This discussion thread ties to poll at right by same name.
Lutheran children are entitled to a free Lutheran education at congregation (or Synod) expense. Agree or disagree?
Showing posts with label LES Lutheran Elementary School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LES Lutheran Elementary School. Show all posts
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
At your WELS Lutheran Elementary School (LES), decisionmaking preference is usually based on . . . what?
This discussion thread ties to poll at right by same name.
At your WELS Lutheran Elementary School (LES), decisionmaking preference is usually based on . . . what?
At your WELS Lutheran Elementary School (LES), decisionmaking preference is usually based on . . . what?
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Lutheran Elementary School & Outreach
My observation in my own congregation, my previous congregations, and in neighboring congregations leads me to the conclusion that there are different attitudes and procedures for LESs in WELS. Each of the attitudes is represented in every congregation; however, local dynamics between the attitudes determines the procedure for each independent WELS LES. Further, these dynamics are not static, therefore LES procedures may change from year to year, depending on which attitude prevails in a given year. Some of these attitudes affect using the LES for outreach.
Does an LES charge tuition? One attitude is that every Lutheran child is entitled to a free elementary education at congregation expense. The opposite attitude is that charging tuition is necessary for an LES to carry its weight. Some individuals who believe that education should be free, do pay tuition begrudgingly then zero their offerings.
Which committee decides tuition rate? Is it the Budget Committee or the Board of Education? Does the congregation set tuition at a voters' meeting? What factors do they consider in setting tuition? Which factors do they follow? One attitude leans on market price, and another attitude leans on cost of operating school. How does highest tuition rate compare with cost of operating school?
Does the LES enroll non-members? Some do, and some don't. What are admission requirements for non-members? One attitude is that an LES should enroll every child who walks in off the street. Other attitudes impose admission requirements. Will the family pay tuition? What is the family's past record for paying tuition at previous schools? Does the LES administer a pre-enrollment exam? Who administers the exam? Does the LES consult the child's previous school for recommendation? Does the LES allow teachers to participate in decision of admitting non-member children, or is it a decision by the principal and pastor? Who reviews the cumulative folder before a child is admitted? Does the cumulative folder contain a psychiatric file? Does the LES enroll families who are solid members of non-WELS churches as well as families who are unchurched prospects? Who has admission priority? Does the LES enroll non-member transfer students mid-year? Does principal conduct home visits before admitting non-member students?
Does the LES enroll every member child who wishes to attend, or does the LES tell some member families that the needs of some children would be served better by a school with more resources?
Does the LES grant members a tuition discount? How much is the discount? Which committee decides the amount of discount? What is the stated reason for granting a tuition discount to members? Does the sum of all general fund offerings by all member school families cover the sum of all member tuition discounts?
Do children from sister WELS congregations attend the LES? Do they pay member or non-member rate?
Do the pastor and principal pay tuition, or does the LES "comp" tuition for clergy? Does the pastor from a sister congregation pay tuition?
Does the LES grant tuition assistance? Which committee approves tuition assistance? If the pastor and principal pay tuition, do they receive tuition assistance?
Does the congregation integrate the school budget with church budget, or are they separate? If they are integrated, does someone compute school subsidy? Has the subsidy changed over the past few years? Is subsidy growing or shrinking?
Do some classrooms have full enrollment and others have empty seats? Is it the same every year, or does it change as a bubble moves through the school?
How often does one parent join church (to enjoy member discount and tuition assistance) but other parent does not?
Does the LES begin the school year before or after Labor Day? How many days are in the school year? How does this compare to other schools in the area? How long is Christmas vacation? Does school resume on Jan 2 or mid-January? Does school year end in time for male teachers to attend district convention? Does school year end in time for teachers to take summer on-line courses from MLC? Is school air conditioned? Does climatology for your region affect school year decisions? Does LES allow families to take vacations during school year, or are missing days treated as truancy?
How long is the school day? How does this compare to other schools in the area? Do teachers want a longer or shorter day? Do parents want a longer or shorter day?
Does the LES operate before & after school child care? Does child care revenue cover cost of child care operation? (Don't forget cost of flushing water, playground water, heat, a/c, liability insurance, workers compensation insurance, and building & playground maintenance.)
Are there schools in the area with waiting lists? Why are people fighting to get into some schools but not others? Do schools with waiting lists advertise, or do they rely on word-of-mouth only?
Looking more specifically at outreach, how many years has the school operated? When did school begin to admit non-members? Looking at LES graduates who are 10 or more years past Grade 8 graduation (that is, age 24 and above [giving 4 years for high school, 4 years for college, and 2 years for transition]), how many of those students or their families are current members of the congregation? How does this retention rate compare with neighboring WELS congregations who do not have a school?
In recent years has the school subsidy grown or shrunk? Has the evangelism budget grown or shrunk?
Does the congregation's Sunday School program operate with same health as the LES? Do non-member children (enrolled in LES or not) attend Sunday School? What fraction of LES-enrolled students attend Sunday School? If LES has X number of students, are there X number of students in Sunday School?
Some of the attitudes and procedures listed above affect the way we run Lutheran high schools, as well. For example, some WELS high schools admit non-members, while others are for members only.
Charis Institute is a research arm of Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC) in Milwaukee. Charis has studied information contained in WELS Statistical Reports and has drawn conclusions regarding WELS LESs in congregations. Our Synod publishes annually the source of Charis' data, the Statistical Report. The Statistical Report is a simple spreadsheet of numbers submitted by all 1,000+ WELS congregations. Each row represents a congregation, and each column represents a statistic, such as the number baptized members.
Two Charis studies on WELS LESs are:
http://www.charis.wlc.edu/publications/charis_spring05/bauer.pdf
and
http://www.charis.wlc.edu/publications/charis_summer05/update3.pdf
Charis' conclusions resonate with WELS homeschoolers because homeschoolers have a unique perspective in congregations and can see what others cannot.
If you are a statistician you could reproduce Charis' analysis or generate a different analysis using the same data from WELS Statistical Reports found at:
http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?2601&collectionID=827
Does an LES charge tuition? One attitude is that every Lutheran child is entitled to a free elementary education at congregation expense. The opposite attitude is that charging tuition is necessary for an LES to carry its weight. Some individuals who believe that education should be free, do pay tuition begrudgingly then zero their offerings.
Which committee decides tuition rate? Is it the Budget Committee or the Board of Education? Does the congregation set tuition at a voters' meeting? What factors do they consider in setting tuition? Which factors do they follow? One attitude leans on market price, and another attitude leans on cost of operating school. How does highest tuition rate compare with cost of operating school?
Does the LES enroll non-members? Some do, and some don't. What are admission requirements for non-members? One attitude is that an LES should enroll every child who walks in off the street. Other attitudes impose admission requirements. Will the family pay tuition? What is the family's past record for paying tuition at previous schools? Does the LES administer a pre-enrollment exam? Who administers the exam? Does the LES consult the child's previous school for recommendation? Does the LES allow teachers to participate in decision of admitting non-member children, or is it a decision by the principal and pastor? Who reviews the cumulative folder before a child is admitted? Does the cumulative folder contain a psychiatric file? Does the LES enroll families who are solid members of non-WELS churches as well as families who are unchurched prospects? Who has admission priority? Does the LES enroll non-member transfer students mid-year? Does principal conduct home visits before admitting non-member students?
Does the LES enroll every member child who wishes to attend, or does the LES tell some member families that the needs of some children would be served better by a school with more resources?
Does the LES grant members a tuition discount? How much is the discount? Which committee decides the amount of discount? What is the stated reason for granting a tuition discount to members? Does the sum of all general fund offerings by all member school families cover the sum of all member tuition discounts?
Do children from sister WELS congregations attend the LES? Do they pay member or non-member rate?
Do the pastor and principal pay tuition, or does the LES "comp" tuition for clergy? Does the pastor from a sister congregation pay tuition?
Does the LES grant tuition assistance? Which committee approves tuition assistance? If the pastor and principal pay tuition, do they receive tuition assistance?
Does the congregation integrate the school budget with church budget, or are they separate? If they are integrated, does someone compute school subsidy? Has the subsidy changed over the past few years? Is subsidy growing or shrinking?
Do some classrooms have full enrollment and others have empty seats? Is it the same every year, or does it change as a bubble moves through the school?
How often does one parent join church (to enjoy member discount and tuition assistance) but other parent does not?
Does the LES begin the school year before or after Labor Day? How many days are in the school year? How does this compare to other schools in the area? How long is Christmas vacation? Does school resume on Jan 2 or mid-January? Does school year end in time for male teachers to attend district convention? Does school year end in time for teachers to take summer on-line courses from MLC? Is school air conditioned? Does climatology for your region affect school year decisions? Does LES allow families to take vacations during school year, or are missing days treated as truancy?
How long is the school day? How does this compare to other schools in the area? Do teachers want a longer or shorter day? Do parents want a longer or shorter day?
Does the LES operate before & after school child care? Does child care revenue cover cost of child care operation? (Don't forget cost of flushing water, playground water, heat, a/c, liability insurance, workers compensation insurance, and building & playground maintenance.)
Are there schools in the area with waiting lists? Why are people fighting to get into some schools but not others? Do schools with waiting lists advertise, or do they rely on word-of-mouth only?
Looking more specifically at outreach, how many years has the school operated? When did school begin to admit non-members? Looking at LES graduates who are 10 or more years past Grade 8 graduation (that is, age 24 and above [giving 4 years for high school, 4 years for college, and 2 years for transition]), how many of those students or their families are current members of the congregation? How does this retention rate compare with neighboring WELS congregations who do not have a school?
In recent years has the school subsidy grown or shrunk? Has the evangelism budget grown or shrunk?
Does the congregation's Sunday School program operate with same health as the LES? Do non-member children (enrolled in LES or not) attend Sunday School? What fraction of LES-enrolled students attend Sunday School? If LES has X number of students, are there X number of students in Sunday School?
Some of the attitudes and procedures listed above affect the way we run Lutheran high schools, as well. For example, some WELS high schools admit non-members, while others are for members only.
Charis Institute is a research arm of Wisconsin Lutheran College (WLC) in Milwaukee. Charis has studied information contained in WELS Statistical Reports and has drawn conclusions regarding WELS LESs in congregations. Our Synod publishes annually the source of Charis' data, the Statistical Report. The Statistical Report is a simple spreadsheet of numbers submitted by all 1,000+ WELS congregations. Each row represents a congregation, and each column represents a statistic, such as the number baptized members.
Two Charis studies on WELS LESs are:
http://www.charis.wlc.edu/publications/charis_spring05/bauer.pdf
and
http://www.charis.wlc.edu/publications/charis_summer05/update3.pdf
Charis' conclusions resonate with WELS homeschoolers because homeschoolers have a unique perspective in congregations and can see what others cannot.
If you are a statistician you could reproduce Charis' analysis or generate a different analysis using the same data from WELS Statistical Reports found at:
http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?2601&collectionID=827
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
ACT test scores for MLC
Our LES system is proud of test scores and publishes summaries of nation-wide Achievement Tests (Terra Nova Fall Testing). However, to my knowledge, our high school system (LPS, MLS, ALHS) is silent on test results (ACT, SAT). Why?
Likewise, PSSC-2 did not compare test scores (ACT or SAT) of MLC accession programs (LPS, MLS, ALHS, public). Why not? Don't test scores assess caliber of incoming students?
Minimum ACT for admission to MLC is 20, and minimum for WLC is 21. National average ACT score for 2006 was 21. Why does our ministerial training school have lower standard?
According to www.stateuniversity.com MLC had 214 applicants, accepted 207 (97%), and enrolled 149. (Year not stated.)
According to www.petersons.com MLC had 235 applicants, accepted 230 (98%), and enrolled 166. (Year not stated.)
Why does MLC have a high acceptance rate (97%, 98%)?
Likewise, PSSC-2 did not compare test scores (ACT or SAT) of MLC accession programs (LPS, MLS, ALHS, public). Why not? Don't test scores assess caliber of incoming students?
Minimum ACT for admission to MLC is 20, and minimum for WLC is 21. National average ACT score for 2006 was 21. Why does our ministerial training school have lower standard?
According to www.stateuniversity.com MLC had 214 applicants, accepted 207 (97%), and enrolled 149. (Year not stated.)
According to www.petersons.com MLC had 235 applicants, accepted 230 (98%), and enrolled 166. (Year not stated.)
Why does MLC have a high acceptance rate (97%, 98%)?
Monday, July 2, 2007
Intern program for LESs
To encourage young people to consider teaching or pastoral ministry, LES principals could send motivated boys & girls (Grade 3-8) to lower grades as classroom assistants and send mature boys (Grade 5-8) on ride-alongs with pastor to hospitals (as allowed), nursing homes, and private homes. LES principals should attempt to include public school students as well as LES students in this intern program. Involving young people at an early age may identify those with aptitude, spark passion for teaching and preaching, and cultivate abilities.
In 2005 our Commission on Youth Discipleship chartered a study of WELS pastors and youth to determine why our youth were leaving the church. What struck me as most important in the study was the observation that pastors and youth reported different reasons for youth leaving the church. They did not agree. There was a disconnect.
In our 2007 review of ministerial training, we should learn from the 2005 study and not assume that we know why young people do/do not enroll at MLC. I'm reluctant to push all young people to MLC because (as Adam and Troy mentioned) we've all seen examples of people who dropped out of MLC or public ministry after giving it a try. As a Synod all of our youth are a precious gift -- not just those in ministerial training -- and we should be mindful of the effect of our actions on all youth. If we push them to attend MLC, and they don't, or if they drop out, have they disappointed us? Are they failures? I think consensus in this thread is that all vocations can be God-pleasing.
If we make opportunities for youth to experience teaching and preaching ministries at a young age, and as a result they are self-motivated to pursue those professions, our Synod will have a healthy, confident team of workers to help with the harvest.
In 2005 our Commission on Youth Discipleship chartered a study of WELS pastors and youth to determine why our youth were leaving the church. What struck me as most important in the study was the observation that pastors and youth reported different reasons for youth leaving the church. They did not agree. There was a disconnect.
In our 2007 review of ministerial training, we should learn from the 2005 study and not assume that we know why young people do/do not enroll at MLC. I'm reluctant to push all young people to MLC because (as Adam and Troy mentioned) we've all seen examples of people who dropped out of MLC or public ministry after giving it a try. As a Synod all of our youth are a precious gift -- not just those in ministerial training -- and we should be mindful of the effect of our actions on all youth. If we push them to attend MLC, and they don't, or if they drop out, have they disappointed us? Are they failures? I think consensus in this thread is that all vocations can be God-pleasing.
If we make opportunities for youth to experience teaching and preaching ministries at a young age, and as a result they are self-motivated to pursue those professions, our Synod will have a healthy, confident team of workers to help with the harvest.
Divisions in WELS
Honest WELSians admit that there are divisions, rivalries, and class hierarchies in the Synod. Depending on where you sit in the pecking order, your attitude might be to accept these differences as the natural order of WELS society and sanctification, or your attitude might be bitter as if you were the victim of subtle racism. Neither side sees the point of view of the other.
Examples of division, rivalries, and class hierarchies in WELS (in no particular order):
#1. Prep schools vs. ALHSs
#2. MLC vs. WLC
#3. Lutheran schools (LES to college) vs. public schools
#4. Board at school vs. commuters
#5. PK vs. not PK
#6. Pastors vs. teachers
#7. First-career called workers vs. second-career called workers
#8. Heartland districts vs. outlying districts
#9. German surnames vs. not
#10. Jocks vs. book worms
#11. Organists vs. other instruments
#12. Musicians vs. not
#13. Born WELS vs. not
#14. Passionate pastors & teachers vs. exhausted, "retired on active list" pastors & teachers
#15. Lord's prayer on left vs. Lord's prayer on right
#16. Ladder-climbing clergy vs. pastoral ministers
#17. External funding advocates vs. not
#18. COP vs. SC
#19. CW hymns only vs. other hymns allowed
#20. Packers vs. Vikings
#21. World missionaries vs. happy in heartland clergy
#22. NPH only vs. CPH tolerated
#23. Christ-Light wonderful vs. try something else
#24. Born AAL vs. born LB
#25. Thrivent vs. secular insurance
#26. Evangelism is someone's job vs. evangelism is my job
#27. Staff ministers vs. 'real' called workers
#28. Large congregations vs. small congregations
#29. City churches vs. country churches
#30. PowerPoint churches vs. not
Examples of division, rivalries, and class hierarchies in WELS (in no particular order):
#1. Prep schools vs. ALHSs
#2. MLC vs. WLC
#3. Lutheran schools (LES to college) vs. public schools
#4. Board at school vs. commuters
#5. PK vs. not PK
#6. Pastors vs. teachers
#7. First-career called workers vs. second-career called workers
#8. Heartland districts vs. outlying districts
#9. German surnames vs. not
#10. Jocks vs. book worms
#11. Organists vs. other instruments
#12. Musicians vs. not
#13. Born WELS vs. not
#14. Passionate pastors & teachers vs. exhausted, "retired on active list" pastors & teachers
#15. Lord's prayer on left vs. Lord's prayer on right
#16. Ladder-climbing clergy vs. pastoral ministers
#17. External funding advocates vs. not
#18. COP vs. SC
#19. CW hymns only vs. other hymns allowed
#20. Packers vs. Vikings
#21. World missionaries vs. happy in heartland clergy
#22. NPH only vs. CPH tolerated
#23. Christ-Light wonderful vs. try something else
#24. Born AAL vs. born LB
#25. Thrivent vs. secular insurance
#26. Evangelism is someone's job vs. evangelism is my job
#27. Staff ministers vs. 'real' called workers
#28. Large congregations vs. small congregations
#29. City churches vs. country churches
#30. PowerPoint churches vs. not
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