Transitioning from REACH to Flourish & Inspire is no big deal, right?

/ mkessenburg

Photo by Dany Kurniawan

That’s a faulty assumption! Thinking that transitioning from REACH to Flourish & Inspire is no big deal is a faulty assumption. This transition is a very big deal. It involves, for example, transitioning to a different tool, mindset, goal, and writing style:

REACHFlourishInspire
ToolAccreditation instrumentModel with 35 research-based best practicesAccreditation instrument
MindsetComply!Flourish!Be effective!
GoalIncrease compliance with best practiceIncrease flourishingIncrease effectiveness
Writing styleFactual writing(Not applicable)Candid, reflective writing

Based on my experience in teaching and leading (including leading myself), changing a tool, mindset, goal, or writing style is a significant challenge. So, doing all 4 at once is actually a big big deal—and (hint) those aren’t the only differences between REACH and Flourish & Inspire.

But while this transition is a big deal, it’s also well worth it! (To learn more, read What’s exciting about flourishing?) And because it’s so well worth it, it’s also worth considering faulty assumptions so you can avoid them and make an effective transition from REACH to Flourish & Inspire. 

Below are 6 additional faulty assumptions related to transitioning from REACH to Flourish & Inspire: 

(1) Both REACH and Inspire have standards, indicators, and rubrics. So, no significant difference. 

Well, that’s true as far as it goes. However, Inspire has…

  • 6 domains (while REACH has none).
  • 20 standards (while REACH has 8).
  • 66 indicators—none of which are labeled as critical (while REACH has 84 indicators, 31 of which are labeled as critical).
  • A universal rubric (while REACH has a different rubric for each indicator). 

(2) Complying with best practice = being effective = flourishing. So, no real change in transitioning from REACH to Flourish & Inspire. 

It’s true that complying with best practice helps you be effective, and it’s true that being effective can help you flourish. But it’s not true that complying with best practice = being effective, and it’s not true that complying with best practice = flourishing. Think—just because a restaurant complies with sanitation standards does not mean the food is delicious or that business is booming.

Note: To help others at your school think through the differences between compliance and effectiveness, use a concept attainment lesson.

(3) ACSI’s Flourish Model & Inspire Standards are basically the same, right? So, if we’re accredited through Inspire, we can think of ourselves as flourishing, right?

No, they are not basically the same, though both are from ACSI, both use similar domains, and both are designed to help international Christian schools to grow. Let me explain:

  • Flourish is a model that has 35 best practices (which ACSI refers to as constructs and which are categorized into 5 domains: purpose, well-being, relationships, teaching/learning, and expertise/resources); however, Inspire is a set of 20 accreditation standards (which are categorized into 6 domains: purpose, well-being, relationships, teaching/learning, expertise, and resources).
  • The intent of the Flourish Model is to help students, staff, and leaders to flourish, while the intent of Inspire Standards is to increase effectiveness, thereby contributing to flourishing.
  • The Flourish Model has an assessment tool that may be used for the survey needed for an Inspire self-study.

Implications? 

  • Getting accredited through Inspire doesn’t mean you should necessarily think of yourself and the students, staff, and leaders at your international Christian school as flourishing.
  • A conference on the Flourishing Model does not necessarily include training on Inspire Standards.
  • You can use Inspire without understanding or using the Flourish Model.

Photo by Monstera

(4) I’m assuming we can basically do what we’ve done before with REACH because if changes were actually needed, there’d be a schedule of significant training—like we did when we worked on using assessment data. As far as I know, there’s no schedule of training, so transitioning from REACH to Flourish & Inspire must not be a big deal. 

Well, ACSI thinks it’s a big deal! For Inspire, ACSI is providing workshops. And for Flourish, ACSI is providing conferences, books, podcast episodes, blog posts, and more! I encourage you to develop a training program, starting with Flourish and then moving to Inspire. Here’s a sample tutorial on flourishing.

(5) I know how to write factual reports—I’ve done that for past accreditation reports. I heard that Inspire involves reflective writing, and I don’t really get the difference between factual reporting and reflective writing. But I’m guessing that’s OK—if I just do what I know how to do, it’ll basically be accepted. They’ll be glad for whatever I do—they know writing an accreditation report isn’t a priority for me 

Several things to think about here: 

  • First, do what you expect your students to do when they don’t know how to do something: learn! 
  • Second, your school volunteered to participate in the accreditation process as a way to grow. So, please do what you can to help your school grow—like learning how to do reflective writing. 
  • Third, members of the visiting team (who will read your report) are made up of other educators, of actual people (not space aliens), of your neighbors—whom you are to love. Writing ineffective reports, to be frank, doesn’t demonstrate love for your neighbors serving on the visiting team. Do better!

Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash

(6) To transition to Flourish, what we need to do is just follow the model. If we just follow the model, we’ll be fine. 

Maybe. Maybe not. What’s your intent as you follow the model? To maintain your current model and practices? To make some adjustments, just enough to get by so you can stay accredited? To fully embrace Flourish & Inspire? And what’s your mindset? Fixed, reactive, late adopter? Or growth, proactive, deep change?

Your intent matters. Your mindset matters. They determine if following the model will result in you being fine.

Photo by Julia Filirovska

What about you? How big a deal is transitioning from ACSI’s REACH to ACSI’s Flourish & Inspire? What faulty assumptions might you or your staff have? How can you address those faulty assumptions? What will help your school make an effective transition from REACH to Flourish & Inspire?

Here are some additional blog posts related to an ACSI Inspire self-study:

Get flourishing!

Michael