Ken Smitherman, President of ACSI (retired 2009)
As ACSI continues to commemorate its 25th anniversary throughout this school year, our focus will be on the future—specifically, what we believe is God’s call upon the association. As we look forward to being a part of transforming the future and enabling Christian schools to even greater effectiveness in the next quarter century, God is leading us in the development of a new four-pronged initiative, our Matrix for Effectiveness, an intense effort to make a difference in the world through schooling with a distinctive. It is our goal to support ACSI member schools in providing the very best education—best because it is achieving its intended purposes.
The primary objective of our initiative for transforming the future is to assure that ACSI member schools are effective Christian schools. Achieving such effectiveness will require assertive and visionary leadership focused on delivering programs and services that will achieve the school’s expected student outcomes while remaining focused on the following five essential elements of an effective Christian school:
Truth: Scripture is the revealed Word of God and is taught as truth, which is then integrated into the learning experience as students learn that all truth is God’s truth.
Intellectual Development: The Christian mind should be the best mind, enlightened by the mind of Christ and one that integrates God’s principles with academic pursuits.
Christian Educators: The Christian school must have a governing body, administration, faculty, and staff who are committed followers of Christ, teaching and leading from a biblically integrated perspective.
Potential in Christ: Every learning experience aims to enable students to reach their full potential in Christ.
Operational Integrity: The school’s day-to-day operational practices are a consistent model of integrity, efficiency, and accountability, since failure or compromise in operational and business practices can lead to the literal demise of the institution.
If we are truly going to make a difference in the lives of the tens of thousands of students enrolled in urban Christian schools, we must be diligent concerning the issue of effectiveness. We must continually press toward the mark.
The Meantime Volume 3 Number 1