Rainforest Vines and Our Connected Christian School

While teaching grade seven geography on God’s gifts of the rainforest, I recall learning with my students about a liana vines. They grow quickly and connect from tree to tree throughout the various canopy layers. When wind, rain, or storms come along they actually provide stability by becoming elastic like connections from one tree to the next. Animals and insects use them as highways to travel on, moving from tree to tree with ease. Life flourishes, in part, as result of the way these vines connect all things together.

Our Christian school is blessed to have many “liana vines” that keep us from being a tree on its own. While LCES is an independent school and operates as it owns independent organization, here are a few of the biggest “vines” that support us.

Edvance: Brand new this school year and formerly known as three different organizations (Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools, Christian School Principals Association, and Christian Teachers Association), this newly minted organization represents a strong desire to see Christian Education continue to mature and flourish in Ontario. They help us with tracking student growth, organizing teacher professional development, and financial management. They also assist us with policy creation, being aware of provincial requirements for us, and will be advocating on our behalf at the provincial level with various government officials. (www.edvance.ca)

Edifide: This organization now has a more trimmed mandate of offering HR services to educators in terms of contract and salary details. (www.edifide.info)

Christian School Foundation: This organization is a more recent one in Ontario and was formed out of a desire to better manage small foundations that many Christian Schools had. Today more than 50 schools are connected to them as they help with organizing estate giving, structure bursaries, offering scholarships that promotes new enrollment, sponsoring professional development, and giving in ways that are more efficient to the donor and significant for the school. (www.christianschoolfoundation.ca)

Christian Schools International – Supports us with employee pension and benefits.

Christian Schools Canada – Connects all three regions of Canada together for mutual betterment around ideas like curriculum development, leadership, public advocacy, and more.  (www.christianschoolscanada.com)

Why Christian Schools? A great resource to have a conversation with someone brand new to idea of Christian Education. (www.whychristianschools.ca)

We’re thankful for these strong vines!

SJ