News4Leaders Governance

It was great to see that a number of Lutheran learning communities attended the AISSA Governance Conference on the 17th March. The conference provided some valuable and challenging information on a number of key topics that boards face in the current environment.

Some of the key take-outs for me were as follows:

How do we understand future and emerging trends?

  • What don’t we know?
  • Who can we engage with in the wider community along the way to better understand the changing landscape?
  • Can we bring students around the board table to better understand what their specific needs and issues are?

How do we move with the change in the education space while helping the existing structure shift and progress?

  • How do we support those schools who want to try different things based on emerging technologies and teaching methods?

How do we support the schools/teachers where legal and compliance burdens are increasing their workloads?

The perceived gap between independent and state schools is closing, and when people are considering an independent school they are also considering a government school. So what is our point of difference in the market?

Research showed that religion is seen as a barrier to private education. So how can we be Christ to the world while not being in families faces regarding religion?

Individual health checks will identify the localised issues/challenges/opportunities of each learning community.

Are we asking too much of our principals? They are excellent educators but we’re also asking them to manage building projects, HR issues etc. In other words are we taking them away from what they do best?

Do we have a wellbeing master plan? If not, why not? Wellbeing plans need a clear vision. 

“How to effect change:  Gentle pressure applied regularly”

While this may seem a daunting amount of questions/challenges, I feel that our learning communities are well positioned to tackle these issues head on. It also highlights the importance of regular health checks to understand the current landscape and needs of our students and families so we can ensure that our plans/strategies are hitting the mark.

Pastor Fin Klein shared with us at Craig Fielke’s installation service the story of Jesus calming the storm. It reminded me that no matter how daunting life/work may be, Jesus is bigger than the storm! As you continue to develop and work through your own plans and strategies for the coming year, I pray that you take hold of this truth.

Yours in His service,

Paul Bert
LESNW Board Chair

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