THE WOODLANDS THE WOODLANDS
CHRISTIAN CHRISTIAN ACADEMY A C A D E M Y JANUARY 11, 2013
Governance Board Update The primary role of the Governance Board is to assure that The Woodlands Christian Academy challenges its students to reach their highest potential in Christ and equips them spiritually, academically, physically and socially – to become effective leaders. To perform its job, the Board adopted John Carver’s model of Policy Governance in 2008. Policy Governance shifts the focus of the Board away from day-to-day operational management and committees, to a long-range strategic focus on the future of our school. Through the establishment of policies and limitations, the sole focus of the Board becomes the creation of policies and the governance of the Head of School to ensure compliance with the policies. The Head of School, who is the sole employee of the Board, has the authority to work within established limitations to pursue those policies. The Board interfaces with the Head of School to monitor the current plans and progress made by the administration in achieving the ultimate end goals. In accordance with this model, Julie Ambler and her administrative team have done an excellent job of implementing best educational practices and consistently improving the quality of all programs at Woodlands Christian. We are tremendously pleased with the efforts and goals of the school’s Leadership Team and we are excited about the future of Woodlands Christian under their guidance. We are additionally pleased that our outside auditor has, once again, given our school’s financial operations a clean report with no concerns or conditions. In preparation for our twenty-year anniversary and our re-accreditation with SACS
and ACSI next fall, the Board has begun a series of dialogues – with both internal and external experts - to test the long-term vision for Woodlands Christian. The first meeting assembled the original founders of Woodlands Christian, many former Board members, and current school administrators to discuss the founding vision of the school. We saw unmistakable evidence of God’s hand throughout the school’s history and alignment between the original vision and present reality. The second meeting included local pastors along with Ryan Highley, our Campus Pastor, to discuss the school’s role in the spiritual formation of its students. The discussion highlighted the need for Christian educators to follow the spiritual walk of alumni (we began annual surveys of graduates in 2010). This discussion also proved fruitful in furthering connections with local youth pastors, support for local churches, and ideas for future mission projects. This spring, the Board will hold two more discussions. The first will include local leaders and politicians to discuss the role of Christians in leadership, and the second will include college educators to examine the role and experience of Christians in higher education. Amazing things are happening every day at Woodlands Christian and we, as a Board, look forward with great anticipation to all the blessings God has in store for the future of our school. In Christ, Tom Earle, Chief Governance Officer Janice Freet Gary Mueck Jim O’Connor Loren Regier Nancy Yanochik
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