Even if your ACSI Inspire self-study visit isn’t for 18+ months, what are 10 things you can do right now?

/ mkessenburg

Photo by ROCKETMANN TEAM

Leaders, thinking you don’t need to do anything because your ACSI Inspire self-study visit isn’t for 18+ months is a faulty assumption. Why?

(1) Because ACSI Inspire is about inspiring you to flourish—and Christian education is all about flourishing. So do something. This year. Maybe even today.

(2) Because this year you can get flourishing as you get ready to start your ACSI Inspire self-study. You can update all your manuals—which means staff will be using fully helpful resources (out-of-date manuals are not sufficiently helpful), and experiencing helpful resources helps staff flourish.

(3) Because if you do nothing this year, you increase the likelihood that you won’t be fully prepared to start your ACSI Inspire self-study and that staff will be frustrated during the self-study. Not good. 

(4) Because getting prepared before starting is a best practice. Just like you tell your students.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

So, if your ACSI Inspire visit isn’t for 18+ months, what can you do right now? What comes to mind for me includes:

(1) Accomplishing the tasks outlined in ACSI’s School Coordinator Handbook (see p. 7-8) for 18-24 months before the visit, for example:

  • “Appoint a school coordinator.”
  • “Develop a timeline with the steering committee chair….”
  • “If the school is involved in a joint accreditation process, review with the divisional accreditation director any special considerations that might apply.”

(2) Using your school’s accreditation recommendations to help others flourish.

(3) Deepening staff understanding of flourishing by reading and discussing ACSI’s Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools and/or completing a tutorial on flourishing (accredited schools, unaccredited schools).

(4) Prioritizing getting yourself and others flourishing and having each staff member and leader develop an individualized plan for flourishing. For ideas, see Quick Win and Stop Self-Neglect/Start Self-Care. (Leaders, this may involve getting board members to help you flourish.)

(5) Developing shared understanding that transitioning from REACH to Flourish & Inspire is a big deal. Ways to do this include (A) comparing REACH with Flourish & Inspire and (B) having 1+ people serve on an visiting team that is doing an Inspire visit.

(6) Establishing domain committees, inviting each committee to consider key questions, for example:

  • In terms of your domain, what comes to mind when you think of flourishing? (Here are sample responses on the following domains: purpose, well-being, relationships, learning, and resources.)
  • What are 10 things that happen when international Christian school students/staff are and aren’t having an effective experience in terms of ____ (your domain name)?
  • In terms of your domain, what do flourishing students, staff, and leaders look like?

(7) Clarifying what you are aiming for from your ACSI study.

(8) Considering how you can use the process of doing your ACSI Inspire self-study to help people actually flourish.

(9) Learning about domain reports and how to write an effective domain report.

(10) Using new tools that help you and others focus on flourishing, for example:

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

You might be thinking, “That’s quite a bit! Seems like another major recommendation.” I agree. Which is why I recommend you create and implement an action plan designed to get you ready to start your ACSI Inspire self-study. Why?

  • Because it will help you and others focus on flourishing and actually get flourishing.
  • Because making a plan is a process you know how to use and because making a plan increases the likelihood that you will get flourishing and that you’ll be fully prepared to start your ACSI Inspire self-study.
  • Because not making a plan increases the likelihood that you will not get flourishing and that you won’t be fully prepared. Ouch.
  • Because making an action plan is a best practice.

How can you get started on creating an action plan?

  • With a collaborative process.
  • With a review of the possible action steps listed above.
  • With this action plan template (see tab 2). Please contact me if you have questions or would like to talk: messenburg @ caj.ac.jp
  • And with an understanding that your action plan should reflect your answer to the following question: What are flourishing staff members (who are fully prepared to start an ACSI Inspire self-study) consistently experiencing in terms of the 5 elements of flourishing (passionate purpose, resilient well-being, healthy relationships, transformative learning, and helpful resources)?

Bottom line: Even if your ACSI Inspire self-study is 18+ months away, get flourishing by creating and implementing an action plan that gets you prepared to start your self-study.

What about you? Even if your ACSI Inspire visit isn’t for 18+ months, what can you do right now? How do you feel about creating and implementing an action plan design to get you ready to start your ACSI Inspire self-study? How can you get started on creating an action plan?

Get flourishing!

Michael
P.S. Leaders, here’s something for you to consider: “When using this approach, leaders generate more questions than answers, fostering curiosity & critical thinking. This encourages their team to fully explore & define the opportunity at hand, instilling confidence that their efforts are built upon a solid foundation” (@LizWiseman, 2023-09-08).