Parents and Families,
This edition of From The Principal's Desk really has only one purpose: to prepare our community for some potentially incredible things happening in our school.
By now, you likely know all the talking points: 85% growth in two years, at or near capacity in classrooms in most grade levels, many new extra-curricular opportunities, and a slew of new team members committed to the growth and development of our children. Adding to that, this morning I officially submitted our school's intent to participate in the state's Special Needs Scholarship Program (SNSP). SNSP is a sister program to Choice that will allow families who have students with qualifying special needs to attend school free of charge and provide critical funding for our team to offer the resources and staffing needed for such a program. "Doors open to all God's children - all the time" is a big goal, but one worth pursuing.
All of this news begs an important question: What's next, and how do we get there?
Some big decisions will be made in the coming months that could potentially impact Trinity for the next half-century plus. One of those decisions will answer the question of whether or not we want to be the school with a waitlist. While my personal and spiritual motives answer that question with an emphatic no, this does not mean our community can automatically jump into a building project to provide for the needs of our growing community. Instead, this moment in our history deserves a thoughtful, strategic approach.
Enter: Trinity's School Strategic Vision Team.
Over the coming months, a group of 20 school parents, church members, and staff will collect data, share thoughts, and unite behind a vision forward for our school. We will utilize a simplified version of the model first put forth by Rowley, Lujan, and Dolence in their text, Strategic Change. We will identify key performance indicators, share ideas, generate data, and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of our operations, along with the challenges to arriving at our goals.
With our growth and projected enrollment considered, the time to plan and act is now. We remain committed to small class sizes, but the current space in our building is becoming a limitation. So, in the background, we are working with a local firm to explore both temporary and future spacing considerations with classrooms. More on this, and a "master planning" process, will be communicated soon.
On a personal note... Soon, I'll be taking a (now annual) tour-of-schools trip out of state. On one day of this particular trip, I'll see five unique schools. In years past, this trip has encouraged me to think outside the box, allowed me to generate new ideas for our school, given me the opportunity to collaborate with other leaders, and also caused me to be thankful for the great work God is doing at Trinity. But most importantly, I take this trip to be reminded of God's calling for us; and he literally only has one job for us: Go and make disciples (Matthew 28). It is the last thing Jesus said before he ascended into Heaven.
This is the reason we exist!
If we aren't in the business of making disciples and growing God's kingdom, why have a Christian school?
God has blessed the work of Trinity, and I believe he has even more incredible things in store for us. As a team, we remain as committed as ever to making disciples who make disciples and delivering the highest quality education a child can receive. This church was "built on the rock" over 180 years ago to be a light to a new community in need - where will he take us in the next 180 years?
LET'S GO.
Dr. Seefeld