I'll be taking a break from posting for the next two weeks, being true to my family's brand of rest, relaxation, worship, and fun together over the holidays. I wish you the same! The next new post will appear January 6.
Filling a teaching position is one of the most critical activities to which I commit time and energy. This past summer I had an opening that appeared in early June, and while we prefer to utilize the Call process to seek out qualified teaching ministers of our school system (the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod), you can't exactly expect someone to drop and come to Alaska with last minute notice. Nor would I prefer to bring on board a teacher who'd be willing to leave their current school in such a last minute lurch. Thus, I found myself advertising locally and praying God would send the candidate He had prepared in advance for our need.
We were blessed to have multiple excellently qualified individuals come forward to apply. These interviews were probably unlike any interviews those people had experienced before. Yes, there are some typical questions common to interviews, but much more than that. You see, I understood that I was spending time with six people, but only hiring one of them. And the position for which I was hiring, a classroom elementary teacher, is a position that has a profound influence on our mission as a school ministry. Therefore, these interviews became an opportunity for me to passionately share our brand with these candidates, helping them to understand who we are, why we exist, and what we are driven by faith to be and do. I'm rather invested in this ministry, and believe in it with all my heart. Our teacher applicants each got to see that clearly, and to discover how true that rings for each of them. Through conversation and sharing from both directions, the interviews easily ran over an hour each. One went a full 90 minutes! Yet the time flew by as we spoke of the ministry of serving the academic and spiritual needs of children and their families. The result was that I hired one very eager and excited new teacher for our staff who fully understood what he was jumping into, not for the paycheck (though that is gladly accepted, of course), but because of the caring family he was joining in such a vital and joyful mission. At the same time, the five other teacher applicants were disappointed to not receive the position, but because they got a true taste of our mission and our brand I created five more people in this community who understand in a deeper way what Anchor Lutheran is all about, who hopefully will speak positively of their interaction with us in the future. Every opportunity to build positive relationships with new people is a key part of our success as a school ministry. As it turned out, the teacher I hired left us at the end of the First Quarter, feeling he wasn't quite able to meet the needs and challenges of the position. I gave thanks to God for the interview process, as one of our other candidates had chosen to enroll her children at Anchor despite not being hired, and in the interim had accepted a position as a teacher aide. She is now part of the solution, joyfully teaching for us as she had hoped to do in the first place. Indeed, God works in mysterious ways! And yet, as we hold true to our brand, sometimes the results aren't so mysterious, but rather the reasonable and logical results of being true to our brand promises (still under the blessing of our God, of course). I know some of you may not be Disney fans, but sorry, they've got me hook, line, and sinker. I know they aren't perfect, but overall I buy into their brand. And they were in the news again not too long ago (a Twitter post) partly because of it. Apparently they have a "no sad kids" rule, which employees may invoke to do all sorts of things.
- Child drops their ice cream cone. Employee grabs them a new one, gratis. - Child has an "accident," soils their clothing. Employee replaces their attire. - Child loses a souvenir (those "ears," perhaps?). Employee gives them another. The point is that Disney boldly proclaims themselves the "Happiest Place on Earth." Sad children do not fit with that declaration. Employees are empowered and encouraged to maintain and spread the happiness! What rule do we have at our Lutheran Schools? We know our primary motivation (our Savior), but how does it show through a rule we all can embrace. What principle at your school empowers your entire staff to go to extraordinary measures to address need? Perhaps one of these might be applicable: - No unwanted children. - No one without a friend. - Kindness for all. - That "Lutheran School family" thing? We mean it! I'm not sure what rings the most true for you, but I like to envision what happens because of such a rule. • A teacher spends all of recess talking with four girls who are having "drama", who really need to talk it out, despite that it costs the teacher their own break time. • An administrative assistant draws little pictures on bandaids, bringing the beauty of butterflies to the sadness of the boo-boo. • A coach encourages and models cheering for teammates and having fun being part of the team over winning at all costs. Wait a minute... I've seen exactly these sorts of behaviors, and so many more like them, in multiple Lutheran Schools. And I've seen them mirrored in how students treat each other and the adults. Perfectly, at all times? Of course not. But in abundance nevertheless. Our schools may not have such a rule verbalized, but it's there. We can see it in action. Maybe you can capture your own school's rule. Try to capture the phrase that you think nails it for your school, and submit it below in the comments. In that way you'll be sharing the wisdom of your experiences with many others, a means that makes all of us stronger and better in accomplishing our shared mission! To win and keep a slot in the minds of families of our community, our brand needs to remain credible, competitive, current, and relevant to the wants, needs, and interests of prospective families. That means we need to tune in to market conditions, consumer preferences, and cultural trends on a regular basis as our brand ages.
Markets change, and businesses change. When they do, brands that remain stuck in times past pay a high price in terms of credibility and competitiveness. We've experienced that our Lutheran Schools. We saw enrollment drop over the past decade, particularly part of the economic downturn that struck our nation, and the decline was so severe that numerous Lutheran Schools closed. Our schools were still being true to their brand through that time, doing what was promised, and doing it well, but the community had changed faster than our schools. As schools started adjusting how they conveyed the brand, particularly as the nation began coming through the downturn, enrollment started growing again. We still serve the same mission we've served all along, but how we go about it is subtly different, more relevant to today's interests and needs. We are still most known for the unconditional love and care we offer, and the welcoming feel all who join us experience, but now this is often conveyed alongside updated curriculum, ever more diverse fine arts offerings, and enhanced technology integration. And this is all provided in a manner strongly consistent with our brand. A key lesson for our schools to remember here is to continue to be attentive to prevalent trends in our community and society. We want to remain sufficiently attuned that we may more readily adapt to future changes in the world around us, hopefully continuing our ministry around more mountain tops and less valleys. |
AuthorJim Scriven: A Lutheran educator since 1990, I serve as Education Executive for the schools of the Northwest District, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Archives
June 2015
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