times. I asked some of my co-­workers about their reflections on having video chapels with their classes, and one of them remarked, “We laughed, cried, and sang together. God has designed us for relationship with one another and with him. Especially this year, God opened the hearts and minds of our students to see their chapel room as a home where they can praise God in familial unity while trusting and rejoicing in the Spirit’s work during that time.”

In conclusion, this past season of coordinating chapels has been a whirlwind. It has shifted the way we approach chapels and reminded us of the need for community and that God is still working, no matter what happens.

Conducting chapel in a time of COVID challenged us to step out of the box and try new things, many that we intend to continue in the coming school year. As of this writing (in early August), we don’t have certainty on what is going to happen in the new academic school year, but we have faith that God will work in any circumstance. Technology and liturgy may have changed, health expectations and restrictions are constantly in flux, but God has remained faithful and constant to us as we continue to labor and create a space for others to learn more and discover him.

Anthony Bigornia is a teacher and the Student Life Coordinator at White Rock Christian Academy in Surrey, BC, Canada. He currently teaches IB DP Language & Literature 11 and 12. In his spare time he likes to play electric guitar or play pickup hoops at a local basketball court. IG: @aye.bigs

Christian Educators Journal October 2021 13

Conducting chapel in a time of COVID challenged us to step out of the box and try new things, many that we intend to continue in the coming school year.

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Using Pre-­recorded Lectures during the COVID Pandemic TIMOTHY D. VEENSTRA AND ELISHA INJETI

T

Having to deliver lectures remotely presented many challenges to both the teacher and student.

he arrival of COVID-­19 brought rapid changes to seemingly normal routines within our daily lives. We quickly became aware of hand sanitizing stations that had gone unnoticed before. Upon leaving our homes to go to work, church, or shopping, we had to remember to grab our face masks.

While in the past we took little notice of people in our vicinity, we developed a sixth sense (i.e., “over-­crowding radar”) that detected individuals within our immediate proximity. Educational institutes, specifically, were forced to undergo rapid changes to mitigate the spread of COVID-­19. In the middle of the spring 2020 semester, in-­school classes for elementary, high school, college, and university students were cancelled, requiring teachers to deliver lessons remotely. A Bay View Analytics survey revealed that during the pandemic 90 percent of institutions used some form of online education to complete the spring 2020 semester (Ralph, “Perspectives”). This survey also revealed that 97 percent of the institutions employed faculty that had no online teaching experience, which required almost 60 percent of the surveyed faculty to incorporate teaching methods they had not used previously in their careers. In most cases, teachers had a matter of days to alter their teaching format from in-­classroom to remote instruction.

The major teaching tool impacted by COVID-­19 has been the class lecture.

This tool is a fundamental part of instruction at the high school and college level. Lectures are designed to help students understand topics and concepts that they have not been introduced to previously. The role of the professor is to present the information using terms and analogies that students can understand. Once students understand the basic concepts, they can expand their understanding of the topic by reading or viewing other related materials. In-­ person lectures facilitate interactions between students and teachers by the fact that lectures can be interrupted at any point to further clarify difficult-­ to-­understand concepts. Having to deliver lectures remotely presented many challenges to both the teacher and student.

These challenges fell into two main categories: teaching effectiveness and technology. The Bay View Analytics survey indicated that almost one-­ half of teachers reduced the class workload for students and about one-­ third lowered their standards for judging student work quality (Ralph, “Perspectives”). These responses were probably partially due to the lack of confidence many teachers felt in their ability to effectively teach online.

Technology issues centered around the use of video conferencing software such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet. While online instruction has grown significantly over the years, again most teachers had very little experience in educating students via this format. Teachers faced many uncertainties. Those with little or no experience in organizing or participating 16 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

in a Zoom meeting were now being asked to arrange one for an entire class.

There were many worries: What if I scheduled it wrong? Do I use the waiting room option or not? What if there’s an echo during the lecture? While students can electronically “raise their hand” to ask a question, how can I continuously monitor all the students? How do I minimize the awkward pauses when students verbally interject questions and I try to recognize the student who asked the question?

In our own experience as professors, we felt angst before every class, wondering if the Zoom meeting was going to be activated at the correct time.

While some schools had in-­house experts to offer instruction, most teachers had to quickly learn either Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet on their own. On the infrastructure side, we were unsure if all students had access to high-­speed internet. Not knowing each student’s internet situation introduced uncertainty on how well each live lecture could be viewed. An added caveat to teaching at the university level was that not all students lived within the same time zone. When we taught a live class scheduled at 8 a.m. EST, students who lived on the West Coast would have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to prepare to attend the lecture. While getting up early builds character, we found it understandable if these students slept in and missed this lecture occasionally.

A good practice for preparing for any presentation that requires visuals is to have multiple back-­up plans to ensure that the presentation can be effectively delivered. Our primary back-­up plan if the live lecture did not go seamlessly was to post pre-­recorded lectures approximately three to five days prior to the actual class meeting time. While it is common practice to post lecture slides on the class page, the videos were a new feature, with added benefits. For the students, the videos provided narrative and anecdotes that described the material, which helped their understanding of the topics. A benefit to us as teachers was that by pre-­recording the lecture, we were better prepared for the live sessions. Since we were able to “rehearse,” we were much more familiar with the material as we presented it during the live session. This familiarity allowed us to add additional explanations, examples, and discussions during the live session to help students better understand the material. Another advantage of these pre-­recorded lectures was the flexibility to teach even during the snow days. When classes were cancelled due to bad weather, we were able to post the pre-­recorded lectures and stay on schedule for the rest of the semester.

Although not required, most students took advantage of the opportunity to watch the pre-­recorded lectures prior to the lectures. A possible criticism of posting pre-­recorded lectures is their redundancy with the live counterpart. However, while their main premises were the same, the lectures were not entirely redundant, as different phrasing and analogies were used. From our vantage as instructors, having the pre-­recorded video available allowed us to spend more time on key concepts during the video-­ conference time.

What were the students’ reactions to the pre-­recorded lectures? Although not required, most students took advantage of the opportunity to watch the pre-­recorded lectures prior to the live lectures. While we were concerned that students would choose to listen to the pre-­recorded lectures and not attend the live sessions, this did not happen. Zoom allows class attendance to be monitored, and it showed that all the students attended the live sessions and remained online for the entire class session. In their Christian Educators Journal October 2021 17

Not knowing each student’s internet situation introduced uncertainty on how well each live lecture could be viewed.

A benefit to us as teachers was that by pre-­ recording the lectures, we were better prepared for the live sessions.

While we were concerned that students would choose to listen to the pre-­recorded lectures and not attend the live sessions, this did not happen.

While it does take additional time to record the sessions, we found it to be less rigorous than we imagined.

While this system of pre-­recorded lectures was used in a university setting, it can be readily adapted for high school and even elementary school levels.

course evaluations, many students commented that they benefited from watching both the pre-­recorded and video-­conferenced lectures. Students felt that they benefited from being able to stop and rewind the pre-­recorded lecture to review concepts they did not understand the first time through.

The students also commented that previewing the lecture allowed them to prepare questions for the live online lecture. In some cases, students would send questions prior to the video-­conferenced lecture asking if they could be further explained or discussed. This interaction enabled us to tailor the live-­lecture session to the students’ needs. Overall, the students felt better prepared prior to actual class time and had a better understanding of the material after having participated in both lecture formats.

Probably some teachers would argue that having to record and post material prior to class would overload their schedule. While it does take additional time to record the sessions, we found it to be less rigorous than we imagined. Recording the lectures was low stress, as we had taken the time to research and prepare, and it was just us talking through our regular slide presentation to the camera. Without an audience, we felt relaxed, and each lecture was recorded in a single take. Having gone through the process of pre-­recording the lectures, we were better prepared for the live sessions, making the presentation of the live lectures much less stressful. We were also able to add additional explanations and examples during the live sessions that helped the students understand the material. While we aim to improve course material every year, the pre-­recorded lectures contain foundational material that we will continue to use for the next few years. Therefore, even as students return to the classroom this fall, we will post the pre-­recorded lectures to allow students to familiarize themselves with the material prior to the live lectures.

While this system of pre-­recorded lectures was used in a university setting, it can be readily adapted for high school and even elementary school levels. Since many high school courses are lecture based, pre-­recorded lectures can be seamlessly incorporated as part of the course material. Posted videos can include, for example, demonstrations of problem-­solving techniques for STEM courses or discussions of special topics, such as proper citation formatting, for English literature courses. By posting videos they themselves created, teachers can be assured that students are accessing reliable information concerning the topic of interest. While this may seem like a minor issue, not all students have developed the skill of discerning the plethora of information available online.

Pre-­recording lectures brings a component of mastery into the classroom as it allows students to learn the course material at their own pace (Levine 1-­2). We often received emails from students asking when future recorded lectures were going to be posted. These requests indicated that some students were watching some of the pre-­recorded lectures several days prior to their live discussion time. Since the pre-­recorded lectures were being produced while the course was being offered in the spring of 2020, it was impossible to upload all of them at the beginning of the course. In the future, we plan to post all the pre-­recorded lectures at the beginning of the course schedule to enable students to view the material at their own pace.

Because course content changes over time, some of the lectures will need to be re-­recorded periodically (i.e., every one to two years). We anticipate, however, that many pre-­recorded lectures that contain core content can be 18 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

used for several years, providing students readily accessible material to help them master the course at their own pace. Since many of the pre-­recorded lectures have already been completed, the additional time can be used to upload shorter videos of supplementary material to challenge students who desire to further investigate the subject.

While the pandemic continues to affect the educational system, like every trial God brings into our lives, he never makes it more than we can bear and uses it to help us grow. God has taught us to be grateful for the provision of tools to continue to deliver education; in times past, students would have lost entire years of educational progress. These past couple of years have enabled us to develop and learn teaching tools that we can use in the future to enrich student learning and increase our skills as educators.

The pandemic should increase our faith as we reflect on how God has brought his people through trials before, knowing that this time will be no different. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we can continue to rely on God’s blessings as we acknowledge him in all we do.

Works Cited Levine, Daniel, U. Improving Student Achievement through Master Learning Programs. Jossey-­Bass, 1985.

Ralph, Nate. “Perspectives: COVID-­19, and the future of higher education.”

Bay View Analytics, www.bayviewanalytics.com/covid.html.

Timothy D. Veenstra is an associate professor in the School of Pharmacy at Cedarville University where he teaches medicinal biochemistry, pharmacogenomics, and immunology. He holds a bachelor of science in chemistry and a doctor of philosophy in biochemistry. He previously worked at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and he has worked in various labs around the United States, including the National Cancer Institute in Maryland. He has spent most of his career in research, primarily in the fields of oncology and neurology, developing mass spectrometry technologies for use in disease detection and identification of key molecules involved in disease progression. He has co-­authored almost four hundred peer-­reviewed manuscripts and written or edited seven books.

Elisha Injeti is an associate professor in the School of Pharmacy at Cedarville University. He has a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, a master’s degree in pharmacology, a doctor of philosophy in pharmacology, and a certification in biomedical and clinical ethics. He has been teaching pharmacokinetics and pharmacology to pharmacy students for about fourteen years. His research on skeletal muscle metabolism and vascular biology are published in journals for physiology, pharmacology, and molecular biology. He has served in different professional organizations such as the American College of Clinical Pharmacology and American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists and is currently a member of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Christian Educators Journal October 2021 19

The pandemic should increase our faith as we reflect on how God has brought his people through trials before, knowing that this time will be no different.

Technology Tools We’re Keeping JENNY SUE FLANNAGAN

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

—James 1:2–4

T

Our program prepares teachers to use apps associated with iPads and smartboards, but our students were not prepared to teach completely through virtual platforms such as Zoom or Google Meet.

he spring of 2020 began like every other spring semester at Regent University. Student teachers began their semester-­long internships full of excitement, nerves, and determination to finish what God had called them to complete. Little did they or any of us know what was going to happen that spring. After just eight weeks in the classroom, their internship was cut short due to the rapidly spreading COVID-­19 virus. While public and private schools paused for two weeks to regroup and begin the process of teaching online, student teachers at Regent were sent home. As the pandemic continued into the summer, we suspected teaching in the fall might look a little different, but we never imagined we would continue with virtual instruction. The saying that necessity is the mother of invention was certainly true as it came to preparing our students for a virtual classroom setting.

Preparing student teachers to teach online meant our students had to “adapt to new pedagogical concepts and modes of delivery of teaching for which they had not been trained” (Schlichter 4). Our program prepares teachers to use apps associated with iPads and smartboards, but our students were not prepared to teach completely through virtual platforms such as Zoom or Google Meet. Consequently, the move to online instruction caused the education program at Regent to adapt as well.

As the Director of Student Teaching, I feverishly searched websites and blogs to identify and learn how to use various tools that might be implemented in the online classroom setting. To prepare our student teachers, I had to learn how to use Zoom and Google Meets, as these platforms would continue to be used by local school districts in the fall of 2020. Because many of the school districts were using Google products, I spent a great deal of time learning how to use and create activities through their platform.

In the fall semester of 2020, to prepare students for virtual teaching, we overhauled our orientation to the student teaching course. Instead of spending two days reviewing how to write lesson plans and create classroom assessments, and then practicing the use of various instructional strategies, this new orientation course provided students with an intensive week-­long course in which they learned how to use Zoom, Google Meets, and various Google products. One of our biggest hurdles to overcome was how to 20 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

create virtual lessons that were as engaging as the same lessons in a face-­ to-­f ace classroom and that still allowed our student teachers to use various research-­based instructional strategies that promote student thinking.

Instructional strategies and thinking routines are key elements within lesson plans that help to foster student engagement during the lesson, but they are also ways teachers can document student thinking. In a normal classroom setting, chart paper, whiteboards, and smartboards are the go-­to tools to document student ideas, making their thinking visible. The documentation of student thinking using various strategies and thinking routines helps to reinforce learning to think, and it also reinforces the notion of thinking to learn. But in a virtual world, how do you do the same process?

Finding tools that we could use in a virtual setting was important, because we wanted student teachers to still be able to use various instructional strategies and thinking routines that normally become the fabric of learning in the face-­to-­f ace classroom through their repeated use (Ritchhart 17). In this article I will share how student teachers took three different instructional strategies/thinking routines often used in the face-­to-­f ace classroom setting (“See, Think, Wonder”; “Graffiti Wall”; and “Big Paper Conversation”) and implemented them in a virtual setting using the Google tool known as Jamboard.

Google Jamboard Think of Jamboard as a digital interactive whiteboard or chart paper that allows students to collaborate in real time while online. Teachers can create one or multiple slides that students can interact with in various ways.

Students use sticky notes or text boxes to respond to prompts or questions posed. These notes can be different colors, which can allow for various uses.

A total of fifty participants can engage in a “Jam” at one time. For our student teachers, Jamboard became the flexible tool that worked well with several instructional strategies to engage students in collaboration online.

See, Think, Wonder “See, Think, Wonder” is a thinking routine that uses observations to engage students. This routine is helpful to begin a unit of study because it taps into a student’s natural sense of curiosity. Using a painting, photo, artifact, video clip, excerpt of a text, political cartoon, chart, or anything that can be observed, students are asked to describe what they see with only their eyes, what ideas or thoughts the picture makes them think about, and the questions the picture brings to mind.

As an example, in a traditional pre-­COVID classroom, fifth grade students would be shown a picture of a mother and her daughter in Mickey Mouse ears and given three minutes to observe the picture and then record what they saw, what they thought about as they observed the picture, and what questions the pictures raised. Students recorded their answers on a sheet of paper and then the teacher led a discussion of students’ thoughts.

A class chart of what students observed (See), what they thought about (Think), and the questions the picture raised (Wonder) was recorded on a class chart using the smartboard. This was the beginning activity for a Christian Educators Journal October 2021 21

In a normal classroom setting, chart paper, whiteboards, and smartboards are the go-­to tools to document student ideas, making their thinking visible.

The student teacher was able to use the data from this activity as a pre-­assessment to see student thinking as it pertained to interpreting data.

lesson on observing carefully, as students would be making observations of changes in animal life cycles using mealworms.

In transitioning this strategy to be completed in an online setting, the student teacher began by creating three slides in Jamboard with the titles “See,” “Think,” and “Wonder.” Each slide had the picture students would use for the activity. The student teacher then directed students to use the arrows at the top of the Jamboard to move between the three slides and create sticky notes to record what they observed, what the picture made them think of, and the questions the picture raised. Students had about six minutes to go through this activity. The teacher shared her screen while the students were completing the Jam. This allowed students to see the thoughts of their classmates in real time. Scan the top left QR code to see the actual Jamboard.

Another example comes from a middle school science classroom lesson focused on analysis of data from an experiment. In the face-­to-­f ace classroom, students would be shown a chart displaying the mass of bubble gum prior to chewing and then a chart representing the mass of the gum after chewing for five and then for ten minutes. The teacher would ask students to write down what they see, think, and wonder as they look at the graphs. This information would then be put on a piece of chart paper, or the teacher would document student thinking using a whiteboard or smartboard. A discussion of what the students feel the data reflects would then take place.

In transitioning this lesson to the online classroom, the student teacher used a modified version of See, Think, Wonder for this activity, simply directing students to make their comments on Jamboard slides. Again, to see the slide in Jamboard, scan the middle left QR code. This activity was actually very powerful for the student teacher, as she was able to use the data from this activity as a pre-­assessment to see student thinking as it pertained to interpreting data.

Graffiti Wall “Graffiti Wall” is an instructional strategy that uses large posterboard or chart paper as a place where students record their comments and questions about a topic. A teacher can post multiple questions around the room on chart paper and then have students move through each of the questions using different colored pens. Students can work independently or in groups. In using this strategy, the purpose is to help students “hear” each other’s ideas while providing a way for shy students to engage in the conversation. It also becomes a document that can be used again at a later point, as it creates a record of students’ ideas and questions.

In transitioning this strategy into the virtual world, the student teacher created one slide with the question, “What do you think about when you hear the word habitat?” Students were asked to use a different colored sticky note to record their responses. Scan this third QR code to see an example of second-­grade student responses.

22 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

Big Paper Conversation “Big Paper Conversation” is a discussion strategy where students have a conversation about a topic using writing and silence. In this strategy, students are given a quote or a stimulus that gets the conversation flowing. For example, one of our student teachers was doing his internship in a government class, and the topic for the lesson dealt with exploring student rights as pertaining to the First Amendment. In previous years, students were placed into groups of four. Each group was given a piece of chart paper with a description of a Supreme Court case. The teacher informed students that after the activity was over, they would discuss each case, and the conversation would be led by one of the students in the group of their choosing. Students were then told to read the case silently, and their task was to discuss if what occurred in the case violated the citizen’s First Amendment rights. The teacher asked students to share any questions they had about the activity, because once it started, they would not be able to ask questions.

Students were directed to use different colored pens so it would be easy to identify who in the group made which comment after the activity was over.

This strategy is an excellent one because it forces students to slow down and think while giving them an opportunity to reflect on the views of others.

Transitioning this strategy online was a little bit trickier than the strategies described above, as the student teacher had to think about how to have multiple groups answering simultaneously online. In the face-­to-­f ace classroom setting, each chart paper already has the court case each group will be reading and interacting with during the strategy. In problem solving how to use this instructional strategy via Jamboard, the student teacher created six numbered slides with different cases for groups to analyze. He then assigned four students to each number. When his class opened via Zoom, he explained to students how the strategy worked and then posted a slide that had the students’ names and their assigned group number that correlated with the slides they should use when they went to the Jamboard site.

Before he sent them to the Jamboard, he gave them the following final directions: in each group, the student with the shortest hair would be number 1, the student with the next longest hair would be number 2, and so on, until all four students in each group had the order in which they would respond during the silent conversation. Lastly, he assigned each student in the group a color. This would be the color they would use when writing their thoughts on the sticky note. By using different colored sticky notes, it would be easy to see the student’s thoughts and the progression of the online conversation.

Students were told they would have a total of eight minutes to have their online silent conversation. As each group worked on their various Jams, the student teacher facilitated by showing the Jam on his Zoom screen while the students were working on the task. After students had finished having a silent online conversation, the student teacher then facilitated a discussion by going through each of the group’s slides and having the students share their silent conversation. After each group shared their thoughts on the court case, other class members were allowed to share their ideas. In the end, the teacher shared the result of the verdict from the Supreme Court justices. Scan the QR code at right to see the activity online.

Christian Educators Journal October 2021 23

Transitioning this strategy online was a little bit trickier than the strategies described above, as the student teacher had to think about how to have multiple groups answering simultaneously online.

Moving Forward

One hundred percent of our students indicated they felt more prepared to be innovators in the classroom because of teaching during a pandemic.

The last two years certainly have made our student teachers and Regent University’s education program better in all aspects. Upon the completion of student teaching each year, our graduates are asked to provide feedback on successes and improvements the program can make going forward. On evaluations from both fall 2020 and spring 2021, 98 percent of our student teachers indicated the program should continue to both teach strategies that can be used in person and to prepare student teachers to transition those strategies online using tools like Jamboard, Google Forms, and Google Slides.

While teaching virtually can never be the same as in-­person instruction, the addition of these online tools certainly helps to ensure teachers can still teach students how to think and analyze information through engaging means, even in an online setting. Several of the student teachers indicated they could easily see how a tool like Jamboard could be used at home to help students collaborate on homework or projects in a more efficient and effective manner. Even when our student teachers transitioned back to face-­to-­ face instruction, they continued to incorporate these tools with students in the classroom because the hosting schools had one-­to-­one devices. Many of the elementary teachers in our program used tools like Jamboard to help students individually work on skills like adding and subtracting or word study. In the end, 100 percent of our students indicated they felt more prepared to be innovators in the classroom because of teaching during a pandemic.

Works Cited Ritchhart, Ron. Intellectual Character: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Get It. San Francisco, Jossey-­Bass, 2002.

Schlichter, Andreas. “The Impact of COVID-­19 on Education: Insights from Education at a Glance.” OECD, 8 September 2020: 1–31.

Dr. Jenny Sue Flannagan is the Director of Student Teaching and Associate Professor at Regent University and has worked in public and private Christian school education for the last twenty-­nine years. Prior to coming to Regent, Dr. Flannagan was the Elementary and Middle School Science Coordinator for Virginia Beach City Public Schools and a middle and high school science teacher. Dr. Flannagan’s area of expertise lies in curriculum development, science instruction, and the use of instructional strategies in the classroom.

24 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

Three Lessons I Can’t Unlearn from 2020 JOEL R. GAINES

M

y encouragement to all educators as we begin another school year would be to not unlearn what you have learned during 2020 and the COVID-­19 pandemic. We will miss the true mark if a push for familiarity overrides the discipline of reckoning and consideration. As a Christian school leader during a pandemic, I continue to wrestle with the words of James 1:2–3: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (NKJV). I have come to resolve that I can count all things joy because God is working in all situations, even the most challenging ones, for personal and collective sanctification and his ultimate glorification.

It is important to take the future into account when counting it all joy.

The best way I know how to keep this perspective is to journal my thoughts.

I remember starting my first teaching position as a seventh grade social studies teacher in a public school in Wilmington, Delaware. My principal at that time, who was also one of the pastors of my church, gave me good advice. She said, “The best teachers and leaders are those who are active students after they finish their lesson.”

She would always encourage me to take at least ten minutes at the end of every day and answer the following simple questions in my professional journal: • What worked well today?

• Who do I need to encourage or “see” tomorrow?

• What do I need to do differently moving forward?

The discipline of writing these brief thoughts down has given passionate purpose, clear direction, and sustainable pace to my days—particularly during this pandemic. Thanks to the insights I’ve gained from my journal entries, I’d like to share three major lessons that I can’t unlearn from 2020 and the pandemic.

The discipline of writing these brief thoughts down has given passionate purpose, clear direction, and sustainable pace to my days—

Lesson 1: Less Is More

particularly during this

The first lesson that I can’t unlearn—and wouldn’t want to unlearn—from 2020 is that less is more. Prior to the pandemic, many of our schools’ This article originally appeared on the Converge blog. The Converge conference (formerly called the Global Christian School Leadership Summit) is next happening in San Diego March 8–10, 2022. For more information, visit https://converge.education.

Christian Educators Journal October 2021 25

pandemic.

Doing less but doing it well is much better than doing a bunch of things subpar.

What practices did you cut during the time of the pandemic that should not return?

calendars were filled with very busy days, months, and an entire year. I have seen how this pace is not healthy for the students, teachers, parents, or our ability to fulfill the overall school mission. The pandemic has shown many leaders what they really didn’t need (even though they thought they did).

Many things were stripped from the daily routines of all people globally.

Specifically for educators, the way we have been doing education for the past one hundred years was abruptly disrupted. It created an opportunity to do things differently. I have often described this as a “problemtunity” (something that presents as a problem, but which we can consciously turn into an opportunity). Doing less to gain a greater reward seems counterintuitive.

Doing less but doing it well is much better than doing a bunch of things subpar. A great example of this is one of my favorite cheesesteak establishments in the city of Philadelphia. This “hole in the wall” only makes cheese­ steaks and fries on Thursdays through Saturdays. They have made it clear where their attention is directed: cheesesteaks and fries. There is always a line outside their restaurant, and I often find myself craving a good cheese­ steak on Sundays when they are closed. They know and clearly define who they are—and they have continued to thrive even through the pandemic.

I was able to bring about the necessary mind shift in my personal leadership by creating three priorities during the pandemic. The goal was not to abandon the school’s core commitments, but instead to give all the school stakeholders (students, teachers, parents, board members, donors) measurable and obtainable objectives. Similar to the typical Baptist sermon, these memorable priorities enabled everyone to focus on three areas well, instead of many areas with only a fleeting glance. I landed on Community, Curriculum, and Connection. I would include these priorities in every communication that I had with school constituents, whether via email, letter, video, and so on. Studies show that it takes ten to twenty exposures to a concept before it sinks into a person’s mind. With our rush to get back to “normal,” I found it necessary to repeat “less is more” because our tendency is to return to the ways we have always done things.

A few questions that could help maintain a “less is more” mindset are the following: • What practices did you cut during the time of the pandemic that should not return?

• Who was most affected because of the changes you made during the pandemic?

• How can you do things differently moving forward? What prevents you from doing that?

Lesson 2: Representation Matters The second lesson I hope to never unlearn is the benefit and necessity of addressing ethnicity, culture, and race within our schools. During 2020 there was much racial unrest in the United States, which found its way into our classrooms. There was much commentary about ethnicity and race taking place on social media, on television, at professional athletic events, in church pulpits, and even at many dinner tables. For some educators it was all-­ consuming and overwhelming, which contributed to a “let’s not talk about 26 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

it anymore” mindset. The first danger with that perspective is that our students will continue to talk about it, sometimes parroting what they hear from oftentimes misinformed sources. The second danger is if educators don’t have these hard but necessary conversations, we leave it to others to inform our students of the beauty of diversity within God’s kingdom. To say it another way, by not talking about it, we miss out on a “problemtunity”: the problem is that there are many voices speaking to this topic, all with differing perspectives and values; the opportunity is that Christian educators can acknowledge and celebrate the differences among people, while providing students with the tools to learn how to think (not specifically what to think).

I never want to unlearn the value of cultural representation because of the words I heard from a third grade student at The City School. As I was trying to quietly observe a class, I noticed a cute third grade student staring at me in the back of the room. The student, who was African American, then called me over to his desk and asked, “Are you Mr. Gaines, our new head of school?” When I replied yes, he proceeded to tell me he watched virtual chapel every Friday but didn’t realize I was a “real” person. I assured him I was real, and I was proud to be the new head of school at The City School.

He then shared that he didn’t know if I was real because he had never seen an African American man in that role and didn’t think that was possible. He later shared that he too wanted to be a head of school someday.

Research shows that black men make up 2 percent of the teaching profession nationally; that percentage is even less for black men as heads of school in the Christian school sector. I took advantage of the opportunity to speak life into this young scholar by telling him I would gladly support him in being a head of school. Despite the fact we both had masks on, the brightness of his eyes—and the smile I was sure was underneath the mask—was something I will cherish forever. I hope one day he applies to be my replacement. The benefit for all children of all ages to see, hear, study, learn, fellowship with, celebrate, and be exposed to a myriad of ethnicities and cultures is what true education is about. I believe this is hard work—but good work—that benefits all of us as God’s children.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself, your leadership team, or your school community: • What are the “problemtunities” within your school context as it pertains to race, ethnicity, and culture?

• What resources would be beneficial for your school in starting, sustaining, or going deeper into this conversation?

• How have your school’s hiring, curricula, discipline, and governing practices been informed by race, ethnicity, and culture within your school community?

Lesson 3: Take Care of Yourself to Increase Shalom The last lesson I can’t unlearn is the importance of self-­care. I categorize self-­care under the umbrella of shalom. Shalom is more than just a Jewish greeting. Shalom embodies the understanding of completeness, wholeness, reconciliation, restoration, and flourishing. The lifelong pursuit of shalom is captured well in Micah 6:8: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what Christian Educators Journal October 2021 27

If educators don’t have these hard but necessary conversations, we leave it to others to inform our students of the beauty of diversity within God’s kingdom.

The benefit for all children of all ages to see, hear, study, learn, fellowship with, celebrate, and be exposed to a myriad of ethnicities and cultures is what true education is about.

Being in right relationship with God, others, creation, and myself leads me to experience fulfilling self-­care and enables me to flourish.

does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (ESV). For my self-­care, I am seeking what is good. Scripture tells me the way I can obtain the true, fulfilling good that I seek. One can’t pour from an empty cup. Therefore, my self-­care starts with my shalom with God. Staying connected to the vine (John 15:1–17) is what enables me to enjoy his love and be able to pour it out to others.

A key part of my personal self-­care is shalom with others and shalom with creation. I gain energy from being with people with positive energy.

These new and old relationships are life giving and empowering to continue in this challenging yet rewarding work. There are also times that I need to retreat to be with God’s creation. I thoroughly enjoy taking a walk near a body of water or planting new flowers in my small garden. Shalom with myself is at the core of my self-­care. When I am reminded of why I am in this work, I quickly recite one of my favorite Bible verses, Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (ESV). Being in right relationship with God, others, creation, and myself leads me to experience fulfilling self-­care and enables me to flourish.

As we look forward with hope to a post-­COVID world, we can all consider what lessons we don’t want to unlearn from 2020-­21 and the pandemic. We can ask ourselves what the “problemtunities” are in our school communities, how we are helping all within our school communities to flourish with equity, and how we are engaging in self-­care so that we are flourishing alongside our communities. As we look forward to Converge 2022 this spring, let’s plan to share the lessons we don’t want to unlearn with our colleagues, friends, and Christian education family from around the world.

Joel R. Gaines serves as Head of School at The City School in Philadelphia. He is married to Tia and has one son, Josiah, and three daughters, Hosanna, Eliana, and Adoniah. Joel has served in multiple roles for nearly twenty years in both Christian and public education, and in both urban and suburban settings.

28 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

Pandemic Principal MICHELLE TUINSTRA

A

visitor walking into our school during early summer may see stacked furniture outside classrooms, blank bulletin boards, and a variety of maintenance workers. Administrative assistants could be opening packages and delivering them to the proper classrooms. Peeking into a classroom, one might see a group of educators, jokingly named “Calendar Creators.”

Any teacher is welcome to attend this meeting, but only certain ones show up. Armed with calendars, pencils, and sometimes chocolate, they gather around a long conference table, ready to provide reasoning and set dates for the many school events.

At the summer 2020 planning session, dates were set with a different twist. The question “Will we even have it?” seemed to repeat itself for each event. Despite the uncertainty of the looming school year, the Calendar Creators completed another session (with a few more chocolates digested). “I guess we’ll just wait and see how the year progresses,” commented a teacher as the meeting ended.

As the school year evolved, the Calendar Creators found themselves with a different job description: how to plan an event in a COVID world. The group could have been retitled “The Imaginers.” Every single event on that established calendar needed to be redesigned using three lenses: Christian, community, and COVID. So many events were redesigned, but Grandparents’ Day will be forever etched in my memory. My father, a resident in a memory care facility, propelled me forward in the planning process. He often mentioned how much he missed seeing young people. I assumed this must be true for the students’ grandparents as well. Planning started with the office. “How can we make this happen?” I asked our office manager. “The Veterans Day parade worked.

Let’s make a Grandparents’ Day parade happen!”

Veteran’s Day, another re-­imagined event, worked well. Veterans drove through the back parking lot where students were holding flags on the sidelines. The middle school band played patriotic songs, bringing tears to the veterans’ eyes. A special fife and drum group led the parade procession.

Determined and feeling persistent, the office manager and I started planning in January. We kept the planning largely to ourselves because the pandemic stretched teachers and simplicity was key. But is anything simple when planning for Grandparents’ Day? “We need to give them something,” the office manager decided. She began creating seed packets with a note enclosed. It was difficult to determine an exact number, so we settled with one hundred, with the idea of giving one per vehicle. As the day drew closer, communicating to parents through the school newsletter, social media, and Christian Educators Journal October 2021 29

So many events were redesigned, but Grand­ parents’ Day will be forever etched in my memory.

As the day drew closer, communicating to parents through the school newsletter, social media, and handwritten letters from students became a focus.

This memory will be forever in my mind: grandparents driving through the line with enlarged pictures of their grandkids, huge balloons hanging from vehicles, teachers smiling, students waving.

handwritten letters from students became a focus. “I hope the grandparents come!” we often remarked to each other.

The event seemed simple: follow the same route as the Veterans’ Day parade with the middle school band and bell choir playing music.The director of advancement reminded me that signs for students’ placement would be helpful. “Do you think we should contact the local police to inform them of possible overflow? What if there is a back-­up on Union Street?” I resisted, remembering the messy correspondence with the city traffic department regarding the Veterans’ Day parade. “It will be fine,” I encouraged, with no reasoning behind that statement and optimism as my guide.

As the 2 p.m. hour drew closer, students gathered outside, holding welcome signs. Cars lined up in the side streets. “Traffic is backing up on Union Street,” a teacher informed me. I ignored the reports because I didn’t want to miss the moment. This memory will be forever in my mind: grandparents driving through the line with enlarged pictures of their grandkids, huge balloons hanging from vehicles, teachers smiling, students waving and sometimes even screaming. “This is delightful,” the fifth grade teacher commented, with laughter in her eyes. As we analyzed it later, teachers commented on the pure fun of the event. We stopped counting cars after one hundred, but we estimate that around 150 vehicles passed through the parade. Although the safety specialist commented that the traffic safety was a definite challenge, I will place the event in the “Keep” file. An email from a grandparent further cemented my reasoning.

I would like to compliment you and everyone behind the scenes on such an awesome afternoon last Friday! We had so much fun!! The turnout for this was unbelievable! What a blessing for the kids, teachers, and all the staff!!

From what we saw, there was traffic going both directions on Union Street, but everyone was so kind, alternating, letting folks in when the line was moving. We didn’t mind waiting at all, as it was well worth the wait to see all of the kids waiting to see their grandparents or friends, bouncing up & down at times with excitement. It was the best! Please let the teachers know how much we appreciate their hard work with the kids, making sure they had pictures to show and give to their grandparents & senior friends. The bell chorus & band—loved it! Appreciate their hard work in learning the music & songs. And the folks that set everything up and took it all down— thank you! Our day was made very special with all that everyone did!

Other events that needed re-­imagining included music programs, essential to a school community and important in a music curriculum.

Other events that needed re-­imagining included music programs, essential to a school community and important in a music curriculum. Creating a music program outside definitely presented challenges beyond our music teacher’s expertise. “I wonder how I will direct at the winter performance when it gets dark earlier,” she mused. Amazingly, the weather held up, but darkness did prevent the band from playing with the usual finesse. Because of the challenging lighting conditions, it is most likely in the “Throw out” category. The final spring concert, however, with its better lighting, will be placed in the “Keep” file. The band provided beautiful music that will be remembered by all present. Sitting in lawn chairs outside provided a wonderful atmosphere. Adding ice cream in the future would really make it popular.

Lack of adequate sound from the bell choir while at the outside band concert reminded us of yet another major event that needed to be 30 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

re-­imagined: graduations. Preschool, pre-­Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and eighth grade graduations are those events that need recognition and celebration, but how? The biggest hurdle seemed to be masks. The thought of being “mask police” failed to thrill anyone. Some even hinted at having it outside, no matter the weather, to avoid masks. “Umbrellas are still available!” someone joked. Planning for graduation in an outside setting seemed overwhelming at first. But like any other planning, the key is starting early and making checklists. Multiple conversations; creating plans A, B, and C; prayer for clear skies; and learning from other events allowed us to celebrate in unusual ways. We discovered new areas of the outside campus that worked. An unused gate provided a way to allow families in without having them walk through the school building. A new idea for the eighth grade graduation was to create a walkthrough with open trunk vehicles. Pictures of eighth graders were hung from the open trunks, and the students were stationed between them. Guests could walk from one vehicle to another, congratulating the students and parents. The weather was beautiful! Thank you, God, for answering our prayers! As the night ended, we breathed a sigh of relief. The one flaw? Forgotten signatures on diplomas. “That’s nothing,” we agreed. “The United States Postal Service is still operating.” Outside graduations definitely go into the “Keep” section.

Although several events were re-­imagined, some events did not make the list. Chapels remained in the classrooms, with the exception of Easter and Christmas. The challenging logistics of spacing students and the timing of classes prevented weekly group gatherings. The eighth graders expressed disappointment when the annual staff-­versus-­students basketball game did not take place. Their disappointment reminded us that they view the game with importance, so it will come back stronger next year.

Surprisingly, we added new events. After-­school socials for parents, students, and teachers answered the complaint that the school lacked community. Celebrating ten years of the newer part of the building reminded us of God’s provision. This outside event included a few guests, singing, and reflection on the building process. These new events may be placed in the “Keep” file as well.

Looking ahead to a new year and being part of Calendar Creators makes me wonder: What will the events look like? Every event last year provided new insight and possibilities. It changed our thinking from “We’ve always done it this way” to “This way was so much better!” Education, including events, should never be stagnant. The pandemic, despite its challenges, forced change. When I think about the joy-­filled faces of the grandparents at the parade, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Michelle Tuinstra, author, accepted God’s calling to lead as a “pandemic principal” at Lafayette Christian during the 2020–2021 school year. This school year, she hopes to find time to write her book, Pandemic Principal: Exhibiting Ridiculous Amounts of Grace in a COVID World. She can be reached at mtuinstra@ lafayettechristian.org.

Christian Educators Journal October 2021 31

The thought of being “mask police” failed to thrill anyone.

A new idea for the eighth grade graduation was to create a walkthrough with open trunk vehicles.

It changed our thinking from “We’ve always done it this way” to “This way was so much better!”

COVID-­19 Lessons from a Mother’s Perspective KELLY SAKZENIAN CAGLE

I Some educational settings did a better job than others equipping their students to excel in non-­traditional environments, such as remote learning.

n March of 2020, every academic setting was challenged by COVID-­19.

Some educational models experienced deeper obstructions than others.

In addition to the educational disruption, families were strongly impacted socially, emotionally, and spiritually by the changes to their daily school schedule. Although experiences varied, I believe some educational settings did a better job than others equipping their students to excel in non-­ traditional environments, such as remote learning. While COVID-­19 offered us all a plethora of lessons, I will share those I learned through my family’s participation in a University-­Model® school.

Parents whose children attended traditional campuses (full time, five days a week) faced a challenge they had never encountered before. Adults were expected to continue their professional careers remotely, in addition to embracing the new role of “co-­teacher”—an often unknown territory to them. This transition was extremely overwhelming and stressful to parents, as they also considered the health and safety of their loved ones during the viral outbreak.

In October 2020, as part of a special report called “Learning” in the New York Times, Amelia Nierenberg reported on parents who were asked to answer the question, “How are you dealing with remote learning?” Some of the answers included the following: • “My third-­grader does not like his headphones, which means as I sit next to him, I hear every loud voice, every math lesson, and every time a child interrupts. But it is important that I sit by him, as he is still trying to navigate the eight different online websites that the teacher uses to supplement the classwork. He is also easily distracted and a wiggly 8-­year-­old boy that needs redirection. He cannot do it alone, and I cannot expect his teacher to do it on her own from her home.”

• “Balancing is not a thing when you are parenting, teaching and working simultaneously. It’s simply not possible to do it all or do any of it well.”

• “My brain is breaking just trying to track their schedules, portals, login information, device access and so on.”

Along with parents who faced new challenges of working remotely while simultaneously embracing the role of teacher, students also faced new challenges, as they were required to complete the school year with variations released weekly and in unfamiliar methods. Similar to adults, students encountered a major transition with being asked to continue schoolwork without the physical presence and supervision of a teacher. And, of course, educators also faced a major challenge. With little warning and limited time 32 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

to prepare (one or two weeks in most cases), they resumed all lesson plans and transitioned content to an online platform of some sort. To make this possible, they had to ensure every student had digital access as well as additional resources (e.g., textbooks, supplies, manipulatives) to continue the learning process for the remainder of the school year.

My Experience Our son, Levi, started at a new school in the fall of 2019. For grades Kindergarten–2, he had attended a charter school and excelled in every area. However, we transferred him when we learned about a local private Christian school that followed a non-­traditional method called University-­Model® (UM). Students in grades Kindergarten–6 attend in person on Tuesdays and Thursdays and receive satellite assignments from highly qualified teachers to complete at home on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Secondary students, those in grades 7–12, attend in person on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and also have satellite work to complete on the other two weekdays.

According to John Turner Jr., the model was designed to equip students for college, while also providing parents the opportunities to disciple, influence, and mentor their children even during the school year. UM parents receive the title of co-­instructor, as they partner with certified teachers in educating their child.

As Barry Zimmerman found, “self-­regulation is important because a major function of education is the development of life-­long learning skills” (66). My husband and I believed the flexible schedule of a University-­ Model® school would provide opportunities for our son to establish life-­long learning skills, while also allowing us to remain active participants in his personal and academic development. Additionally, with two much younger children, we saw this school model as the perfect opportunity for our sons to have the close relationship we desired for them even with the large age gap (five and seven years) because of the increased time together.

Academic Experience before COVID-­19 When we first transitioned to the school model, I knew there were several skills Levi had to develop in order to succeed academically. As a nine-­year-­ old boy, self-­regulatory skills of organizational and time management are limited without the intervention of an adult. Although he had excelled in school the previous three years, a combination of in-­person and satellite days was a different dynamic to navigate without the constant direction of a teacher. I dedicated much of our satellite days to establishing routines (e.g., making his bed, eating breakfast, and reading his devotional prior to beginning schoolwork), teaching independence (e.g., setting timers, using resources, and prioritizing tasks), and bringing awareness to times of engagement (e.g., assessing which assignments require a lot of focus, when to take breaks, and how to be a good listener). We had only experienced the normalcy of a UM school for eight months when the pandemic hit; however, we had established an effective satellite day routine that I believe made the transition to remote learning nearly seamless.

Christian Educators Journal October 2021 33

The University Model was designed to equip students for college, while also providing parents the opportunities to disciple, influence, and mentor their children even during the school year.

I also emphasized the importance of time management. He used his watch to set timers for reading.

During the initial eight months of “normal” UM school, I observed that Levi was mostly engaged in the mornings and typically chose to start his satellite days with math. He would then complete language arts, followed by social studies and science. I allowed flexibility to create a sense of owner­ ship in his satellite work. I taught him how to create an organized space to minimize distractions. I also emphasized the importance of time management. He used his watch to set timers for reading, and we also established a general idea of how long each subject should take based on his competency in the content area. If he was disengaged and went over the allotted time, he faced certain consequences. If he went over the allotted time because of a heavier workload rather than lack of attention on his part, the consequences did not apply. He developed an understanding of the impact of his own motivation in regard to his schoolwork.

Academic Experience during COVID-­19

The teachers created videos to celebrate birthdays and held Zoom meetings where they continued to pray and have weekly devotionals with the students.

UM students were equipped with various skills that eliminated much of the academic “shock” experienced by so many traditional-­

When we received the email that school would resume remotely for the remainder of the year, I was confident that our routine would remain nearly uninterrupted. UM teachers transitioned their lessons to various virtual methods, like all other teachers. However, UM teachers already had the benefit of their part-­time remote teaching experience.

UM teachers used Google Classroom, where they engaged with students and encouraged ​​them to interact with each other academically and socially.

The teachers created videos to celebrate birthdays and held Zoom meetings where they continued to pray and have weekly devotionals with the students. Smaller groups were assigned for math lessons, and much of science transitioned to the outdoors, using God’s creation.

The administrative team also recorded videos where the head of school opened with the pledge of allegiance, announcements, and birthday cele­ brations, and closed with a prayer over the students, their families, and the staff. Communication was important, as new information was released weekly. As a private school, the school’s leadership team had more flexibility in the daily operations, since they did not rely on information provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to make their decisions on how to proceed with operations. Because they closely followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports, the remainder of the 2020 school year continued virtually as everyone navigated the longevity of the virus.

In my conversations with other co-­instructors (UM parents), it became apparent that their remote learning experiences were quite similar to ours.

Many UM parents work, and therefore had to juggle the duties of co-­ teaching, parenting, and working remotely. However, UM students were equipped with various skills that eliminated much of the academic “shock” experienced by so many traditional-­school students, easing the pressure placed on parents during remote learning.

school students, easing the pressure placed on parents during remote learning.

COVID-­19 and Christian Education Lynn Swaner and Matthew Lee, two researchers from the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), published a report in December 34 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

2020 titled Christian Schools and COVID-­19. ACSI conducted three surveys (in April, July, and November 2020) covering “enrollment trends, COVID disruption, distance learning planning and discounts, COVID modifications to sports and other activities, special education and student support, and faculty well-­being” (3). For the November report, the researchers received responses from over 730 schools that displayed how Christian schools progressed during COVID-­19.

In regard to enrollment changes, nearly 34 percent of the schools reported an increase in students between fall 2019 and fall 2020. Additionally, 36.9 percent of schools reported that enrollment increased even after the beginning of the 2020–2021 school year. Included in the reasons for the increase were that parents and students made the switch for “lower classroom sizes; local public schools not providing in-­person learning; value of Christian school community and caring teachers; and nimble transition of Christian schools to distance learning in Spring 2020” (10).

Although Christian schools were not exempt from the fearful, stressful, and uncertain moments of the pandemic, they also had more flexibility in how they proceeded with instruction in comparison to traditional schools.

According to the same ACSI survey, individuals reported that the school community drew closer to the Lord (49 percent), became more innovative in technological use as a teaching tool and for problem solving (37 percent and 32 percent, respectively), and gained more students that might not have joined the school otherwise (again, 34 percent).

Additionally, Christian school leaders and participants rallied together to face adversities presented by the pandemic. According to a staff member from one University-­Model® school: Our amazing Christian school administration, staff, parents, and students prayed over each of the teachers during this [COVID-­19] challenging time.

They went above and beyond to check on us through phone calls, Zoom meetings, and encouraging texts—just like we were doing to keep our students and families engaged.

These survey findings and the input from a UM staff member suggest that Christian schools differentiated themselves from traditional campuses particularly during the pandemic. As participants of a University-­Model® school, our family’s academic experience throughout COVID-­19 were positive for primarily two reasons: (1) the leaders of our school were communicative, welcoming of parental input, and prayerful in every decision, and (2) my son was equipped with self-­regulatory skills and so adjusted well to the educational environment, even when it became solely remote. Furthermore, there was a strong sense of community in our school as each family decided for themselves how they would continue their child’s education during the 2020–2021 school year (e.g., whether they homeschooled, did virtual school, or wore masks during in-­person instruction).

According to a UM teacher, “It was due to our school family and the unique bond we share that we were able to encourage one another and face each day of uncertainty knowing by God’s grace we would overcome this time together.” I believe that prayer was the leading factor behind the growth that Christian schools experienced during COVID-­19. In addition to prayer, I believe the skills University-­Model® school students obtained Christian Educators Journal October 2021 35

Although Christian schools were not exempt from the fearful, stressful, and uncertain moments of the pandemic, they also had more flexibility in how they proceeded with instruction in comparison to traditional schools.

through satellite day and in-­person school environments prior to COVID-­19 led to minor academic disruptions as well as a sustainable experience for parents during the navigation of virtual learning, working remotely, and all the other tasks during an unforgettable year. The academic “damage” caused

by COVID-­19 is uncertain. And although the pandemic brought substantial academic struggles to many, stories are also surfacing of educational explorations that could lead to tremendous student development over time.

Works Cited Swaner, Lynn E. and Matthew H. Lee. Christian Schools and COVID-­19: 2020– 2021 School Year Profile. Association of Christian Schools International, December 2020.

Nierenberg, Amelia. “Students, Parents and Teachers Tell Their Stories of Remote Learning.” New York Times, 14 October 2020, https:// www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/education/learning/students-­parents-­ teachers-­remote-­stories.html.

Turner, Jr., John W. Character Driven College Preparation: Parents and Teachers in Partnership through University-­Model Schooling. GPA Ministries, 2001.

Zimmerman, Barry J. “Becoming a Self-­Regulated Learner: An Overview.”

Theory into Practice, vol. 41, no. 2, Spring (2002): 64–70.

Kelly Sakzenian Cagle is an educational consultant and holds a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Her research areas include alternative instructional methods, school choice, and parents as co-­instructors at University-­Model schools.

36 October 2021 Christian Educators Journal

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