Academics Reflection

by Nathan Stevens

he passions articulated within Whitefield Academy’s mission statement provide a clear focus for the development of both students and faculty. Although the mission’s primary purpose is to provide a clear picture of a declared direction, building up faculty who themselves demonstrate a passion for learning, for others ahead of self, and for the living and active Jesus is foundational to supporting this growth in students. Creating an opportunity for faculty members to walk alongside one another in their desire to live coherent lives is, as Stephen Garber stated, “a gift.” The relational connections that come from learning and growing together towards the common calling of Christ-centered formation have been the foundation of the faculty culture of Whitefield Academy since the establishment of the school.

During the 2021 school year, Whitefield Academy implemented a new growth and evaluation system focused on building up and supporting faculty as they identified growth goals to provide direction for their learning. A primary focus within this new structure is the importance of the “community” each faculty member will seek out as they engage in the learning journey. It is in seeking coherence within a community that is the “gift” Garber is referencing. The Whitefield faculty continues to find this community personally challenging, and these relationships sharpen those who fully engage. Some of these collaborative learning experiences will be highlighted below. God has blessed Whitefield with faculty members who understand the value of growth within a Christ-centered community.

Collaboration for Growth Executive Functioning

The fruits of this collaboration are more fully addressed in “Planning for Success - Whitefield Fifth and Sixth Graders Explore Executive Functioning” featured earlier in this edition. The intentional partnership between the Academic Enrichment Center (AEC) staff and the Middle School leadership team led to this significant programmatic addition. The AEC staff members engaged in several learning opportunities, including the SAIS Learning Difference Conference, The Hill Center training, and Executive Functioning Certified Tutoring training. Each of these experiences included multiple members of the AEC team, which led to significant results impacting students this year.

Collaboration for Growth Upper School Academic Day

One of the elements of our new growth/evaluation system is goal setting, in which faculty members are encouraged to set goals that will develop them as individuals and, in some way, positively impact our community. As a result of this process, two of our faculty members collaborated to create an academically focused half-day program for Upper School students in which they heard from Dr. Jeff Zweerink, Senior Research Scholar with Reasons to Believe and Ph.D. in Astrophysics, on the topic of Christianity and Science: Allies or Enemies? In addition to the student session, Dr. Zweerink offered an evening session for the entire community in which he tackled the question, Is There Life Out There? The collaboration between these two faculty members led to a fantastic experience that impacted the students and the broader community.

Collaboration for Growth Whitefield Academy & Covenant College: Training Educators

Grounded in the Truth of the Bible

The administration of Whitefield Academy approached Covenant College with the potential for a collaborative effort between two like-minded institutions to provide job-embedded training for students who desire to explore Christian education as a calling. Whitefield Academy is partnering with Covenant College to provide educator training grounded in the Truth of the Bible. Covenant College was chosen as a partner because of its complementary mission and approach and its geographic proximity to Whitefield Academy. The Whitefield Faculty Fellows Program gives guidance, training, and experience to college graduates considering teaching from a biblical view as a career. The faculty fellows program provides an immersive Christian school experience at Whitefield Academy for prospective teachers and full tuition for the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program at Covenant College.

Collaboration for Growth Lower School Capstone Experiences

The Lower School faculty engaged in grade-level collaborations to create year-long experiences for each grade level, including cross-curricular connections, service connections, and biblical throughline connections. Based on an agreed-upon theme, faculty built out experiences collaborating with the administrative team and researched resources to infuse into their curriculum. This intentional collaboration between teachers, associate teachers, and administration has led to adjustments within the student experience that will help the students more clearly see the connections among the passions of our mission statement: for learning, for others ahead of self, and for the living and active Jesus.

Many more examples could have been shared that demonstrate the commitment of the Whitefield Academy faculty to “grow as friends who long for coherence across the whole of life” as a “gift” to the Lord, one another, and the students and families in their care. The Whitefield community continues to be blessed by a called and committed faculty who understand the need for personal growth and who sacrificially invest in the growth of the children in their care.