On Monday, June 22nd, a full month after it was originally scheduled, the Northwest Christian High School Class of 2020 celebrated commencement at the Arizona Federal Theatre in downtown Phoenix.  The evening included virtual performances by the NCS choirs and band as well as inspiring videos from Arizona Senator Martha McSally, the Christian rapper Lecrae, Grand Canyon University president Brian Mueller, and Arizona Christian president Len Munsil.  The commencement's moving challenge to the graduates was delivered by Pastor Mark Driscoll from The Trinity Church.

Arizona Federal Theatre, with seating for five-thousand, was the perfect venue for graduation as that it allowed ample room for adequate social distancing.  Based on guidance from the Governor's office and the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, each graduate's family was afforded six tickets.  Seats were spread throughout the venue.  At the same time, the event was live streamed via Facebook so that all could watch and enjoy the evening.

The evening also allowed the school to celebrate outgoing high school principal Josh Schlesinger and the school's new high school principal Jeff Parsons.  Following nine years of stellar service to the school, school board president Mike Trueblood was on hand to congratulate Mr. Schlesinger.  Jeff Parsons, who has previously served as the Northwest Christian secondary director of curriculum and instruction, was also congratulated by Mr. Trueblood as he moves into his new role.

"I was thrilled that this came together," said Mr. Parsons.  "The class will forever be remembered not just for the historic context in which they graduated, but for the years of leadership, tenacity, and inspiration that they contributed to our community.  I am incredibly excited to see where God takes each of these young men and women."

You can watch the video for the commencement ceremony below.

The class of 2024 also saw a Covid-curveball thrown at their eight grade promotion celebration.  Although they were able to celebrate with the Crusader-traditional "Last Blast" party, the recent Arizona ratio stipulations on crowd-size to venue-size meant that their promotion celebration needed to be virtual.  Said middle school principal Samantha Maszton of the event, "We were so disappointed that this was not a traditional promotion.  But, in spite of that, we watched as something very special happened.  This group of parents, teachers, and students rallied together.  Due to their personal resolve and unity, they produced memories that I believe will ultimately be even more impactful."

You can watch the video for the eighth grade promotion below.

As part of an effort spanning two years, working with Grand Canyon University and others with expertise within digital learning support, this fall and next, Northwest Christian School is launching several new programs that will enhance student learning at all levels, all locations, and in all situations. Ultimately, these programs will support and facilitate learning for students within the contexts that the school's families feel are safest for their unique needs and each individual student.

Traditional on-the-ground classroom learning for all grades.  With some adjustments to account for the recommendations from the Maricopa Country Department of Public Health, the office of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, and the Arizona Department of Education, Northwest Christian School fully expects to return to the customary classroom context in August.   Some initial modifications to programs will ultimately be phased out, but families should expect a student's experience to be safe and customary.

NCS Plus...a new forum to support on-the-ground learning.   Starting this fall, every NCS student and every family will enjoy an added dimension within their on-the-ground classrooms: NCS Plus. Facilitated by a learning management system called Canvas, which is produced by Instructure, NCS Plus will be a classroom complement at all grade levels--from kindergarten through high school--that captures key elements of the on-the-ground classroom experience. Although direct instruction within on-the-ground classrooms will not change, NCS Plus will support the "flipped classroom" model of learning wherein students can revisit key concepts presented within class when away from the classroom. Beyond this, NCS Plus will better support students that are absent. Or, if we experience a viral resurgence at some point in the coming year with mandated school closure, NCS Plus will replace the Google Classroom system used this spring to provide a more robust student learning experience.  Additionally, while school will resume on August 5th, if a family wishes to keep their student home for a period of time for whatever reason, NCS Plus will support that student's continued learning, concurrent with what is happening in the classroom. This will mean that when that student is ready to return, they can do so with no disruption to academic progress.

Northwest Christian School Online.  Beginning this fall, NCS is launching Northwest Christian School Online for the elementary grades. Then, in the fall of 2021, Northwest Christian School Online will launch for all secondary grades as well. NCS Online is a wholly separate, asynchronous learning experience for students who live away from Phoenix or who find the online classroom a more conducive learning opportunity than the traditional on-the- ground experience. For kindergarten through 8th grade, NCS Online will utilize Canvas as its learning management system. Within the high school, starting in August 2021, Northwest Christian School Online will be utilizing Grand Canyon University's LoudCloud learning management system. The NCS Online experience will be different: different pacing, different teachers, and different opportunities. Over the next few days and weeks, our families can look forward to some exciting announcements regarding new partnerships--what we are calling "Distinctive Diplomas"--that represent new and enhanced learning opportunities with a growing number of universities like Grand Canyon University and Arizona Christian University. These partnerships will provide for an online and on-the-ground learning experience unlike any online or on-the-ground high school in the country.

Northwest Christian Biblical Worldview Institute.  As part of NCS Online, both our on-the-ground and online students will enjoy an expanded number of online classes centered around exploring Christian worldview in a number of contexts. We are presently working with Grand Canyon University, Arizona Christian University, and prominent pastors, authors, and experts in diverse fields to develop these courses. These courses will be the foundation upon which the new "Distinctive Diploma" program is built as well as the university partnerships. Though it is a bit too soon to announce all of these courses just yet, we look forward to doing so as we move towards the fall.

A new Student Information System. To facilitate all of these added digital dimensions to the school, we are moving towards Blackbaud as our new student information system for all grades beginning in August. Under a single virtual umbrella, students and parents will find Blackbaud to be a more robust and seamless system of communication than we have enjoyed previously.