Accreditation: What’s Next? 

We are so thankful. The team of educators who came from the American Association of Christian Schools recommended NBCS for full five year accreditation pending the final decision made by the Accreditation Commission on June 19.  The team also completed a report that included several recommendations for improvement for NBCS. We welcome the “outsider” view, providing feedback and guidance to us. Part of the point of the accreditation process is to identify areas for improvement. Following their recommendations not only puts us in a good position to be re-accredited when our five years are over, it also gives us opportunities to make NBCS a better school for our students and families. 

It is exciting to be able to take what we are doing well and do it better and to identify new areas where we can take initiative to excel. Between now and June 19, we will be responding to the report with our plans for improvement. Most recommendations require small changes-such as moving some of our documents to fire-proof storage. Other changes will require everyone to participate. You may have already experienced some of the changes we are trying with pick up at dismissal. This is an area where we have needed to improve, and their feedback on how to do it was appreciated! There are also some policies and procedures we have that have never been put in writing. One of the most important things we will be doing over the next few years is using the standardized academic tests to evaluate where we could improve the content of our teaching. We are able to study the results itemized by topic (spelling, punctuation, addition, etc.) which allows us to identify specific areas of strength and weakness by grade. Please pray that the board and faculty would have wisdom and discernment as we endeavor to make plans for how to proceed in these areas. 

God has been so good to NBCS for 52 years. We continue to be amazed at His provision, protection, and blessing in spite of us! 

What’s So Special About Christian Education? 

Discipleship. Lifelong discipleship. This week I attended the memorial service for my junior high math and English teacher, Mrs. Marilyn (Sundquist) Snyder. She is the one who introduced me to the fascinating and logical (yes, really!) world of English grammar. In addition, as some of the poems and prose she wrote were shared, I realized that she was probably the teacher who planted the seed of appreciation for poetry and good writing in me. More than Mrs. Snyder’s English skills, what captured me was her commitment to her faith all the way to the end of her 97 years. Her family shared that during the last weeks of her life, she was concerned that her grandchildren and great grandchildren knew Jesus, and she attended church as often as she could even in recent months. I thought, "If I live to be 97, I want the stories about me to reflect that faithfulness she exhibited.” Mrs. Snyder’s steady desire to grow as a disciple of Jesus through all her years discipled me as I sat listening to stories about her life.  

Some of my current and future students were also in attendance at the memorial service. On one hand, these children are indirectly recipients of the legacy Mrs. Snyder left. On the other hand, I realized the overwhelming responsibility that I have to be faithful to the faith they know I claim. Any one of them may be sitting in a memorial service for me someday. Will the things that they hear then match the person that they perceive their teacher to be today? Will the legacy that I leave to them be one of faithfully following Christ? Of course, I attempt to teach them to appreciate English, but will my life’s story inspire them to serve God? 

What’s so special about Christian education? Christian school teachers have the opportunity to do so much more than equipping students to write or recite. We are building relationships of love and trust that provide opportunities for discipleship now. We are also connecting with students, some of whom, as fellow members of the body of Christ, will be part of our lives well into their futures. This opportunity transcends the classroom and allows for lifelong relationships. Christian school teachers disciple today and tomorrow.  

Accreditation Update

At the parent meeting in March of 2023, the school board announced that NBCS was beginning the process of school accreditation with the American Association of Christian Schools. A lot of work has been done since that time, and I want to give you an update on the status of our accreditation. Accreditation requires that we analyze the school based on 12 standards that are important to an educational institution. Each of those 12 standards has a list of indicators that we use to evaluate ourselves during a self-study. We are nearing the completion of the self-study, having written responses as required to each indicator in the 12 standards. There is at least one project related to curriculum that we as teachers will be completing in November. The climax for us will be hosting the accreditation team who will be visiting us February 19-21, 2025. They will be validating our self-study and proposing areas of improvement for us. Accreditation is not only about finding the areas where we excel; it is also an opportunity for us to identify areas where we can grow and improve. 

Would you please partner with us in prayer as we complete our self-study and host the accreditation team? Please pray that through our self-study we would be able to improve the education and discipleship of our students, and please pray that God would be glorified through all of this as we rely on Him.  

If you have questions about accreditation or would like to help us in some way during this exciting process, please let us know! 

“You are a servant.” This is the phrase that Mr. Lancaster emphasized with the students in chapel this week as the culmination of this year’s theme chapels. The purpose of the qualities we have studied in 2 Peter 1 is to make the students useful tools for Him. Mr. Lancaster read to the students from 2 Corinthians 5:15, “and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” He told them that their lives are not to be lived to please themselves, but they are to serve God by serving others.  

This is a distinctive of Christian education. Flying in the face of our culture, we teach students to deny themselves and serve like Jesus.  

Mr. Lancaster addressed the motives that we have for serving others by warning the students of the temptation to do nice things for others for “effect.” We do not serve others to be noticed by them, but we serve because we love Jesus and we love others. 

As he concluded, Mr. Lancaster asked the students for specific ways they could serve others. “Fold laundry for my siblings,” and “Let someone else go first” were among many suggestions the students offered. Why would we teach children this? Why would we present stories to them of missionaries and martyrs who have given everything to follow Jesus? Why would we tell them that they should pay the high price of fully devoting their lives to obedience to God? We tell them this because Jesus said that “whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:25b-26). The world would tell us that profit, gain, and happiness are found in financial prosperity, athletic fame, or recreational pursuits. The world tells us to value comfort, ease, health, and self-satisfaction. Jesus tells us the truth: “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things [the daily needs of life] will be added to you.” 

One of the key components of our mission statement at NBCS is that our students will grow in service. How do we practically train students to do this? We give them opportunities to serve others by assigning classroom responsibilities, encouraging them to hold the door for other students, or asking them to let another student go first in line. We provide them with opportunities to serve others through clean up from Weekday Bible School classes that meet in Newton Bible Church, setting up tables and chairs for church funerals, listening to younger students read, or serving the pop on pizza day. In an atmosphere where service is both modeled and expected, students learn to expect it of themselves and find the joy that comes from serving others. They learn by experience that Jesus’ words are true, “These things have I spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).  

Perhaps you’ve heard. Newton Bible Christian School is at the beginning of an exciting journey toward accreditation with the American Association of Christian School (AACS).  

Why is this process that will require hours of work from our staff, board, and perhaps even some of you exciting? At the core of the process, we will be completing a self-study. During this study, we will evaluate NBCS on 12 standards ranging from our philosophy, to curriculum, to student and staff safety. As we evaluate ourselves using the indicators and rubrics provided, we will find the many strengths built into our program. We will also uncover weaknesses. The weaknesses are really opportunities for improvement.  

As we recognize these opportunities, we can strategically plan for the future and make NBCS even better than it already is. School improvement generally leads to school growth which is exciting. Every teacher on our staff wants to see students succeed. As we evaluate ourselves, we expect to find ways we can teach better, assess learning better, and motivate students better. This means our teachers and students will grow, and student growth is a huge part of the mission.  

Accreditation will not happen overnight. Plans for accreditation began last spring. Teachers officially began the self-study during our in-service day on January 15 this year. On January 19, Alan Hodak, our consultant with AACS, spent the day observing and making recommendations for how we can best prepare for accreditation. There will be many more meetings, and discussions, and pages written over the coming year. We hope to have the review team visit us in the spring of 2025 to give us the final approval for accreditation. In the meantime, please be praying for staff and the school board as we embark on this process. Pray that we will accurately access the school and clearly see the path forward to improvement. Pray especially for teachers that God would give them the extra measure of grace needed to add something to their full plates.  

Our mission remains the same: Newton Bible Christian School provides a comprehensive, biblically based education to help children of Bible-believing families excel in knowledge while growing in faith, in love, and in service.