Happy New Year!
Our prayer is that all of our families had joy-filled moments as we collectively celebrated the birth of Jesus during this holiday season.
As we embark upon a new decade, we wanted to share some important information with you. Firstly, please welcome the 25 new students, and their families, as they join us for the second semester. Secondly, I would ask that our community to join together and pray for the TCS students who are participating in Go Week 2020. Our Go Week Coordinator, Chad Whittle, has reported that we have 178 of our students who will be serving locally, while 121 students will travel to four domestic sites for ministry, and another 110 students will share the love of Christ in seven different international locations. Our board, staff, and administration really believe this is an integral part of the Trinity Way as we prepare “today’s student for tomorrow’s world.”
Shifting Trends in Education
Are you aware of the shifting trends in education? Let me share a couple of them with you and then share how TCS is attempting to meet the needs of today’s student.
1. The Changing Role of a Teacher. An educator is shifting from someone who knows things to someone who is a lifelong learner. The teacher is a learner, just like the rest of the class. The difference is that he/she has a wealth of experience as a learner. The 2020 teacher will model problem solving, inspire curiosity, and train students how they can acquire knowledge independently.
2. AI Learning. Artificial Intelligence is changing the landscape of education. It is expected that the use of AI in US classrooms will increase by 47.5% in the next 3 years. If a teacher is there to inspire and facilitate, then AI is taking on the role of personalized tutoring. Digital learning environments and intelligent tutoring systems are offering specific options for the individual needs of today’s student. Needless to say, it also offers a very capable creative portal to the K12 teacher.
3. Personalized Learning. The content, pacing, sequence, and technology must be adjusted to suit each student’s interest and learning purpose. The result of such education should be a student that is competent in the process of learning rather than in the prescribed content. This makes sense since we live in a world where information is searchable and is at our fingertips. This kind of learning is possible when we are engaged in contemporary tools, hybrid learning models, and community partnerships.
Trinity Christian School is committed to supporting our teachers for the changing landscape of education. In fact, we have just hired our first, full-time instructional coach. By the 2020-21 year, we will have two full time instructional coaches on our staff. An instructional coach will be responsible for supporting faculty with inspiring educational practices. This role offers in-house professional development for teachers in large group, small group, and one-on-one settings and provides research-based instructional strategies to improve student learning. To say that we are excited by this development would be an understatement.
Finally, I would like to thank all of our parents and grandparents who have chosen to invest in this emerging generation. These are your children… these are our children! Please know that we love you all and are believing for an awesome Spring semester at Trinity. Let me end by quoting the words of Jeremiah the prophet, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
For the glory of Christ,
Dr. Mark J. Anthony