Initiative Category: Education

Trinity recently welcomed about 150 middle school students from Calvin Christian, Chicago West Side Christian, Deer Creek Christian, and Timothy Christian schools who took part in the Middle School Diversity Conference.

Activities during the day ranged from a praise time at the beginning of the day, activities and games that addressed diversity issues and helped the students both frame those issues and discuss how they could be leaders for change, and activities that were just fun and brought different students from different Christian schools together.

The day was organized by a team of students from each of the participating schools and led by Jeralyn Harris of Chicago West Side Christian. Students from Trinity’s Education 335 class, “Teaching in the Middle Grades,” also assisted throughout the event.

“I was deeply impressed with the depth of the middle school students’ commitment to diversity leadership and it was an amazing experience for my students, most of whom hope to teach middle school in another year or two, to interact with the middle school kids and get a sense of what they are capable of,” said Dr. Bill Boerman-Cornell, professor of education.  “It was a great day.”

Children might not remember specific lessons, but they remember the teachers who taught them—even if teachers don’t always see the impact that they have.

That is the advice that Prof. Kelly Lenarz ’99, assistant professor of education and coordinator of Adult Studies special education, gave a group of professional teachers and Christian education volunteers during a recent training session at Bethel Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Oostburg, Wis.

Along with emphasizing the role that teachers play in the lives of their students, Lenarz offered practical tips and education theory interspersed with clips from “Peanuts” cartoons and “Ferris Buehler’s Day Off.” Lenarz encouraged the approximately 40 attendees to get students to talk. “If you have to talk, you have to think,” she said.

The session, which also involved a teacher appreciation dinner, included teachers from local Christian and public schools, as well as Bethel OPC ministry volunteers.

A native of neighboring Sheboygan, Lenarz said she was excited to return to Wisconsin to lead the training session at Bethel OPC. Working with church volunteers was particularly rewarding, she said. “Helping with children’s ministries often seems like the default volunteer option for those who perhaps don’t feel qualified to sing in the church choir or serve during worship,” Lenarz said. “I wanted to remind them how valuable they are and to give them some practical strategies to do what they do well.”

The training was very useful, according to Rev. Dave Veldhorst, associate pastor at Bethel OPC. “Kelly’s teaching was warm, winsome, insightful, and very practical,” he said. “So many good tips to use in the classroom in drawing out good responses from students” According to Veldhorst, one of the attendees said that the bar is usually set low for church volunteers. “She said by bringing in a professor in the field from Trinity, it made her feel honored and it made her believe teaching with excellence was important.”

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is famous for the running of the Indy 500, which takes place every Memorial Day weekend. But on June 4, 2016, Dr. Rick Snoeyink, professor of education, plans to ride his bike 100 miles around the track in memory of his father and to support the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure. Snoeyink completed the ride for the first time last year as a tribute to his father, who suffered from diabetes before his passing. “Now I have decided that as long as I am physically able, I want to make this an annual event to honor my dad,” he said.

Snoeyink credited the Trinity community for its support, both financial and communal. “When I first decided to do this ride last year, I thought I could probably raise $250, which is what the American Diabetes Association requires for all riders. I put the word out on the Trinity listservs, and within a couple weeks, people had donated over $1,200,” Snoeyink said. “I was amazed.”

Since the community was so generous last year, he wondered if Trinity would continue to generously support him in this year’s fundraiser. “I am again amazed that the total is now approaching $1,500. Several Trinity folks have also asked me about how my training is going and have offered words of encouragement,” he said.

Since 1991, Tour de Cure riders have raised more than $250 million to help advance the ADA’s mission and move closer towards the ultimate goal to stop diabetes, according to the ADA. Proceeds from the fundraiser go towards diabetes research, education and advocacy.

Trinity is pleased to announce that it has been ranked among the top 10 Christian college education programs in 2016 by Christian Universities Online.

To be considered, schools must be members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, or eligible for membership. Schools were then ranked on a variety of factors, including:

• Number of undergraduate and graduate education degrees

• Faculty-to-student ratio

• Percent of full-time beginning undergraduates receiving grant or scholarship aid

• Selectivity

• Overall retention rate
• Overall graduation rate