The WCCS faculty and staff are well-aware that we are coming up on our re-accreditation site visit in early April.  We have been working toward that visit for almost a full year now.  The process began last spring when a handful of teachers and administrators were chosen to take the lead in the digging deep into five “standards” as set by ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) and AdvancEd.  These standards include:  Purpose and Direction, Governance and Leadership, Teaching and Assessing for Learning, Resources and Support Systems, and Using Results for Continuous Improvement.  Basically, everything that we do at school falls under one of these categories and teams of faculty/staff spent the summer and fall researching, surveying, and gathering documentation regarding different aspects of these standards.  This effort finally culminated in the last few weeks in a final “Self-Assessment” document.  This, along with some other documentation compiled a 72-page document that we sent off to the visiting team last week – what a joy to hit that “submit” button!

Just yesterday, we had a combined all-school faculty/staff meeting to give an update on the re-accreditation process.  I was able to share with them the “big rocks” of this Self-Assessment, as well as the follow-up document, our Continuous School Improvement Plan, where we have addressed the areas of improvement noted from parent/student/staff surveys and our own research.  I will be having follow-up meetings with the faculty and staff next week to discuss our Improvement Plan in more detail.  THEN, I will be setting up general meetings with parents from both campuses to get their input on our plan, particularly with regards to specific priorities.  (Watch for an announcement on these dates soon!)

The last step in the re-accreditation process will be the site visit.  We will have six educators from all over the area coming to WCCS from April 6th through 8th.  While here, they will observe classes, interview lots of folks, dig into our documentation, and even meet with folks from the church.  Their goal is to determine the accuracy of our Self-Assessment, and to then give us areas of commendation as well as recommendations as to ways to get better at what we are doing.  We know that we do some things well and that we have areas where we need to grow.  I really look forward to having folks form the outside confirm this for us – and, hopefully, even find areas for growth that are not on our radar.

I said above that the site visit is the “last step” in the re-accreditation process.  I could also say that it is actually the first step in our next five-year re-accreditation process, as it will set the stage for both our short-term and long-term futures.  In our meeting this week, I told the teachers that my prayer is that we, as a school community, would be TEACHABLE throughout this process.  We need to be “semper reformanda” (always reforming)!  I do hope that you will join me in praying to this end as well.

Throughout the 2015-2016 school year, I have had the privilege of leading faculty devotions on each of our school campuses – leading on the Lower School on Tuesday mornings and at the Upper School on Wednesdays.  In an effort to provide some consistency and intentionality, we have been working through the longest chapter in the Bible by looking at one eight-verse stanza per week. For those less familiar, Psalm 119 is often referred to as a devotional on the Word of God.  So, we basically use the Word of God to further inspire our desire for the Word of God – and the God of the Word.

The study has been personally challenging to me – and, I pray, the faculty.  But, I must admit that the way that I have been challenged was not what I expected.  I expected to wrestle with particular verses that might be difficult to explain or discuss.  I expected to struggle as I sought to apply the study to our world at Westminster Catawba Christian School.  I even wondered if the length of the study would make it difficult to remain engaged.  What I found, however, was the enormous gap between the Psalmist’s view of the Scriptures compared to my own.  The Psalmist loved – REALLY LOVED – God’s Word.  From beginning to end, he articulates a passion for God’s Law, Statues, Precepts, Commands, Judgments, Ordinances, Decrees, and Promises.  He uses these words almost interchangeably and always with great reverence and passion and necessity.  He connects God’s Word to life itself (v25).  The violation of God’s Word brings “hot indignation” (v53) and “streams of tears” (v136).  The longing for God’s Word is compared to “panting” (v131).  For the Psalmist, God’s Word is “stored up” so that he would not sin against God (v11) and is the content of mediation (v15, 23, 27, 48, 78, 148) with the desire to understand and obey!

In most weeks of these devotionals, I have commented that I want to long for God’s Word as the Psalmist, but, if I am honest, his descriptors and mine are not the same.  Just this week, I commented that I have been out of breath and panted before in my life, but sadly not out of a need for God’s Word that rivals my need for breath itself.  I have hidden God’s Word in my heart that I might not sin against Him – BUT on too small a scale.  If I had hidden more of God’s Word, I believe I would have sinned less.  I have found myself saying that I want to want more of God and His Word.  And, that has honestly been my prayer for much of the school year.

This conviction hit an even deeper level during our Upper School Chapel today when Dr. Furrow announced an upcoming project where our students are being challenged to help provide Arabic Bibles, specifically for those in the Middle East who are literally running for their lives because of their faith in Christ.  These believers sound more like the author of Psalm 119 than me- as they really do have enemies looking to destroy them (v95), yet they NEED copies of God’s Word in their own language to survive.  I have four copies of the Scriptures in my office, and almost unlimited access to many versions in many languages  on my computer.  It is my hope that, as we consider the plight of these believers and their desire for God’s Word, we would see the Bible for what it is – necessary for life and godliness.  Only then will we say with the Psalmist, “Oh, how I love your law!”  And then, may we bless others with the ability to read God’s Word so that they might do the same!