Something Positive within the Slow Motion Destruction

[Tom]

I used to blog and write numerous things about the slow motion
destruction of K-12 Adventist education. As you all know, the
Adventist educational system is not really a system at all. There is
no universal support not even at the Conference (school district)
level. There is a lot of rules of "you can't" and commingling of
teachers wages with the Conference employees which totally compromises
the flexibility of the local school. Each school has their own Board
which confirms this isolation of individual schools from each other.
We are independently owned and operated, and therefore, operate
without shared resources. In short we have painted ourselves into a
corner and in addition, little or nothing in our system seems to be
related to anything Ellen White ever wrote about.

The Alumni Awards group (sidebar: was denied the use of the word
"Adventist" in their organizational name by legal at the NAD) is
really trying to step out of the box with their new Pilot Light
Podcast website. The only downer for me is that no one on my local
school board has bothered to listen to the podcasts or even look at
this forum.

However, Pilot Light is on track and as they pointed out, the Number
One item for a healthy school is a Number One Principle. As related
in the podcast, the healthiest schools have the most dynamic
principles. Unfortunately like any other independently owned and
operated business, the boss has to be outstanding to navigate the
business climate otherwise the operation will remain frail and at
risk, as does some many of our schools. So if you have a lot of
schools, you need a lot of outstanding principles within this type of
system.

What really amazes me is that most senior leadership in Adventist
education world do not bother to unwind some of the stupidity of our
system (or lack of system) and as a result it is our Adventist
children, families and teachers that suffer. Senior administration
sit on their thrones and blame the "family values." But if there is
little or no value to the system, then who is really at fault? There
are no repercussions to senior administrative staff in all this slow
motion destruction; they are still on track to retirement and their
benefits regardless of how poorly their district, conference or union
performs. As a result there is a continued decline in our educational
system and teachers continue to loss their jobs and the schools get
smaller and smaller.

Well here is the "Something Positive." I had the opportunity to visit
the closest thing I have seen to a real school district in the NAD
Adventist educational world. It is the Rocky Mountain Conference
Education Department under the leadership of Lonnie Hetterle. That
the time when I had visited the Rocky Mountain Conference a couple of
years ago, I had no idea how unique and dynamic the Education
Department was because it was still early in my quest of understanding
the "Adventist SYSTEM of education." Lonnie has infused some real
creative thought processes into their system. His staff is energetic
and bright. And the schools and principles that I met in the Rocky
Mountain Conference were alive with hope. Lonnie is not simply a
Superintendent of Schools, he is a motivator, an inspiration and a
breathe of fresh air in the Adventist educational world of "old dead
heads" waiting for retirement.

The system must be successful before we can expect a school within the
system to succeed. The answer cannot be to just fire another teacher
again this year and expect things to be okay. That is not a fix, that
is a problem!

If multiple Conferences are doing poorly, then we should fire the
Union Director of Education. If a Conference or district is doing
poorly then we should fire the Superintendent. These are far fewer
spots to fill with excellence than the multitude of principle
positions at the individual schools. Leadership starts at the top and
not at the bottom.

If these were the rules, there would be far more children in Adventist
schools today and most things in the Adventist educationally system
would have been fixed yesterday. And Ellen White's vision would be
real and we would be closer to God's plan for his children.

There is no reason for Adventist education not to excel except where
there is lack of vision and action. And the people at the top have
the best view, and therefore, the least reason for excuses.

blessings,
Tom Krazan
Central California

[Jay Linthicum]

Among the principals I have worked with I was fortunate to get to work with probably two of the most progressive and productive in denominational education. Dr. John Kerbs and Dr. Gayle Rhoads. Those who had the chance to know these two men know they are legendary in their own right. Actually I would have to place Doug Herrmann in this category also.

All shared a common philosophy and approach. Although they were leaders, their primary focus was student/teacher oriented. In essence, they asked the students and the teachers "How can I help you? Is there anything you want or need that I can get for you in order to help you accomplish the success you desire?" We told them . . . and then they went out and got it for us. This is in direct contrast to what is the normal or typical approach in education -- that being telling teachers what they need and then sending them out to get it themselves.

When principals and educational leaders used the latter approach, I taught at typical and normal schools. When principals used the former approach, I taught at excellent schools. Such an approach requires an element of humiliation most administrators are unwilling to accept, a degree of self-sacrifice most are willing to endure, and an intensity of sweat and hard work that most would prefer not to be seen associating with. Unless I interpreted your message below incorrectly, my experience is that these men were not kind of leaders you are describing in your comments.

Jay Linthicum