End-of-Year Musings (06/15/2010)

Every June for twenty years I've been asked, "So are things starting to wind down at school?" And every June for twenty years I reply, "Schools never wind down--things accelerate to an abrupt halt!" Then we spend a couple of weeks "shuttering" down the past school year. Then this fall we begin thinking about the NEXT school year, and the cycle begins anew.

I'm sometimes told that it must be great having it quiet at school and getting the kids out of here. The truth is that I do enjoy those first weeks after school lets out: the quiet is almost therapeutic after all the endless and (rightfully) noisy activities of the previous weeks. But after about a month, I miss the sounds of the students--it just seems too quiet in a building designed for kids. I know at that point, however, that all that wonderful fall cacophony will return soon enough and before you know it we'll have moments when that annual summer silence will seem too far away!

I'm ready for some time away and am looking forward to working on our new home, catching up on some reading, and maybe fumbling with my fishing tackle to see if I can remember which end of the pole you're supposed to hold. It's been a long time since I've felt this way, but I'm really excited about having the summer to plan for the next year. After landing here the first day of school last fall with part of my family here and part of my family in New York and then negotiating real estate transactions in two different states, it will be so much better to be able to begin the year a little more established, knowing you, and having had time to prepare.

Finally, thanks again to all of our GHCA family: board, staff, students, and parents, for making this an awesome year for the Bishops. I'll never forget all the potatoes and gifts you blessed us with at the beginning! We're grateful for God's call to Houlton--there's no other way to explain being here.

Have a blessed summer!

--
John Bishop
Head of School
Greater Houlton Christian Academy
207-532-0736

“One word of truth outweighs the whole world.”

Top 5 Reasons Why Every Family Should be Represented at the Association Meeting this Monday (05/19/2010)

Our Spring Association Meeting will be held this coming Monday, May 24, beginning at 6:30pm. We realize our parents and staff have busy lives and are working to keep this meeting as close to an hour as possible. So why should every family be represented there? The TOP FIVE REASONS are:

1. You want to hear firsthand what's happening at GHCA rather than hearing it through your know-it-all cousin.
2. You know your children will interpret your attendance as another way of saying, "what affects you is of supreme importance to your parents"--or at least, "what affects you is of more importance than that dumb television show I usually watch on Monday nights."
3. You want to hear Mr. Bishop's amazing insights about the current year as well as his breathtaking vision for the future.
4. You know the devil absolutely hates it when we all pull together for the good of our kids, and you don't like the devil.
5. Your kids are more important to you than anything, and you really do care about what's going on at their school (a shameless attempt to use guilt for manipulation!).

There are obviously some better reasons than these but, whatever your reasons, come on out! Seriously, if nothing else, it will be worth it in order to spend at least a few minutes praying for the school. Talk about something the devil hates..!

Christian School Teachers: Molders of Dreams (04/16/2010)

Everyone who can read or write should mark the week of May 3-7 because it is National Teacher Appreciation Week. Most of us have warm memories of some favorite teacher who made a difference in our lives because he or she went the extra mile or who believed in us when others did not or whose passion for a subject area sparked our own interest. Be sure to jot a note or make a call to a teacher who made a difference in your life-expressed appreciation is the best gift a teacher can receive (well, almost!). Just think how different your life would have been without the gifts of learning you received from these unsung heroes.

Jesus highlighted the impact of teachers on students when He said, “85everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40b, NIV). All parents should ask if their children’s teachers (whether in a Christian school, public school, or home school) are the kind of role models they want their children to imitate. Obviously, many teachers in each of these settings are indeed excellent role models. However, another question that must be asked is can you be reasonably assured that your child will consistently have teachers over the school years who will be appropriate Christian role models. It is wonderful if your child happens to have a Christian teacher that first year or two-but what about beyond that? Remembering that Christ said a student will become “like his teacher,” Christian parents must ask if it is likely that their children will continue to have teachers who they are happy for their children to emulate. Am I, as a parent, assured that my child’s teachers-who have such a major role in shaping my child- are worthy role models? How will my child be affected if he or she has teachers who are not worthy models?

It is impossible to exaggerate the impact that a teacher has on the malleable minds and hearts of young people. I do not recall the source, but I remember a point from an author who had studied spiritual formation: a child’s basic worldview is usually set by the time that child is about nine years old. Most of us have seen on TV orphaned ducklings who are “imprinted” by a kind human and then follow their “parent” around the yard. In some ways, that is the picture of how children-and even older youth-are shaped and influenced by the role models around them. God has given parents the responsibility to train up their child “in the way that he should go.” Because of the kind of culture in which we live, most parents choose to delegate part of that responsibility to schools of various kinds. Teachers have an immeasurable influence on the spiritual and intellectual development of children and, therefore, it is absolutely critical that parents prayerfully and thoughtfully decide with whom they will partner in shaping and training their precious, impressionable children. To be clear, we as parents answer to the Lord for that decision-not to the local Christian school principal or to the local public school or to our pastor or friends. Still, we are ultimately responsible for the influences that we permit to affect our children’s minds.

That said (whew!), churches should consider how they can encourage and support not only the Christian teachers whom God has called to serve in the public sector (and who rightfully deserve our prayers and gratitude) but also the men and women who serve in Christian schools-usually at about half the compensation they could earn in public education and without most of the financial benefits. Christian school teachers should be recognized as ministry laborers comparable to missionaries. They should be honored and thanked regularly for making the sacrifices required for the children and youth of their congregations to receive a Christian education.

Many years ago, President Ronald Reagan read Clark Mollenhoff's poem "Teachers" to Guy Doud, National Teacher of the Year. I conclude with it.
“You are the molders of their dreams-the gods who build or crush their young beliefs in right or wrong.
You are the spark that sets aflame a poet’s hand, or lights the flame in some great singer’s song.
You are the gods of the young-the very young.
You are the guardians of a million dreams.
Your every smile or frown can heal or pierce a heart.
Yours are a hundred lives, a thousand lives.
Yours is the pride of loving them, the sorrow too.
Your patient work, your touch, make you the gods of hope that fill their souls with dreams and make those dreams come true.”

Class Honors Announced for 2010 (03/29/2010)

Class honors for 2010 have been announced for our upcoming graduation on May 28, 2010. The following students have distinguished themselves by exceptional academic achievement and will present addresses at our commencement exercises:

• Valedictorian : C2C2C2C2C2C2C2C2C2C2 Robyn Mortland

• Salutatorian : C2C2C2C2C2C2C2C2C2C2C2C2 Emily Little

• 1st Honor Essayist : C2C2 Madeline Burns
• 
  

MPA Principal's Award: GHCA senior, Emily Little, of Littleton, has been selected to receive the 2010 MPA Principal's Award. The award, sponsored by the Maine Principals' Association, is given in recognition of a high school senior's academic achievement and citizenship.

Emily and other award winners and their principals will attend an Honors Luncheon at the Spectacular Event Center in Bangor. The Honors Luncheon recognized these outstanding students with the presentation of an individual plaque and the awarding of five $1,000 scholarships.

The Principal's Award is presented in more than 140 Maine public and private high schools by member principals of the MPA, the professional association which represents Maine's school administrators.

Congratulations, girls!

The Academy Passes the Test! (03/02/2010)

We have now received the exciting news that accreditation has been granted to the Academy for a ten year term by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), making it only the second Christian school in the state to become accredited. NEASC is the nation's oldest accrediting association and is the organization that accredits public and private schools in the New England area.

The granting of accreditation completes a process that began years earlier under former Head of School, Mark Jago. The board, staff, and parents conducted a rigorous self-study last year of every aspect of the Academy's program. The self-study was then validated by a visit this past November of an accreditation visiting team of educators from the New England region.

In addition to having met all fourteen standards for accreditation, the accreditation report further commended the Academy for success in areas such as the "dedicated, committed" faculty, the school's "nurturing environment," and its creation and use of the online SURRAnet program (a proprietary web-based reporting and attendance system. Elementary teachers were commended for use of writing portfolios and secondary teachers for the successful initiation of the one-to-one laptop initiative.

The report pointed out the need for the school to revisit its current strategic plan to help guide future growth and to enhance the academic program by more clearly identifying the kinds of skills, academic content, and higher order thinking the school wants to see in its graduates. The Academy was encouraged to analyze its tuition and compensation practices. The administration will be reporting to the NEASC in the future on its progress in addressing these and other recommendations. Various initiatives for school improvement are already being developed and will be shared with the school community at its spring association meeting.

So why is accreditation such a big deal for GHCA? Here are some of the benefits of accreditation:

• It tells parents that objective, trained educators have validated that the school is meeting national standards and that they can have confidence that the school is doing what it says it is doing.

• It makes it easier for students to transfer from one school to another; credits are more easily transferred from one school to another.

• It offers greater access for students to federal loans, scholarships, post secondary education, and military programs that require regional accreditation.

• It forces a school to take a thorough, candid look at what it is doing--which is the first step toward improvement.

• It gives the school a road map for improvement. The visiting team's report helps to clarify areas that need attention. It also provides some accountability to ensure that the school continues to make progress in areas it needs to strengthen.

• It makes more professional development opportunities available such as annual conferences and workshops on school improvement.

• It opens the doors for more opportunities and programs such as grants, dual credit programs, National Honor Society, etc.

This accomplishment would have been impossible without the vision and drive of Mr. Jago and the board but also the contribution of many hours and hard work by more people than can be properly acknowledged here. The faculty and staff all served on various committees during the self-study and spent many hours studying and writing about different aspects of the school program. Parents served on committees as well, made lunch for our visiting team, provided refreshments during the visit, and spent time meeting with the team to provide their perspectives about the Academy.

Board member Joan Barton was the self-study coordinator and spent much time organizing and facilitating this process. She recently provided a delicious lunch for teachers as a way to show gratitude for all their work in the accreditation process. Assistant Head of School, Tom Zimmerman, was the "point man" for the accreditation visit and contributed to the entire process in many ways.

Really, the entire Christian community in Aroostook shares in the celebration of this accomplishment because GHCA would not have survived over a quarter century without God’s blessing on the sacrifices and support of our churches, families, businesses, and individuals. Few Christian schools enjoy more community-wide support than GHCA--we're grateful!

One Really Profitable Trip! (02/22/2010)

Special thanks to all our school and community family that helped make our recent faculty trip to New Hampshire possible! We spent one day observing at Concord Christian Academy in New Hampshire, which has a progressive program and is about the same size as GHCA. The second day we attended workshops at the Granite State Educators Conference. I thought you might like to hear some of our teachers’ reactions to all this:

"I came back to Houlton Friday night with so many ideas that it will take me this week to just sort through them and write them all down."

"I took home some new simple ideas, one of which I have already used today. It is always nice to get away from our little world. It often makes me appreciate and realize how blessed we are."

"Sometimes I get so involved in what I am doing day to day and the subjects that I am teaching--it is good to take a step back and look at the big picture."

"I sometimes wonder if I expect too much, too little. The classroom I visited helped me see that constructive noise is not a bad thing. It reminded me that I need to have the students enjoy learning. I saw a great difference in classroom management from that classroom to my own. I could certainly allow a little more action to encourage learning."

"I came away very grateful for the actual classrooms that we have.
I saw that some problems we run into with our students is not unique to GHCA! I really appreciated this time both to view how other teachers do things, how other schools do things, and the time to collaborate with my colleagues."

--
John Bishop
Head of School
Greater Houlton Christian Academy
207-532-0736

“One word of truth outweighs the whole world.”

Sports and the Christian School (02/02/2010)

One of the highlights at Greater Houlton Christian Academy each year is the basketball season. We offer other sports such as cross-country, volleyball, baseball, and softball, but families in the The County seem to have a special attachment to basketball! Love for this sport works well with my own family because we've been basketball junkies for years largely due to our own children's involvement. Ask me how my sons' team made it to the New York State Final Four a few years ago, and I promise I'll drone on about it only for a few hours! Just for the record, I'm a fan of ALL my school's teams because I'm a fan of ALL our students--and of all the benefits that come from offering a competitive sports program (more about that below).

One of the high points of this year's season occurred recently when senior Chad Duff of East Hodgdon became the third student here to reach the 1000 point milestone. Chad's thousandth point didn't happen by "magic," but rather, was the result of several years of solid coaching at the Academy and his own hard work: he's known to spend hours practicing shots (after working at the family potato farm). The real payoff for Chad, however, is what he's learned in the process. It's because of this "payoff" that sports are an integral part of the total education program at GHCA.

I'm sure you already know many of these benefits such as improved physical fitness and the producing of well-rounded students, but here's a few other reasons athletics is important at the Academy:

1. Christian athletics provides real-life opportunities to build character and learn discipline, self-sacrifice, respect for authority, hard work, perseverance, integrity, even compassion and humility. The ingredients required for athletic success are the same for success in every other area of a student's life. This may be why New Testament writers allude so frequently to sports, with specific references to boxing, physical training, wrestling, and running races. It makes it easy for our coaches to show athletes the parallels between athletics and the Christian faith because the work has already been done for them in Scripture!

2. Rigorous athletic competition helps teach youth how to deal with the successes and failures they are sure to experience in life (Pro. 24:16). In a balanced athletics program, they will learn to win with humility and accept defeat with grace--tough lessons for all of us.

3. A solid sports program teaches young people the essence of teamwork and leadership: to serve one another, to work together, to put the needs of others before one's own needs (1 Cor. 10:24). These skills are the ones they will use eventually to lead their own families, churches, businesses, and communities.

4. Athletics provides another venue for teaching young people to strive for excellence at all they do--not to be satisfied with mediocrity, whether in athletics or academics or any other area. We want our athletes to "strive lawfully" (2 Tim. 2:5), but nevertheless, to strive.

Sadly, too many people advocate a win-at-any-cost approach to athletics, a view which should have no place in Christian athletics. Equally sad, though, is the view that Christian athletes should not play passionately and with intensity because this intensity will somehow hurt their Christian testimony; Christian athletes should be demure in competition or else they're not "Christ-like." I believe, however, that Christ is more honored by a "muscular Christianity" (1 Cor. 16:13) that approaches life aggressively while being balanced with true biblical meekness.

Christian athletics has more benefits than can be listed here. However, at the Academy we will ensure that athletics is seen as a means to an end and not an end in itself. We will work to make sure our students do not link their self worth to their athletic performance, but instead, to their creation in the image of God and their value in Christ, and we will teach our athletes that success is not defined exclusively by a win-loss record.

"...Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31b).

Sports and the Christian School [County Christian, Feb. 2010] (02/01/2010)

One of the highlights at Greater Houlton Christian Academy each year is the basketball season. We offer other sports such as cross-country, volleyball, baseball, and softball, but families in The County seem to have a special attachment to basketball! Love for this sport works well with my own family because we’ve been basketball junkies for years largely due to our own children’s involvement. Ask me how my sons’ team made it to the New York State Final Four a few years ago, and I promise I’ll drone on about it only for a few hours! Just for the record, I’m a fan of ALL my school’s teams because I’m a fan of ALL our students-and of all the benefits that come from offering a competitive sports program (more about that below).

One of the high points of this year’s season occurred recently when senior Chad Duff of East Hodgdon became the fourth student here to reach the 1000 point milestone. Chad’s thousandth point didn’t happen by “magic,” but rather, was the result of several years of solid coaching at the Academy and his own hard work: he’s known to spend hours practicing shots (after working at the family potato farm). The real payoff for Chad, however, is what he’s learned in the process. It’s because of this “payoff” that sports are an integral part of the total education program at GHCA.

I’m sure you already know many of these benefits such as improved physical fitness and the producing of well-rounded students, but here’s a few other reasons athletics is important at the Academy:

1. Christian athletics provides real-life opportunities to build character and learn discipline, self-sacrifice, respect for authority, hard work, perseverance, integrity, even compassion and humility. The ingredients required for athletic success are the same for success in every other area of a student’s life. This may be why New Testament writers allude so frequently to sports, with specific references to boxing, physical training, wrestling, and running races. It makes it easy for our coaches to show athletes the parallels between athletics and the Christian faith because the work has already been done for them in Scripture!

2. Rigorous athletic competition helps teach youth how to deal with the successes and failures they are sure to experience in life (Pro. 24:16). In a balanced athletics program, they will learn to win with humility and accept defeat with grace-tough lessons for all of us.

3. A solid sports program teaches young people the essence of teamwork and leadership: to serve one another, to work together, to put the needs of others before one’s own needs (I Cor. 10:24). These skills are the ones they will use eventually to lead their own families, churches, businesses, and communities.

4. Athletics provides another venue for teaching young people to strive for excellence at all they do-not to be satisfied with mediocrity, whether in athletics or academics or any other area. We want our athletes to “strive lawfully” (2 Tim. 2:5), but nevertheless, to strive.

Sadly, too many people advocate a win-at-any-cost approach to athletics, a view which should have no place in Christian athletics. Equally sad, though, is the view that Christian athletes should not play passionately and with intensity because this intensity will somehow hurt their Christian testimony; Christian athletes should be demure in competition or else they’re not “Christ-like.” I believe, however, that Christ is more honored by a “muscular Christianity” (I Cor. 16:13) that approaches life aggressively while being balanced with true biblical meekness.

Christian athletics has more benefits than can be listed here. However, at the Academy we will ensure that athletics is seen as a means to an end and not an end in itself. We will work to make sure our students do not link their self worth to their athletic performance but, instead, to their creation in the image of God and their value in Christ, and we will teach our athletes that success is not defined exclusively by a win-loss record.

“85Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (I Cor. 10:31b).

--
John Bishop
Head of School
Greater Houlton Christian Academy
207-532-0736

“One word of truth outweighs the whole world.”

Over the Holidays... (01/08/2010)

The Bishops' first Christmas in Houlton was filled with activities (candlelight services, concerts and programs, basketball...) and visitors: our oldest son visited for a week from Lancaster, PA, as well as family and friends from central Maine. We also finally closed on our house in New York (Christmas week) and then here on a beautiful home in Monticello just before New Year's. I think the Lord must allow the home-buying process to be a challenge in order to help make sure people are tempted to pull up roots too frequently! That said, however, the one great part of the real estate process on this end was how GHCA parent and realtor Sam Henderson went the second and third mile to make our dream become reality here in Maine.

Our cars finally have Maine license plates, and Sue and I finally have Maine driver's licenses. Now, if I could only talk like a Mainer--though I have noticed the word "wicked" popping up more frequently in my conversations! It'll be awhile before I lose the "whatup, homey?" from New York!

Finally, a special thanks to all of you for so many wonderful cards, gifts, and foods. You continue to make us feel so welcome here. But could you just do something about the cold?!

Looking forward to a new year full of His blessings for this wonderful school in Houlton, Maine.

Is a Christian School Really a School? (12/22/2009)

[From the Jan., 2010 County Christian]
I would like to use this column occasionally to try to answer questions about Christian schools that I have been asked over the years. This first question, "Is a Christian school really a school?" raises a very legitimate concern. Christians believe that God has given parents the sobering responsibility to nurture and train their children for success in life-this life and the life to come. Therefore, parents want to know if their children will get a real education if they put them in a Christian school. Is that school really going to equip them with the skills and knowledge they will need to be successful in the 21st century?

The short answer is, It depends. That answer, coming from the head of a Christian school, may surprise you, but that's the honest answer. It depends on how the particular school you are talking about understands its mission and how committed it is to actually fulfilling that mission. Frankly, I have seen some Christian schools that focused strongly on nurturing spiritual growth but for whom an academic program appeared to be an afterthought-almost viewed as an obstacle to their spiritual goals. Sadly, their reputation for academic mediocrity hurts the Christian schools that take their academic mission seriously.

A major reason for their academic deficiency is that there is often confusion about the mission and the role of church and school. As I understand Scriptures, the church exists primarily to evangelize, to disciple, to teach biblical doctrine, to foster prayer and worship, to administer sacraments, and to minister to the needs of the widows and orphans.

The Christian school, however, primarily has an instructional and training role that is derived from parents-it exists to educate. Granted, it educates from a very specific point of view, but nevertheless, its mission is academic. If an organization calls itself a "school," then it exists for one purpose: to equip students with the academic knowledge and skills necessary for success in life. If this is not a school's driving passion, then it ought not to call itself a school! If a Christian school advertises itself as a school, then it is under a biblical mandate to do academics and to do them excellently because Christ's reputation is at stake the moment we do something in His Name. The question every Christian school must ask itself is: what does Christ think about the education we are offering in His Name?

When I walk down a hallway at school, nothing is more precious to my ears than hearing the little ones singing "Jesus loves me, this I know" or reciting God's Word together as a class. But as wonderful as this is, I am more grateful when I hear students reciting their multiplication tables, or debating the Christian view of government, or discussing the worldview of an author-because that's why they're in school. There's nothing at all wrong with children singing "The B-I-B-L-E" at school (and they should!) but they can get that at church. What they can't get at church is geography or algebra or literature, or other academic subjects taught from a biblical perspective. That's not the church's mission, but it is the mission of the Christian school.

Thankfully, most Christian schools do understand their proper role and mission, take their educational mission seriously, and are in a continual drive to improve. Their teachers work hard to hone their instructional skills by participating in ongoing professional development activities. A good example of this commitment to professional improvement in our region is that the faculty of Cornerstone Christian Academy, Presque Isle attended the ACSI Teachers Conference in Sturbridge, Mass., this fall, and that our own GHCA faculty will be attending workshops at the Granite State Teachers' Conference in Concord, NH in February after spending a day observing classes in another school there.

Another sign of focus on academic excellence in Christian school circles is the increasing number of schools that are now going through the accreditation process-a rigorous, intensive effort to raise the academic bar. We're still waiting to hear about the results of our own accreditation status here at GHCA. We won't know before the end of February (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) and May (Association of Christian Schools International).

Is a Christian school really a school? It had better be! Nothing short of a relentless pursuit of bona fide academic excellence is worthy of a school operating in His Name.

Do you have questions or comments about this blog? Email Mr. Bishop at jbishop@ghca.com!

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