6 minute read
Demonstrable Excellence
The final pillar of mission fulfillment within Rowing Not Drifting is “Demonstrable Excellence”. Vince Lombardi once said, “If you pursue perfection, you might catch excellence.” Jesus said it this way, “A good tree bears good fruit”. As we work to cultivate the goodness of God and virtue of knowledge in the lives of our students, we are essentially growing the good trees to which Jesus is referring. As such, we should fairly be able to measure our success in growing good trees by monitoring the good fruit that we are seeing harvested from these trees. To be clear, our goal here is not behavior modification. Rather, our goal is transformation of the heart and mind in accordance with the truth of Scripture. Behavior modification is like taking fruit and pinning it to dead branches on lifeless trees. What we aspire to is students that reflect the qualities of Christ that are mentioned in Luke 2:52: “Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man.” This final pillar, the pillar of “Demonstrable Excellence”, holds us accountable for that in the lives of your students.
Division-Specific Perspectives of Homework Time
On average, how many minutes of homework do students have per evening in elementary, middle, and high school?
From years of surveys, we know that opinions on the value of homework range broadly. As a school, recognizing and therefore working to avoid the perceived “evils” of “busy work”, it is our position that the primary utility of homework is independent practice, novelty in the change of state and mode, and concept reinforcement. In pursuit of the elimination of mere busy work and so that parents have the capacity to gauge where their own students fall relative to the average number of homework minutes per division, each year we track the following information. Elementary
Middle School
High School
Is your child required to do “too much homework”, “too little homework”, or “about the right amount of homework”?
Having established the average number of minutes of homework per night per division on the previous page, this question changes to the focus from minutes of homework to the perceived value of both the “quantity” and “quality” of the homework assigned. The answer to this question is presented from a school-wide vantage point.
Do you consider your student’s homework to be rigorous? How would you rate the academic rigor presented in your student’s experience?
As the school considers academic rigor, there’s so much more to consider than the number of minutes of homework and the perceived value of that time: namely, academic rigor. Academic rigor includes differentiating and personalizing instruction, presenting opportunities for students to develop critical thinking skills, and teaching students to apply their learning in new and novel situations. (The second/below option below is “Rigorous, not too rigorous”.)
Non-Division-Specific Perspectives of the Scope and Quality of the School’s Fine Arts Offerings
Parental satisfaction with NCS fine arts based on the Spring 2022 Parent Partnership Survey
The school’s fine arts offering presently include band, choir visual art, drama, and film/video.
Accreditation: Accountability and a Standard for Excellence
Northwest Christian School is one of just nineteen “ACSI Exemplary Accredited” Christian schools in the world. Exemplary Accreditation is a higher tier of accreditation that is granted by the accrediting organization ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) to a K-12 school that meets the criteria. The Exemplary Accreditation criteria are based on evidence, performance, a site visit, and review and determination by the ACSI Commission on Accreditation. The school is evaluated in six Critical Factor areas of excellence: Board Governance Executive Leadership School Viability Student Learning Spiritual Formation School Culture Rationale 1. The criteria are based upon six Critical Factors. These Critical Factors distinguish a school of excellence and mark a school as flourishing at the influential level. 2. The criteria are comprehensive. The Critical Factors and indicators are intended to address key important internal and external aspects of school operations with requirements that are clearly at an “influential school.” 3. The criteria are interconnected. There is a connection among the criteria. They address the multiple, embedded, and interacting framework of school life based on the school’s mission, vision, core values, and expected student outcomes. 4. The criteria are non-prescriptive. The focus is on results rather than on specific processes or procedures.
5. The criteria are a basis for collaborative self-assessment. The criteria should be seen as a useful tool for self-assessment, strategic planning, professional dialog, innovation, and involvement of all relevant constituents in a common school improvement plan. 6. Self-assessment is an effective school improvement strategy. Research and experience suggest that self-assessment benefits schools and fosters improvement in practice.
Successful schools usually have a process for planning and consideration. 7. The criteria are valuable to schools assessing their current programs and practices.
The criteria are for those schools which have reached an influential level of distinguished organization, achievement, and operations.
Northwest Christian School’s preschool program was the very first “Five Star Quality First” preschool in the state of Arizona. First Things First created Quality First to work with child care and preschool providers across Arizona to improve the quality of their early learning settings. Currently more than 1,000 early learning programs in communities across Arizona participate in Quality First. All of these programs are licensed and regulated, but participating in Quality First is voluntary. These programs are committed to quality improvement, going beyond regulatory requirements to help the infants, toddlers and preschoolers in their care be ready for success in school and beyond. Child care centers, home-based providers and preschools participating in Quality First are supported with training and coaching to help improve their programs in ways that nurture the emotional, social and academic development of every child. First Things First supports child care and preschool programs enrolled in Quality First with: Coaching to build on what’s great about a program and identify opportunities to improve Funding for the purchase of educational materials, equipment and other resources Financial support for teachers and caregivers to expand their knowledge of early childhood and how to nurture the development of young children Specialized assistance from a team of experts in child health, mental health and supporting children with special needs
To measure progress in quality improvement, each program participating in Quality First is assessed and given a Quality First Star Rating, ranging from 1 to 5 stars. Star Ratings are based on what research shows are the key components of quality early care and education: Health and safety practices that promote children’s basic well being Skilled teachers who know how to turn everyday experiences into learning moments Learning environments with age-appropriate activities, books, toys and other learning materials that promote emotional, social, language and cognitive development Opportunities for active play and hands-on exploration throughout the day Teacher-child interactions and engaging conversations that build language and promote thinking and social skills
Northwest Christian School is also a Cognia-accredited school. Cognia was formerly known as AdvancED.
