As soon as I hear the opening notes of Avril Lavigne’s hit song “Complicated,” I’m immediately transported to another place and time. It’s 2002, and I can feel the sun’s rays on my face and smell the chlorine of Island Park Pool in Fargo, ND. The air is thick with humidity and laughter. I’m sitting next to my best friends, kids I have known since kindergarten, and we don’t have any cares in the world (except for getting a nice tan, obviously). It’s safe to say that “Complicated” is part of the soundtrack of my high school experience. I’m sure anyone reading this post has similar associations ..read more

It’s either really close or just happened. . . . These two words make every student and every teacher light up—Spring Break! On behalf of CACE, we wish for you, or hope that you had, a time of refreshment and renewal. When I started my teaching career in the Dinosaur Era, spring break always coincided with Good Friday and Easter. While that scheduling meant the break started on March 25 or waited until April 25, I always appreciated what I referred to as Easter Break. As a former school calendar creator, I realize the challenge such a range brings to the school schedule. Still, there was some ..read more

Whereas I love being a history teacher, as a student I didn’t always love history class. Though I always had some interest in the stories of the past, that was usually in spite of my history classes, not because of them. It’s telling that I remember what the walls and windows of my high school classrooms looked like, but not so much the faces of my history teachers. I recall a multitude of packets and worksheets, but not much of an invitation or reason to engage with this history stuff outside of class. I am hopeful that students at Southwest Christian experience something other than what I d ..read more

Much has changed since Converge 2022, when over 900 Christian school leaders gathered in San Diego for encouragement and refreshment after a trying three years of disruption. Since then, and as we look to Converge 2025 in Orlando, some things have improved: COVID has largely faded into the background, and interest and enrollments in Christian schools are significantly up. At the same time, challenges remain or have become amplified in the education sector—like educator stress and burnout, teacher shortages, student mental health concerns, and divisive politics—all of which impact Christian sc ..read more

As a natural expression of their God-given, image-bearing nature, every child desires to be seen, to be known, and to belong. While school years are formative for belonging and becoming in every child’s developmental journey, some children who don’t fit the traditional educational model due to their unique needs can at times feel unseen and invisible. Due to their specific and highly specialized educational requirements, many students with intellectual and developmental disabilities are often marginalised or excluded from Christian schools. Rather than imagining what “Kingdom come” might look ..read more

As Christian educational leaders, we are called not only to educate but to shepherd and nurture the whole person, aligning our approach with the teachings of Christ. In our endeavors to support students with ADHD and autism, we at Grace Space recognize the profound interconnectedness of body, mind, and soul, confirming the biblical principle that humans are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Our collaboration with a holistic pediatrician and mental health professional is guided by the belief that each child is uniquely created in the image of God, deserving of love, understanding ..read more

I am a middle school math & Bible teacher at Whitinsville Christian School (WCS) in Whitinsville, Massachusetts. My Deep Hope for my students and myself is to courageously explore and do mathematics, discovering order and patterns in God’s creation and applying those discoveries to solve real problems for real people. My Deep Hope is important to me because many students find math difficult and are often convinced they are not good at it. Even when students do learn math concepts, they struggle to see the beauty of mathematics in their everyday lives or how they can use it to solve real ..read more

What is a cairn? A cairn is a human-made stack of stones raised for a significant purpose, usually to mark an important event or idea, or perhaps as a way to provide ancient directions or to indicate a gateway into a new land. These three purposes have been significant since the dawn of time, including famously in the Bible. Following the famous “stairway to heaven” dream, Jacob takes the stone that he was sleeping on and sets it up as a marker of this occasion where heaven briefly met earth (Genesis 28:18-19). We read another famous account of a cairn following the story of the Israelites’ mi ..read more

Part 3: Addressing Trends For the past several years, I’ve taken a hard look at the trends that impact the world, and in particular, the work we do as educators. From artificial intelligence to DEI initiatives to rising interest rates and skyrocketing inflation, we have seen social, political, and economic trends impacting the work we do in our schools. We depend on the tuition revenue that comes with robust enrollment to ensure sustainability, but are we looking around the proverbial corner and planning for the not yet? Let’s examine three trends that are impacting many schools or have the p ..read more

Emily Schwarz, a second-year teacher at Sioux Falls Christian in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, leads the high school Photography class. Her Deep Hope for herself and her students is that as we learn more about our great Creator and His unfathomable love for us, we will put Him above all else and glorify Him through our own creations. This deep hope is important to Emily because “in the act of creating, we are getting to reflect God and his image as a creator. My goal for students is that they get to know God and who he is so they can emulate and reflect him. Our ultimate goal as Christ ..read more