These courses help you as an individual Trustee know how to serve your school so that children will thrive, finances become or stay healthy, relationships mature, your culture of philanthropy continues to develop, and your time is well spent.
You are a new or current Christian School Trustee. What’s your area of expertise? Engineering? Accounting? Doctoring? Preaching? All wonderful and helpful. And you know you need specific understanding to be able to help your school as a Trustee! Start with Level One.
Are you a current Trustee? The learning never stops. You might want a refresher (Level One) or you might be getting into Committee work and delve more deeply into the purposes and objectives of Board Committees (Level Two).
You really want to be an expert because you love your school and want to ensure its success. You want to learn as efficiently as possible and learn those things that will make a difference. That’s what CSM’s online learning is all about – becoming an expert in what matters!
This is an efficient 90 minute journey to becoming an expert Trustee for your school. It is designed for the individual Trustee learning in their own home. Taking it will allow you to come to your first meeting:
Psalm 22: 30-31 is the Trustee’s Scriptural lodestone. It says:
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it.
You hold the school in trust to Jesus, you are holding children’s futures in your hands, your job is to ensure the school is a blessing to the next generation, the children yet unborn. CSM Christian Trustee Online Training gives you principles to follow, practical actions to take, and a deeper understanding of your purpose and importance in being a Christian School Trustee.
Level One Certification: Strategic Leader
These six modules provide the essential learning for you to carry out your role. They are:
Module 1: Christian Trusteeship and Authority
Module 2: The Strategic Plan and Strategic Financial Management
Module 3: The Christian Trustee as Parent
Module 4: Governance and Due Diligence
Module 5: The Board’s Mission
Module 6: The Trustee’s Commitment to Growth
Each module includes scenarios, information, exercises, and a test all in an interactive format. The entire set will take about 90 minutes to complete. You can stop and start at any time. You can do it from any location with an internet connection. You will receive a Strategic Leader Certification. Please give a copy of this to your Board President.
What is the most common reason for Christian schools to fail?
Lack of alignment between the Principal/Head of School and the Board. When each side doesn’t know where their responsibilities begin, end, and overlap, schools decline. Trustee training is an indispensable part of ensuring healthy and proactive communications.
Why can’t the Board do what it wants? Doesn’t it have the power to?
The Board can do what it wants. It has the power. But that is not the Christian way. Jesus said in Matthew 28: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The Board is there to serve the Principal / Head of School and to ensure their success.
Why do we have Boards? Can’t the Principal/Head of School run everything?
That would make it simple wouldn’t it? But the Principal’s main job is to ensure that the mission is delivered every day at a standard of excellence to each one of the school’s current children. The Board’s job is to ensure that the mission will be delivered to the next generation of children. There is overlap for sure, but the tasks are clearly differentiated.
Is my business knowledge or life knowledge valuable on the Board?
It is important that you bring your skills and experiences to the Board table. It is equally important that you know when it is and is not applicable to your school. For example, budgets are the same all over – they have to balance. Your knowhow in that area is immediately transferable. Pricing in a school is different from pricing for a supermarket or car lot. Your knowhow in the area of pricing has to be set aside because the paradigm is completely different.
Will this online training tell me everything there is to know?
It is a great beginning for a new Trustee or even a current Trustee who wants to get deeper. Learning is a ongoing process though and we hope that you and your Board will continue to learn and grow year in and year out. We’ve published CSM’s Christian School Trustee Handbook 2nd edition: Servant Leadership for the Next Generation to help with that.
Why does CSM think it knows the answers?
It’s difficult to answer that without sounding arrogant. Let’s give it a try:
If you have a question that is not answered here, please ask us here
Don't forget to login to receive your training at the member price saving you 50% on the regular price.
What is the most common reason for Christian schools to fail?
Lack of alignment between the Principal/Head of School and the Board. When each side doesn’t know where their responsibilities begin, end, and overlap, schools decline. Trustee training is an indispensable part of ensuring healthy and proactive communications.
Why can’t the Board do what it wants? Doesn’t it have the power to?
The Board can do what it wants. It has the power. But that is not the Christian way. Jesus said in Matthew 28: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The Board is there to serve the Principal / Head of School and to ensure their success. The Committees are there to serve the Board.
Why do we have Board Committees? Shouldn’t the Board run everything?
There are two reasons for the Committees. One, simply, is that there is too much work to do for a Board meeting and the Board does not have access to all the information and insight it needs to come to good decisions that are prayerful and thoughtful. So the second reason is that you can bring non-Board members onto the Committees who extend the knowledge and insight needed to address the strategic issues in front of the Board. There is actually a third reason as well – the Committee acts as a training ground for future Board members.
Is my business knowledge or life knowledge valuable on the Board?
Of course. So long as you continually remember that a school is a business (it has to have a value proposition, a delivery method, and income that pays the expenses). It is also different from a business. Level Two talks about Board Committees, identifying the crucial work that must be done by Committee members in order for the school to reach its potential from a strategic governance angle. Your experience is invaluable – knowing how to run effective meetings, take advantage of ALL the people in the room, weigh different scenarios, ask the difficult questions, make recommendations.
Will this online training tell me everything there is to know?
Level Two takes you from the Boardroom to the Committee room. It gives you insight about your tasks. But learning never stops. It is a ongoing process and we hope that you and your Board will continue to learn and grow year in and year out. We’ve published CSM’s Christian School Trustee Handbook 2nd edition: Servant Leadership for the Next Generation to help with that.
Why does CSM think it knows the answers?
It’s difficult to answer that without sounding arrogant. Let’s give it a try:
If you have a question that is not answered here, please ask us here
The cost of this individual course is $75.00
For Trustees from CSM Member schools, the cost is $40.00. Login to access member pricing.
Don't forget to login to receive your training at the member price saving you 50% on the regular price.
