A Link to the President's Speech

The President's Speech to American Students

President Obama's Speech

We have initiated random drug testing; changed admissions standards; dropped skirts from the dress code; and moved the school to the 4A level of athletic competition -- but none of those issues generated the parental response as a speech to school kids by the President of the United States.  In the last 72 hours I have about 50 emails on the subject.  When I get three emails on the same subject I think the sky is falling!

This forum provides the opportunity to explain a bit more in depth why the school chose the route it did.  I have no illusions that it will make everyone happy, but I hope it will clear some misconceptions.

While the text of the President's speech is not yet available, I have absolute faith that the message he will deliver on Tuesday will be non partisan and wholly appropriate.  Encouraging students to stay in school, work hard, and set high goals (tasks mastered by an overwhelming percentage of our students) is admirable.  President Obama, as the nation's 1st African-American President, is also uniquely positioned to influence groups of students who have not  embraced education as a way out of poverty.  The President has a responsibility to all America's people and the fact that he is choosing to address the nation's future, both literally and figuratively, is laudable.  Given his skills as a speaker, there is even a better chance that his message might have some impact.

Schools should be actively involved in civics education.  Whether public or private, schools have a responsibility to educate students about our history and government.  President Obama's speech is a teachable moment.  It provides teachers with a real world opportunity to see how the curriculum interfaces with actual events.  The controversy about the speech itself provides further grist for discussion. Good teachers ask challenging questions.  They make sure students are exposed to all the facets of controversial issues.  Schools are absolutely the place for these kinds of discussions; but that does not imply that these discussions aren't also important for the family dinner table, on the way home from practice or in the casual moments between parents and students.

Faith is not a subsidiary of the Republican Party.  There is no doubt that the demographic makeup of our parents leans more conservatively.  And where matters of faith and politics interact (e.g., abortion, same-sex marriage, creationism) there is also little doubt that the platform of the GOP is more aligned with Lutheran (LCMS) theology.  But there are no edicts from the church or from the administration at school dictating political stances.  To the best of my recollection, the rare conversations I have with school personnel about politics are generally with non-teachers on our staff.  Except on those places where politics and theology interface, the school takes no position, officially or unofficially, on political matters.

Tuesday is a unique day at Faith.  It is an unscheduled minimum day so we can say goodbye to our friend and colleague, Eva Cruz.  It means class time will be reduced significantly, with relatively short notice to teachers. It would be imprudent for me to make the decision about the use of class time for nearly 100 teachers who are charged with getting students through the curriculum. If I was still a U.S. History or American Government teacher, I'd make time for it.  But the decisions I would make as a teacher are not the same as I make as an administrator.  I have to see the big picture.

There's no damage here.  Anyone who wants to see the President's speech will have ample opportunity to do so.  It will be on the White House website.  I expect there will be more than one opportunity to see it on CSPAN. I'm pretty certain it will be posted to YouTube moments after he's finished.  If you're unhappy your student did not have the opportunity to see it at school, what a great time to watch it with them, to take advantage of a teachable moment at home.

Finally, this episode illustrates a huge problem in our country, one I have as a student of politics seen develop over the last two decades.  Here is one of the fifty emails I received:  What a shame!  So, some of the teachers have strong political views, too, and I am sure that is not a factor------------Or his race.  Think about it from a perspective which mirrors the demographics of the families who send students and it make sense that this behavior by teachers would be tolerated.  How are the students ever going to be exposed to countervailing political and racial views?  Isn't it a shame we cannot disagree about something without disparaging the character of those on the other side?  We need a return to a more civil discourse. Little gets accomplished when all that is heard are raised voices and name-calling. 

I hope everyone who took the time to write or call will also take the time to listen to the speech tomorrow.

Inspired

I have spent five of the last eleven days at two different conferences.  BLC'09 is a gathering of teachers, administrators, consultants and educational leaders who are committed to changing the ways students  are taught, largely but not exclusively, through the use of technology.  November Learning, the creation of educational consultant Alan November, puts together the conference which offers some cutting edge thinking on what schools should be doing.  

My favorite session however, had nothing to do with technology. Angela Maiers reminded those who attended her workshop about the important role schools play in the development of character.  Her theme dovetailed nicely with what I took away from The Leadership Summit, sponsored by the Willow Creek Association and hosted by Canyon Ridge Church.  Our faculty administrative team attended the two-day event in lieu of a retreat we hold this time of year.  It was time well spent.

A chunk of my time this summer has been spent in discussions about money.  Despite increasing financial aid by a third for next year, our funds are nearly exhausted.  Parents are still losing jobs on an almost daily basis, and students who have spent more than a third of their life at Faith face the prospect of not finishing at our school.  It is heartbreaking.  I have had families whose homes are in foreclosure say they would rather lose their house than give up a Faith education and I touched on that in March.

But over the last two days, the needs of other people were brought into sharp focus. There remain too many places where people live on about a dollar a day; there are too many places (one is too many) where children die from starvation; too many places where a simple $0.20 injection would prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child; too many places where the lack of clean water, mosquito netting or basic medical care shortens the lives of entire villages.

Even in the worst economic crisis many of us have ever seen, the Faith community is blessed beyond belief.  And while it is important that we attend to the needs of those hurting within driving distance of our school, we are doing our world a disservice if we don't engage our students with calamity facing peoples in Africa, Asia, South America and in the core of America's industrial centers.

One of my goals for our school is that our community (students, faculty, parents, churches) makes a difference in the world.  The issue is not resources, but will.  We see pockets now: MS servant event; food drives; Pennies for Patients, etc.  In eleven years here nothing made me prouder than our response to the Asian tsunami and the Gulf hurricanes three years ago. But I believe we can make a bigger impact through a sustained commitment to learning about the world around us, finding out where there is need, and developing (or joining) strategies to address the need.

I am not naive. I don't hope to end a world problem.  I just want Faith to be part of the solution.

Sum...Sum...Summertime

Three weeks back from one of the best trips ever, it is good to get refocused on what is happening at Faith.  And a lot is happening.  The track looks brand new after a resurfacing. By the time school starts, our entire campus should be enclosed with fencing, which includes some security upgrades to the gates. Work has begun on the outdoor court areas to make them suitable for tennis practices.  The front office has new carpeting (which some people like and others think belongs in a casino). We are providing an outdoor set construction area for the drama department.  The art patio has been made more secure.  New lighting has been installed in the gym, library and cafeteria.

(At the forum in Pompeii)

We are working diligently on readying our roll-out of Apple Macs to the class of 2013.  Please check the school's website for details. Next week Mr. Orr and I will be traveling to Boston for the Building Learning Communities Conference sponsored by November Learning, one of the premier organizations in the country that supports transitioning to student centered, project-based schools that teacher higher order thinking skills.  Not surprisingly, technology plays a critical role in accomplishing that transition.

Hiring is complete.  We are excited to say hello to nine new teachers who bring a varied set of experiences to our school.

We have changed drug testing companies.  We are now working with American Toxicological Inc., a local company that will provide us with faster results at less expense.  That last point means we will be able to add 1-2 more rounds of random testing.

(At the entrance to the ancient Olympic Village)

Enrollment continues to look positive for the fall.  Currently over 1330 student are registered.  With the economy in the state it is in, that number is likely to go down.  While we have long waiting lists in grades 7 & 8.  Space may be available in other grades.  Contact Mrs. Carol Neal if you need specific information about enrolling a student.

White Flag Time

We are just a few days away from May, typically the busiest month of the school year.  The calendar is populated by awards ceremonies, concerts, plays, state athletic competitions and AP exams, just to list a few things.  There will abundant opportunities to support your children by showing up at events.  And while kids may pass off your non-attendance as no big deal, in reality, it is the opportunity to make a memory that may not present itself again.

In the past few days I threw away a t-shirt from the 1999 field day (it made for a great pajama top, although that may be TMI).  We don't have field days anymore, a victim of a growing school size.  Another tradition is being changed this year as we have done away with a separate event honoring our Faith Faithful, the group of students who have spent all seven years (six for FGS students).  Last year that event went on for three hours and we had a few more FFs this year.  We will honor them at a chapel and at graduation, but this separate ceremony was a victim of our growth.  

Bigger is not necessarily better and we are working hard to make sure that Faith does not lose its personal touch in spite of having more people to reach out and touch.  Bigger does mean opportunities that are not present for smaller schools, so as in many things, we take the good with the bad.

The Value of a Faith Education

In tough economic times people assess their spending and look for value. The thrill of a new Lexus may give way to the economy of a Prius.  The deliciousness of Morton's may make way for the efficiency of MacDonalds.  Of course, value means different things to different people.  For some people their morning latte is the last thing they would give up; others have rediscovered their coffee pots.

I think it is increasingly clear that for many families, a Faith education for their children is among their highest priorities.  Too often over the last few months I have listened to families who are are the verge of losing their homes, but are willing to do whatever it takes to keep their kids in school.  That is both heart-breaking and humbling.  

Personally, those stories are a strong motivation to work as hard as possible to maintain and improve our quality.  If a parent is willing to give up a house rather than force their child into a different school, we have the obligation to make every possible effort to insure that education is worth the sacrifice. We have significant anecdotal evidence that it is.  It is not uncommon for me to hear stories from virtual strangers of the kindness shown by our students; their willingness to serve; or simply their politeness.  At a recent lacrosse game a player from Palo Verde went done with what appeared to be a serious injury.  A group of our players knelt on the field and offered a prayer on his behalf.  That powerful witness did not go unnoticed.

Producing nice kids is an important part of what we do.  Producing prepared students is a necessity. Results from recent standardized tests are just one measure of how effective that effort is, but I'll brag a little bit anyway.

The class of 2008 was an exceptional group and included two National Merit Scholars, but their classmates were pretty bright too. Our students bested the state and national averages on the SAT by substantial margins.  The class performed particularly well in critical reading and writing, but math scores were much better also. The class bested the state average in reading by 45 points; math by 26; and writing by 48.  And one important note about comparing schools, almost all of Faith's Seniors took either the SAT or ACT (and many took both). In some schools, only "upper-end" students are encouraged to take the test.  Our students who found themselves in the bottom quartile of the SAT test still scored substantially better than Nevada students in the same bottom 25%.  The gap was even bigger for students in the top 25%, where our students did 50 points better in reading; 40 points better in math; and 60 points better in writing than the Nevada averages for the students in the top 25%.

SAT scores have improved at Faith for eight of the last nine years. An increasing number of our students are admitted to highly selective universities.  This builds our reputation for excellence.  It is a nice by-product of a Christian education.

Construction: Lessons and Otherwise

I think we made some progress today. While most of our students were enjoying a day off, most of our faculty was engaged in trying to infuse technology into lessons already planned for the next couple of weeks.  Faith students will be in for a wide variety of experiences in the coming days.

I spent the day with teachers of freshmen as they learned some of the amazing things you can do with a Mac.  Perhaps you can do the same things on a PC, but I would never have thought to try them because of their complexity.  The Mac makes very cool things relatively easy for this seasoned educator.  Kids will take to it immediately.  I am setting the bar high:  9th graders will do a lot of things next year that make us go WOW!

Everyone who drives on campus has probably noticed by now the construction fence on the north side of the gym.  The expansion of the weight room is underway.  I understand a few parents have wondered aloud why are we spending more money when the economy is so distressed.  The answer is pretty simple: when we decided to move to 4A athletics, it was obvious that there would be improvements to the facility we would need to make in order to operate successfully at that level.  Our student athletes will need access to the same kinds of training and conditioning available to students in larger schools.  This particular expansion has the added benefit of improving facilities for our most popular PE class: weight training.  During the summer, the track will be resurfaced and the outdoor basketball courts reconfigured to work as a tennis practice facility.  These improvements come from our operating revenues, assisted by some short-term borrowing (at very favorable rates).   While we have some other projects in the planning stages, none are likely to get funded in he near future.  Those projects will require more substantial funding and fundraising and that effort will wait for an improved economy.