GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (August 28, 2020)—Paul Brenner, Administrator at Wayne Christian School in Goldsboro, NC, has been selected by the Van Lunen Center for Executive Management in Christian Schools at Calvin University for a 2020-2021 fellowship.
The Van Lunen Center’s 2020-2021 cohort of fellows include educators from 22 schools across the United States and Canada, and one from Haiti. For photos and school affiliations of fellows, visit http://www.calvin.edu/vanlunen/vanlunen_fellows/.
The Fellows program, now in its 13th year, is designed for school heads who seek professional development in their work as administrators of faith-based schools. The majority of participant expenses are covered by the Van Lunen Center, including cost of instruction, lodging, meals, coaching and access to topic experts.
The Van Lunen Center was established at Calvin College (now University) in January 2007 with a $2.5 million endowment gift to the college from the Richard D. Van Lunen Foundation. Subsequent gifts from several foundations, individual gifts and Christian school associations support the center. Its purpose is to provide executive management education for senior leaders of schools based on the historic Christian faith.
“The sessions are focused on content with experts in their field, and include collaborative, active-learning workshops and presentations,” according to Yvonne Ferwerda, director of the Van Lunen Center.
“In areas essential to today’s heads of school such as conflict transformation, board governance, sustainability and development, marketing and enrollment, and strategic planning,” she said, “participants will deepen their own leadership, develop skills, and create deep relationships with peers and leaders. They will become more prepared to craft and implement a sustainable Christian educational mission with parents, teachers and other supporting communities.”
This year, the program begins with monthly online sessions in September, October, and two online sessions in November 2020. It continues in January 2021 for five days, and ends with three days in July 2021. Between sessions, faculty coaching and consultant support is available via phone and online tools to assist fellows with their applied school project.
The Van Lunen Center was established to serve faith-based schools large and small across the U.S. and Canada with a big-tent philosophy, reaching out to schools from a wide range of faith traditions, including Baptist, Catholic, evangelical Protestant, Episcopal, independent Christian, Lutheran, Mennonite and Reformed Christian day schools.
For more information, contact info@vanlunencenter.org or visit www.vanlunencenter.org.
Talon Times 