The Teacher's Lounge Presented by Curriculum Trak

Dan Beerens, co-chair of Christian Deeper Learning, shares about why Christian Deeper Learning was founded and what it is seeking to do. Hear from Dan about how this initiative is an outgrowth of his over forty years seeking to strengthen Christian schools and build Kingdom Educators.

Since 2005, Echoes and Reflections, a content partner with Curriculum Trak, has been dedicated to reshaping the way teachers and students understand, process, and navigate the world through the events of the Holocaust. Jesse Tannetta, program manager, discusses how they go about that mission and the resources they offer to educators and schools.

Dr. Mark Eckel, president of The Comenius Institute, author, teacher, professor, theologian,  and a long-time friend to Curriculum Trak, shares his thoughts on Christian education, faith-learning, and what it means to be a Christian educator. Mark Eckel draws from over 35 years in Christian education as a high school teacher, undergraduate and graduate professor, curriculum writer, and conference speaker to support not only Christian educators but anyone seeking to engage their culture in practical and engaging ways. In today’s conversation, he focuses primarily on the role of the Christian teacher in the Christian school classroom. Be sure to check out his wide-ranging resources at MarkEckel.com.

Dr. Mark Eckel, president of The Comenius Institute, author, teacher, professor, theologian, and a long-time friend to Curriculum Trak, shares his thoughts on Christian education, faith-learning, and what it means to be a Christian educator. Mark Eckel draws from over 35 years in Christian education as a high school teacher, undergraduate and graduate professor, curriculum writer, and conference speaker to support not only Christian educators but anyone seeking to engage their culture in practical and engaging ways. In today’s conversation, he focuses primarily on the role of the Christian teacher in the Christian school classroom. Be sure to check out his wide-ranging resources at MarkEckel.com.

Dr. Mark Eckel, president of The Comenius Institute, author, teacher, professor, theologian,  and a long-time friend to Curriculum Trak, shares his thoughts on Christian education, faith-learning, and what it means to be a Christian educator. Mark Eckel draws from over 35 years in Christian education as a high school teacher, undergraduate and graduate professor, curriculum writer, and conference speaker to support not only Christian educators but anyone seeking to engage their culture in practical and engaging ways. In today’s conversation, he focuses primarily on the role of the Christian teacher in the Christian school classroom. Be sure to check out his wide-ranging resources at MarkEckel.com.

Jonathan Edmonson, product manager and administrator of the Herzog Foundation Schoolbox Platform, shares an overview of the free services the Herzog Foundation. The Herzog Foundation is providing to expand and equip Christian schools in the United States. Find out which resources may be valuable to your school and how you might support their efforts to expand Christian education.

Christina Sasso shares her insights into mapping a teacher-designed language arts curriculum.  Listen to her explain why every teacher should see themselves as a curriculum designer and how a designed curriculum may better fit the needs of the student and the goals of the course. Michael and Christina discuss the connection between curriculum design and teacher efficacy. For more information related to Collective Teacher Efficacy, visit https://visible-learning.org/2018/03/collective-teacher-efficacy-hattie/

Elizabeth Dombroski, Executive Director of All Belong Center for Inclusive Education, outlines the 40-year history of their network and how every Christ-centered school can be an inclusive school. See why she says practicing inclusion can be so impactful for every student. Find out more at www.AllBelong.org.

Dr. Renee Mungons shares her process and helpful tips and tricks for a curriculum review process. Hear her describe why she believes published textbooks is still a valuable tool for faith-based schools, unforeseen pitfalls in the review process, and why the work is just beginning when the textbooks are finally ordered. You can access her curriculum review process guide here.

Dr. Renee Mungons shares her process and helpful tips and tricks for a curriculum review process. Hear her describe why she believes published textbooks is still a valuable tool for faith-based schools, unforeseen pitfalls in the review process, and why the work is just beginning when the textbooks are finally ordered. You can access her curriculum review process guide here.

Cindy Hunter has leadership experience in both US and international (American) schools as well as Ed.S and PhD (almost) degrees in Educational Leadership. She shares her perspective on the vital role curriculum mapping plays in school leadership and her insights into developing student and teacher leaders.

Angie Parker, the latest addition to the Curriculum Trak support team, describes what it was like to leave the classroom and begin supporting Curriculum Trak schools.

Becki Goniea, Curriculum Trak Support Specialist, tells how she came to work for Curriculum Trak and what drives her to support faith-based schools. She shares some insights and encouragement for schools engaging in curriculum mapping drawn from her experiences working with hundreds of schools around the world.

Brad Dunn, Head of School at Valley Christian School, has seen an explosion in enrollments over the past two years. In this episode, he shares some of the observations he has made as a result and the steps Valley Christian School is taking to sustain that growth into the future.

Ernie Delgado started as a computer teacher over thirty years ago, and he has played a supporting role for schools and their technology infrastructure since. Ernie is the co-founder of Beyond Technology Education, a resource for equipping schools and teachers to effectively use technology in their instructional efforts. He also recently founded Funds4Solar, a company that seeks to build school and community partnerships to increase solar energy production and while raising funds and providing educational resources at the same time. In this episode, Ernie outlines this program, why he is so passionate about it, and how your school could benefit from it.

Dr. Josh Ornelas shares his insights and expertise in the area of project-based learning. He highlights how he came to explore PBL as an outgrowth of his interest in technology, the joy he finds working with his hands, and as a product of his faith. He also provides some insights and tips for teachers and schools seeking to lean into PBL while underscoring how he has seen project-based learning support the mission of the Catholic schools of which he has been part.

Lauralyn Vasquez, curriculum writer, ed tech technology expert, and current middle school Bible teacher and secondary chaplain shares her hope for schools to expand their approach to digital citizenship training. As a representative of Beyond Technology Education, Lauralyn outlines some of the components of digital citizenship often overlooked, and she provides resources faith-based educators may find helpful in their efforts. 

And how do you make it happen? Dr. Renee Mungons, Curriculum and Testing Coordinator at Emmanuel Christian School in Toledo, OH, where she has served for 35 years, highlights the value of curriculum mapping for teachers and administrators alike. More than just a task for accreditation purposes, Renee sees mapping as an important ongoing process for professional improvement and academic growth. She shares her tips and tricks for making curriculum mapping part of the school culture. Hint: It involves cookies!

Dean Ridder, Head of School at Isaac Newton Christian Academy in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, shares the philosophy and practices that his school developed to ensure that everyone was on mission. He explains why he prefers the term “Biblical Worldview Permeation” and outlines the process whereby their Bible standards were developed and are being used as part of a comprehensive program leading to faith-formation in the teachers and students.

Kylie Nettinga, a member of FFA since high school who now applies her experience and training to launch the agricultural program at Western Christian High School in Hull, Iowa, tells us why she want to promote more “agvocates” – advocates for agricultural education. She shares practical tips for launching or expanding your ag program, and highlights the benefits of agricultural education to college and career readiness.

Renee McKeone, Curriculum Director and Student Support Coordinator, and Becky Johnson, Spiritual Life Coordinator and Teacher Mentor & Coach, from Ann Arbor Christian School in Ann Arbor, MI discuss their process for implementing Faith Portfolios in their PreK-8 school. Renee first introduced this idea in the blog post Faith Journeys Made Visible and she and Becky are happy to continue sharing their story with the Curriculum Trak community. The resources Becky and Renee offer during our conversation are available in the episode show notes at CurriculumTrak.com.

Darryl DeBoer, co-creator and director of Teaching for Transformation, unpacks what Teaching for Transformation is designed to accomplish for a school. TfT is one of the fastest growing instructional models among Christian schools today.  Darryl is also the K-12 Director of Learning at Surrey Christian School (Surrey, BC, Canada) and a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Advancement of Christian Education (CACE).

Dr. Susie Long draws from over four decades in education to highlight why she wants to promote excellence in faith-based education. Hear her share her struggles and victories and find out how your school might be able to draw from her wisdom. Check out Long Educational Consulting, LLC at https://www.longeduconllc.com/.

Lynn Cuffari visits the Teacher’s Lounge to talk about her passion for faith-based education, her experiences as a teacher and administrator in Catholic schools, and why she thinks curriculum mapping plays such an important role in the efforts of the faith-based educator. Lynn is from Tucson, Arizona, but lives part-time outside of Washington, D.C. Currently, when she isn’t nurturing her grandchildren or catching up with friends through the U.S. or in Italy, she enjoys training and mentoring Christian educators.