LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 370

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370 PARISH SERVICES

the differences this education has caused. One cannot doubt
the value of Lutheran elementary and secondary education
after giving serious study to this research.

Overall Goal

The overall goal of the Board of Parish Education's School
Department is to provide leadership for the support. communi-
cation. upgrading. and extension of full-time Lutheran educa-
tional programs. This report will attempt to delineate those
activities in which the School Department has been engaged
over the past 2 years as well as some of its future plans as it
attempts to achieve this overall goal.

A. Leadership Materials and Services

One activity designed to reach the overall goal identified
above is providing leadership materials and services to equip
the church's educational leaders.

In-Service Materials

To provide such leadership materials and services, anumber
of in-service training materials have been developed for school
administrators and teachers. These materials consisted of 12
Resource Guides included in the “Performing Our Patterns”
series as an aid to schools as they work through administrative.
subject matter, and child development areas. Also 12 descrip-
tions have been prepared for inclusion in an “Innovations
Notebook." Each of these describes through picture and words
a specific innovation which a school has developed. The pro-
duction of the “Innovations Notebook” descriptions was made
possible through a grant from the Wheat Ridge Foundation.

Administrative Materials

Each spring a collection of administrative materials is orga-
nized and distributed to elementary and secondary school
principals. This Administrator's Kit annually includes an In-
structional Materials Guide. This guide identifies. evaluates.
and describes new elementary school materials available each
year in the subject matter and professional educational areas.
Clearing house services are also provided for Lutheran secon-
dary school administrators. Ideas and materials produced
locally by the high schools are shared with all administrators.

School Materials

An ongoing process is the development. revising. and up-
dating of Board of Parish Education professional and curricular
school materials. Some of these projects are developed jointly
with Concordia Publishing House. Some items have taken the
form of information bulletins regarding a variety of Lutheran
school concerns. Each year new replacement chapters are de-
veloped for the three volumes of A Curriculum Guide for
Lutheran Elementary Schools. Within the near future we antici-
pate publication of a handbook for beginning teachers as well
as a historical review of Lutheran elementary and secondary
education over the past 15 crucial years. Other school materials
are under review, and some will be revised in the near future.

Promotion Materials

In an attempt to help schools generate ideas and materials
for school promotion and to develop enthusiasm for recruit-
ment. the Board of Parish Education’s School Department, in
cooperation with the Synod’s Public Relations Department. has
provided a new school promotion tract. This tract was written
by the parents of three families of children who have attended
Lutheran schools. Should adequate budgetary funds become
available. work will begin on the following projects: the de-
velopment of promotional slides that schools can use on local
television stations: a Christian education film: school promotion
materials designed especially to communicate to pastors and
other church leaders.

Feasibility Surveys

Each year a number of Lutheran elementary and secondary
community school feasibility surveys are aided by School
Department personnel. At this time two dozen communities
are conducting high school feasibility surveys. The develop-
ment of parental commitment towards Lutheran high schools
in the last 5 years has been nothing short of phenomenal.
Twenty-five percent of the Lutheran high schools now in
existence have begun since September 1970. It appears that

four new Lutheran high schools will begin in September 1975.
Within the next 2 years the Board of Parish Education. with
financial assistance from the Aid Association for Lutherans.
plans to develop a Lutheran High School Feasibility Study
Packet that may be used by a variety of Lutheran church com-
munities to help them conduct realistic feasibility studies.

Observations and Evaluations

The School Department of the Board of Parish Education
also attempts to observe and evaluate existing full-time Chris-
tian education programs. This has been accomplished in a
number of Districts in the past through concentrated evaluation
of specific schools and brief observations in several schools
geographically close to one another. During the past 2 vears
four Lutheran high schools conducted self-evaluation programs.
At their request the School Department provided leadership
in reviewing the findings and making recommendations for
future goals and programs. A guide for evaluating Lutheran
secondary schools was developed some years ago by Lutheran
high school administrators and synodical personnel. This guide
aids school faculties and visitation teams as they attempt to
determine the Christian dimension of a Lutheran high school.
This evaluation program will be continued in future years.

Worship Materials

To aid faculties in giving an increased Christian dimension
to a school, the School Department yearly identifies and pre-
pares materials useful for conducting staff and student worship
in elementary schools. A yearly edition of 40 new Chapel Talks
is written by selected teachers. pastors, and college professors.

Workshop and Conference Services

The Board of Parish Education provides leadership ma-
terials and services through its School Department personnel.
The staff assists District and local groups in planning and pre-
senting workshops and conference papers. Additional assis-
tance is provided through executive committee meetings. con-
ferences, and in helping to plan annual workshops for the
various departments of the Lutheran Education Association
and the Association of Lutheran Secondary Schools. The staff
also cooperates with the synodical teachers colleges and semi-
naries in workshop developments. retreats, and campus presen-
tations.

Future Thrusts

A major thrust for the future will be to conduct in-service
workshops and conferences in early childhood education, urban
education, and bilingual-bicultural education. With funds from
the Aid Association for Lutherans the Board of Parish Educa-
tion has secured a director of “Project: Young Child" to promote
early childhood education in the Synod. Through the Synod's
125th Anniversary Thankoffering the board has called an Asso-
ciate Secretary of Schools, Dr. Marlin Schulz. Dr. Schulz will
concentrate primarily on programs in urban education and
small-school development. A significant portion of the urban
education program is the “Hispanic Enabler’ program, also
being funded by the 125th Anniversary Thankoffering, being
developed under the leadership of Miss Lois Meyer.

This program is one small but. we hope, significant effort
to take seriously the opportunity for ministry among people of
Spanish-speaking background, who represent the fastest-
growing ethnic minority in our country. Under this program
the Board of Parish Education is assisting local Lutheran
schools to be more responsive to the need for bilingual educa-
tion. The plan includes coordinating production of religious
education materials for Spanish-speaking personsin the U.S. A.
Consultations. workshops, and special training sessions are also
being conducted.

At each of the last four synodical conventions resolutions
have been passed urging the board to provide leadership for
Christian education in urban settings. However. severe budget
restrictions have seriously limited the board’s activities. Under
Dr. Schulz’s leadership new efforts are now under way. After
consultation with persons most directly involved in urban
ministry, eight model programs have now been designed and
$50,000 worth of seed money kas been provided by the 125th
Thankoffering. It is hoped that when the report for the 1977
convention is written it will be possible to report significant
progress.