ACSI: Moving Forward with Lynn Swaner acsi

About Today’s Show
Today’s podcast features Jon Eckert, the Copple Professor for Christians in School Leadership at Baylor University and a Cardus Senior Fellow. Jon talks with Lynn Swaner about the Flourishing Schools construct of Leadership Interdependence, where “leaders, including board members, have diverse backgrounds and are transparent about and rely on others to offset their weaknesses.” Jon shares his work around collective leadership and shares insights for Christian schools on creating dynamic leadership teams that do transformative work together.
To go further in learning about this construct, check out the blog post Collective Leadership: A Catalyst for Flourishing Schools by Jon Eckert. To learn more about Flourishing Schools Research, check out the Flourishing Together book by Lynn Swaner and Andy Wolfe (Eerdmans 2021) and this video overview of the research. You can also find out about the related institute for leaders and instrument for schools here. 
 
About the Guest
Jon Eckert, Ed.D., is the Copple Professor for Christians in School Leadership at Baylor University and a Cardus Senior Fellow. He taught intermediate and middle school students outside Chicago and Nashville for 12 years. He completed his doctorate at Vanderbilt University and served at U.S. Department of Education during the Bush and Obama administrations. For ten years, he prepared teachers at Wheaton College. He is the author of The Novice Advantage: Fearless Practice for Every Teacher and Leading Together: Teachers and Administrators Improving Student Outcomes, book chapters, and numerous articles. He researches collective leadership, teaching quality, and school improvement through Baylor’s Center for School Leadership.
 
About the Host
Dr. Lynn E. Swaner is the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at ACSI, where she leads initiatives and develops strategies to address compelling questions and challenges facing Christian education. Dr. Swaner serves as a Cardus Senior Fellow and is the co-author or editor of multiple books on Christian education, including Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools and MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education. Prior to joining ACSI, she served as a professor of education and a Christian school administrator in New York.
 

About Today’s Show
Today’s podcast features Rex Miller, founder of MindShift and author of WHOLE: What Teachers Need to Help Students Thrive. Rex talks with Lynn Swaner about the Flourishing Schools construct of Resilience, applied to Christian school leaders and teachers, where they “handle stress effectively and respond well to/bounce back from difficult situations.” Rex unpacks the dangers of the “caregiver’s dilemma” and shares principles for post-traumatic growth in schools.
To go further in learning about educator resilience, check out these resources:
Blog post Caring Too Much: How Educators Can Fill the Gap Without Burnout by Rex
To learn more about Rex’s work, including a workbook for teachers, visit his website at rexmiller.com
 
To learn more about Flourishing Schools Research, check out the Flourishing Together book by Lynn Swaner and Andy Wolfe (Eerdmans 2021) and this video overview of the research. You can also find out about the related institute for leaders and instrument for schools here. 
 
About the Guest
Rex Miller is the lead author for WHOLE: What Teachers Need to Help Students Thrive, which examines ways to create a healthy workplace in schools. His company, MindShift, has tackled numerous large and complex problems in various fields, including education. His books have won international awards for innovation and excellence.
 
About the Host
Dr. Lynn E. Swaner is the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at ACSI, where she leads initiatives and develops strategies to address compelling questions and challenges facing Christian education. Dr. Swaner serves as a Cardus Senior Fellow and is the co-author or editor of multiple books on Christian education, including Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools and MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education. Prior to joining ACSI, she served as a professor of education and a Christian school administrator in New York.

About Today’s Show
Today’s podcast features Marianne Vangoor, Director of Leadership at Edvance in Ontario, Canada. Marianne talks with Lynn Swaner about the Flourishing Schools construct of God’s Story, where “students believe they are a part of God’s bigger plan and can be used by Him to ‘make a difference’.” Marianne shares insights on how schools can ask “what does love require?” as a guiding question for students and staff as they grow in faith and serve God and their communities.
To go further in learning about this construct, check out these resources:
Blog post What Does Love Require? by Marianne Vangoor
The books Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools and MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education both feature Marianne’s and the team’s work at Halton Hills Christian School as a case study
 
To learn more about Flourishing Schools Research, check out the Flourishing Together book by Lynn Swaner and Andy Wolfe (Eerdmans 2021) and this video overview of the research. You can also find out about the related institute for leaders and instrument for schools here. 
 
About the Guest
Marianne Vangoor is the Director of Leadership at Edvance in Ontario, Canada. Prior to this role, she served as principal of Halton Hills Christian School in Georgetown, Ontario, for 15 years out of 26 years in school leadership, in addition to teaching all grades in elementary school, including special education. She is passionate about having Christian education be life changing for students and helping them see that they can be difference makers in the world right now. Marianne believes in empowerment at all levels of the school—teachers, staff, and students—and loves seeing people flourish and grow as they step into their own leadership roles. Marianne is the proud Nana of nine grandchildren and is thrilled to see them growing and learning in their local Christian schools as the next generation.
 
About the Host
Dr. Lynn E. Swaner is the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at ACSI, where she leads initiatives and develops strategies to address compelling questions and challenges facing Christian education. Dr. Swaner serves as a Cardus Senior Fellow and is the co-author or editor of multiple books on Christian education, including Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools and MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education. Prior to joining ACSI, she served as a professor of education and a Christian school administrator in New York.

About Today’s Show
Today’s podcast features Sean Schat, Assistant Professor of Education at Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ontario (Canada).  Sean talks with Lynn Swaner about the Flourishing Schools construct of Caring Environment, where alumni report that “teachers were kind, students felt included in class, and students were protected from bullying.” Sean unpacks the idea of educational care and shares his research on how it takes much more than just good intentions to build relationships with students. Rather, educational care also requires that teachers effectively communicate care, that students perceive and receive the care offered by teachers, and that the care is “completed”—with opportunities for students to reciprocate and care for others.
To go further in learning about this construct, check out the blog post Communicating Care in Education by Sean. To learn more about Flourishing Schools Research, check out the Flourishing Together book by Lynn Swaner and Andy Wolfe (Eerdmans 2021) and this video overview of the research. You can also find out about the related institute for leaders and instrument for schools here. 
 
About the Guest
Dr. Sean Schat is Assistant Professor of Education at Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ontario (Canada). Sean has previously served as a classroom teacher and educational leader (director of staff development, vice-principal, and principal) in Christian independent schools in Ontario. Sean has led workshops on educational care, interpersonal theory, perceptual theory, invitational education, cooperative learning, differentiated learning, assessment and evaluation, curriculum design, and a number of other topics.
 
About the Host
 
Dr. Lynn E. Swaner is the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at ACSI, where she leads initiatives and develops strategies to address compelling questions and challenges facing Christian education. Dr. Swaner serves as a Cardus Senior Fellow and is the co-author or editor of multiple books on Christian education, including Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools and MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education. Prior to joining ACSI

In this podcast, Dr. Lynn Swaner interviews Dr. David Kinnaman, President of the Barna Group, on a new research project on today’s teens. As a partner in the research, ACSI is working with Barna to apply this research in the Christian education context and deliver insights to Christian school educators all over the world. Called “The Open Generation,” the research reveals how today’s teens are open to Jesus and the Bible, and how Christian adults are greater influences in their lives toward faith than anything else. Dr. Kinnaman shares how this is encouraging news for Christian school leaders and teachers as they educate, disciple, and influence today’s teens.
For more information (including webinar recordings and to order copies of research journals), visit: https://www.barna.com/the-open-generation/.
 
 
About the Guest
David Kinnaman is the author of the bestselling books Faith For Exiles, Good Faith, You Lost Me, and unChristian. He is president of Barna Group, a leading research and communications company that works with churches, nonprofits, and businesses ranging from film studios to financial services. Since 1995, David has directed interviews with more than two million individuals and overseen thousands of U.S. and global research studies. He lives in California with his three children.
 
About the Host
Dr. Lynn E. Swaner is the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at ACSI, where she leads initiatives and develops strategies to address compelling questions and challenges facing Christian education. Dr. Swaner serves as a Cardus Senior Fellow and is the co-author or editor of multiple books on Christian education, including Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools and MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education. Prior to joining ACSI, she served as a professor of education and a Christian school administrator in New York.
 
 Check out the research!

About Today’s Show
Today’s podcast features Tia Gaines, director for Educational Strategies for UnifiEd, A Center for Hope and Unity. Tia talks with Lynn Swaner about the Flourishing Schools construct of Insular Culture, where “the school shields students from the world’s brokenness, the school is independent from the surrounding community, and/or the student body lacks diversity.” The conversation focuses on creating communities of belonging for students within Christian schools.
 
To go further in learning about this construct, check out these resources:
The UnifiEd Digest
ACSI’s PD by Design series, Cultivating Biblical Unity, featuring UnifiEd
Blog post Taking a Selah Moment: Black History Month and Christian Schools by Tia Gaines
 
To learn more about Flourishing Schools Research, check out the Flourishing Together book by Lynn Swaner and Andy Wolfe (Eerdmans 2021) and this video overview of the research. You can also find out about the related institute for leaders and instrument for schools here. 
 
About the Guest
Tia Gaines is the director for Educational Strategies for UnifiEd. She serves as department chair for the English department, as well as the 6–12 instructional coach, for Insight PA Cyber Charter School. She coaches more than 200 teachers on teaching strategies in a virtual setting. She has also taught in the School for Applied and Innovative Learning program at Delaware County Christian School in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. In addition, Tia provides consulting to schools, universities, and organizations on diversity, equity, and inclusion alongside her husband, Joel. She resides in Philadelphia with her husband and their four children.
 
About the Host
Dr. Lynn E. Swaner is the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at ACSI, where she leads initiatives and develops strategies to address compelling questions and challenges facing Christian education. Dr. Swaner serves as a Cardus Senior Fellow and is the co-author or editor of multiple books on Christian education, including Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools and MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education. Prior to joining ACSI, she served as a professor of education and a Christian school administrator in New York.