A Beautiful Sight...Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

It doesn't happen often, but when it does our campus looks beautiful and everyone is in a great mood. Now if we can remeber to drive carefully tomorrow in an icy parking lot, this will be a great experience!

One postscript. Mr. Ball put together this little movie in a matter of minutes on his Mac. It will be great when all our students can do this.

Getting After It

Oddly enough, I am having trouble finding the time to blog this year.  Despite have two extraordinarily capable principals, my time seems as engaged as ever, just with some different things.  So what follows below is a brief compendium of things I have been thinking about, but haven't had the time to address.

I was proud of the way our student comported themselves at Tuesday's basketball game with Bishop Gorman.  The Gorman student cheering section has watched too many college basketball games and apparently believe they are "the show," when it is the players who ought to be in the spotlight.  While I could go into more detail, check out the article in today's Review-Journal. I am hopeful that no similar article will ever be written about Faith students, but it helps that our administrative team makes its presence so visible.  I love our Crusader Crazies and their enthusiasm, but we will continue to hold them to high standards of decorum which leaves a lot of room to still have fun.

Many people have asked how we are doing in this economy.  So far, things are going okay. Giving is down and that is reflected in a number of ways. A few campaign pledges have had to be cancelled; the annual fund is not as robust as in years past.  Some families have talked to us about changing circumstances that have created financial hardship.  Our goal is to work with those families to keep kids in school whenever possible and certainly until the end of the semester. If you have money for a year-end charitable gift our scholarship fund is a worthy recipient. And despite a bad economy, new student enrollment is running substantially ahead of the pace of last year, so that indicator is positive.

People do want to know about what will happen in the future in terms of tuition. I can tell you that it is going to go up, but we hope to keep the increase to a minimum.  Interest payments alone on the new Chapel/Performing Arts building will add about $78 to each student's cost.  With no raises to the faculty our salaries go up over $62,000 because of step increases built into the schedule.  This adds about $48 a student. Then we have to have some room for inflation, technology, any salary/wage increases.  We are hoping to hold the increase to no more than 4% or another $336.  Tuition will be announced in mid-January.  There is no planned increase in fees.

We are very optimistic that we will launch our 1-to-1 computer initiative in the high school next year. In light of the economy, we will be moving conservatively, but I expect that each 9th grader will get an Apple Macbook as part of their educational equipment.  Freshman classes in subsequent years will get one as they enter high school and in four years, all high school students will have this technology integrated in their classes.  Middle school students will still get access through our mobile cart program.  Those carts will eventually be filled with Macs as well. Look for an official announcement after the 1st of the year.

At tomorrow's staff Christmas gathering PTF will once again hand out gifts gathered from our families. This generosity, especially in the midst of the challenging economic times, is a wondrous gift to those who labor to help students meet their potential.  It is always much appreciated.

Counting the Cost

I want every Faith high school student to get handed a laptop next fall and to use it on a regular basis as a tool to engage themselves in the learning process; but what I want and what will happen may be two different things. Our desire to expand our technology is conflicting with an equally strong desire to minimize any increases in tuition increases for 2009-10.

Faith's success is rooted in our constant progress.  Since moving to Summerlin we have spent an average of $2 million a year in improving our campus.  Athletic fields and new buildings have accounted for most of the dollars spent on improvements and there is no doubt that those additions have improved the product and benefitted our students.  Technology, and specifically the use of laptops on a regular basis, tie students into the world in way unthinkable just a few years ago. Just as importantly, they give teachers access to wealth of teaching resources, including lessons recognized as best practices.

We want to operate more efficiently.  We understand our environment is more competitive now that Bishop Gorman and the Adelson School have moved into the community.  It would be unwise of uis not to consider the changing economic conditions of our community. Our distinctiveness will never be rooted in our buildings, our computers, or our athletic success, no matter how successful those elements are.  Ministry is what matters here: taking each student and recognizing him or her as a unique child of God with boundless potential and a strong need to feel valued for who they are.

If we continue to do that, we will weather the storms ahead.

Point/Counterpoint

Not everyone loves us. First read this column from the Mesquite Local News. My response, which they were kind enough to include in full in their on-line version, follows:

Dear Editor,

I read with interest Happy Pontiac’s recent screed “Faith Lutheran: The Team I Love to Hate.” For a newspaper serving a small town with some old-fashioned small town values, his article was, appropriately, small. His work is certainly evidence that the power of the pen and the power of the mind are not necessarily related.

That “big shiny bus” was, in part, paid for by a parent. The gas and maintenance are paid for by the tuition dollars of our families. The bus also transports our choir and band on their excursions as well as transports classes on field trips. Our teachers and administrators don’t have access to a fleet of vehicles provided at taxpayer expense. We have to provide our own. Happy, just because you cover teams that proudly wear the green and white that is no reason for you to be green with envy.

While you insist that money must be at the root of our evil empire, were you aware that not that long ago, the school raised over $100,000 to support the victims of hurricane Katrina and the Asian tsunami? Or that each year our school provides hundreds of gifts through Operation Christmas Child to help those in need around the world?

And thanks for the compliment on our website. We do want prospective students and parents to look at it and consider the advantages of an education at Faith Lutheran. Perhaps if you had attended Faith you would have learned about libel. One definition of that word is “anything that is defamatory or that maliciously or damagingly misrepresents.” Both the NIAA and the NCAA have pretty clear rules about what we can do in terms of helping athletes. All our aid is need-based and that need is determined by an outside company. Nowhere on the form is there an opportunity for anyone to identify themselves as athletes, great actors or accomplished musicians. But I know you are going to consider this defense rather self-serving, so I offer this challenge: find someone. Find that athlete getting a “free ride” at Faith. But please find a real student. Not just one the voices in your head told you about. The notion that we would disregard our integrity for the sake of winning an athletic contest is ludicrous, but you are welcome to pursue your crusade against the Crusaders.

You write our soccer team was disrespectful during a ceremony. Were you aware that no one on the Virgin Valley side let our team know there was going to be a ceremony? Were you aware that our entire student body spent time that day in an assembly honoring our military and those who serve?

I was pleased to see that you survived your visit to Faith Lutheran Friday night. Given what you have written about our school, tarring and feathering might have been appropriate. Congratulations to your football team for their victory and to the volleyball team for their efforts as well. We look forward to continued spirited competition for the rest of the school year.

Finally, might I suggest that readers of the Mesquite Local News take to heart your own words and apply them to you: “…disregard everything I have ever said. Ever.”

Isn't it amazing how our biases can move us past those silly things called facts? I bring this to your attention in part because we sometimes forget that we are a target for some people. People resent our success and look for ways to tear us down. We are always under somebody's miscroscope, whether it is an opposing coach, player, fan or intrepid journalist (used in the lightest possible sense). Thus our witness must be positive.

Randomness

Yesterday I attended the wind ensemble concert. It was among the first public fine arts performances in the new CPAC. It was definitely worth the wait as the building is an acoustical marvel. Dr. Richard Fischer, conductor of the Concordia University-Chicago wind ensemble was on campus Friday working with our band and he was extremely complimentary of our facility. It isn't bragging if it's true: we now have the premier performance space in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. A lot of people made this possible, but soli Deo gloria.

I would be interested in hearing from families about how we can be helpful in this time of economic upheaval. Occasionally I will hear from a parent that they or their spouse has been laid off and we talk about what that means for their students at our school. We will do everything we can to provide additional financial aid, but that pool, the largest it has ever been, still has some limits. This will be a topic at our next Board meeting.

As we start looking to next year, maintaining a healthy enrollment is critical to our continued success. The primary way students are recruited to Faith, other than siblings and Lutheran school graduates, is because of word-of-mouth. Anything you can do to convince someone to take a look at our school is helpful.

I recently spoke to a CCSD teacher in town working at one of the high schools. One of her classes had 50 students on the roster. She was a science teacher. And everyone of those 50 students had already failed this course once. While I doubt this is typical, it is no less tragic. While not everything at Faith is perfect, kids at least have the opportunity to be successful, limited mostly by their own drive and determination. I hope you feel enthusiastic about recommending Faith to your friends and relatives. If not, please give me a call so I can find out why.

This week is Homecoming at Faith. It is a week for making memories that may last a lifetime. I hope everyone has a great (and safe) time.

Missing the Boat

I am an admitted news junkie, much to my wife's chagrin. A good evening for me is flipping between Fox News and CNN to see what the various talking heads have to say about the Presidential election or more recently, the country's economic state. This week I have turned on CNBC in the morning as I get ready for the day, not because of concerns for my own meager 403B account, but because I am anxious to know what the experts think lies ahead both in the short term and in the extended future.

While the current economic crisis can be looked at a number of different ways, you haven't heard this much: at the heart of this issue is a moral problem -- too many people who settle for the expedient and ignore what is right. From CEO greed to people who bought houses with the idea they could simply walk away when things got tough, the sons and daughters of the Greatest Generation are proving to be anything but.

What does this have to do with education? Who's Who Among American High School Students has been surveying students for a long time. One recent report said that: "This survey spans three decades (1970-2000) and is the most comprehensive database available online of the attitudes and opinions of high-achieving teens on a range of subjects, including cheating.

In the 1999 survey, 84 percent of the high school students judged cheating to be “common” among their peers. That high percentage was not surprising in light of the fact that 78 percent of the same students confessed they themselves had cheated. Ninety-five percent of the students who cheated said they did not get caught."

By the way, this survey was of students regarded as among the country's best. We are seeing a generation of cheaters grow before our eyes. Students appear to be cheating at such a prolific rate, one wonders whether years from now the concept of cheating in school will even be an issue. The problem is that if you learn to cheat, to steal, to mislead for personal gain (even if it is to avoid a zero on an assignment) when does the moral compass kick in to say taking advantage of a client in even a small way is wrong. If in the small episodes of life cheating is accepted and penalties avoided, why are we amazed at the hubris of corporate titans and their golden parachutes? Parents who rush to the defense of their cheating students with cries of "your making mountains out of molehills" miss the point: we are creating tomorrow's moral climate today.

At Faith we will continue to fight the good fight. Giving in would be expedient, but never right.

Waiting for the Football Game to Start

So in keeping with my promise that my readers get some news before everyone else, I am excited to let you know that Avalon, one of contemporary Christian music's most popular groups, will perform in concert at the new Chapel/Performing Arts building on Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 pm. The concert will kick-off "dedication weekend" with a service to follow on Sunday, November 9 at 2 p.m. Look for more information in The Crusader and on the website in the next few weeks. We have some really cool things planned to celebrate the opening of this building.

About a month into the school year things are going well. Our HS athletic teams are doing well and middle school sports are about to get into their game schedules. One thing not going particularly well is traffic. Today I received this email from a parent: I am contacting you regarding pick up and drop off of the 6th graders at you school. It is a little scary at drop off and pick up time. I am experiencing parents cutting in and out from the curb, stopping in the lane of traffic(because the curb is full) to drop off instead of using the curb. This morning I saw a parent stop in the middle lane an let their child walk from the middle of the street to the side walk. I understand that everyone is busy and in a hurry but if everyone followed the guidelines of a single line and pulling up to the car in front of you from the light at Home Run and Hualapai, it might take a minute or so longer but seems that is would be safer and a lot less confusing.
It is possible that I am misunderstanding how this should work, please forward any thoughts.
Homestretch Avenue seems unusually dangerous this year. That is at least in part because the volume of traffic is higher than it should be. Only 6th graders are supposed to be picked up there. On my occasional visits to that part of campus I've noticed that we either have the world's tallest 6th graders, or other students are meeting parents there. We have limited ability to enforce common sense and good judgment. Maybe it's time to hand out detentions to students who are in the wrong place and have parents serve them!

This week Mr. Orr, Mr. Chalfant and I spent some time at Apple, Inc. They have a great set of products and comprehensive approach to teaching teachers how to use technology to change the way we teach and students learn. We are considering a partnership with them, which would gradually move most of the computers in school from the PC to the Mac platform. I am wondering two things: 1st, have you noticed any difference with your students with our renewed emphasis on technology; and 2nd, do parents care what platform computers our students use?