Is Your Christian School Worth Attending?
In some form or another, "Is your Christian school worth attending?" is being asked by parents. A second question, "Are you hiring the best?" is also being asked and should be a focus of your school leadership's inquiry.
Similarly two other questions immediately spring to mind, "Do your students require the best?" which directly influences hiring and "Do parents expect the best?" which also becomes a "pressure point."
Of course the over-arching question is "What does God expect of us?" "This is good enough" is never and adequate or acceptable response at any level!
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All of this sets a process in motion which is often elusive to the average Christian school leadership. After all is there a board committee, with faculty representation, which "audits" educational effectiveness? This committee must know the goals and measurable objectives of your parents, students, and educators alike. This is no small task, but a tall order!
Too often both sides of this equation, provider/consumer, are satisfied with, "our school is better than public schools," more students go to college, standardized test scores are better, and the general environment is better and safer. In addition, thought should be focused on knowing if the aforementioned is true and is it sufficient to stimulate the best from students and faculty alike.
In order to move from the general to the specific think on this. Can anyone at our school recognize the best? Are you willing to hold out for the best? And is your compensation package such as to attract the best? Don't get me wrong by assuming I don't understand that there is sacrifice involved, but in order to function at top level there are concerns, if you will, that must be addressed.
By now you probably think that I'm asking too many questions and not providing enough substantive solutions. While I suspect you would be correct, your answers to my questions will supply the answers which will indeed lead to the appropriate solutions.
Here are three absolutes for teacher interviews which will lead to finding and hiring the best.
1. Do you have the gift of teaching?
2. Has God called you to teach?
3. Can you provide examples confirming your "gift" and "calling?"
Also, I would suggest recruiting candidates who have been educated outside of the education department of their university in order to find the best prepared (studying with better professors), educated (having more credits in their subject major), and intellectually equipped (higher SAT & ACT scores)!
This suggestion is not simply tossed out, but based on solid research. Explore it on your own.
Elusive to this process is finding the "virtue" of personal "integrity." To discover this you will need to go beyond the interview, carefully follow up on references, previous employment experiences, and the veracity of the submitted resume.
"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." (Philippians 4:8 NASB)
