A Scent of Water, by Edward Earwood and Phil Suiter, is one of the best written and researched books regarding Christian education that I have had the privilege of reading. Both of these authors have extensive experience in leading schools and school associations, so they've seen the ebbs and flows of board and administrative leadership.
Below is a video interview I hosted with Edward yesterday, where we explore the current state of Christian schools in the U.S. and what steps could be taken for "bringing life back to the Christian school movement." Edward now serves as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools (SCACS), after three decades of teaching and leading schools mostly in Alabama.
VIEW THE FULL INTERVIEW ON OUR RESOURCES PAGE
What I like most about this book is the strong research base, the focus on creating a learning organization, and the emphasis on the individual school as the basis for education transformation. It just makes sense that a school would be a learning organization, right? One where systems thinking prevails, starting with the school board. Professional learning communities (PLC) are not as common in Christian schools, but will be among those organizations that thrive over the next decade because of greater competition for enrollment growth.
I highly recommend this book as a resource for the board of trustees, administrators, and faculty to explore how they can cooperatively build a strategy for continuous learning and improvement in order to raise the quality standards for education and especially for Christian schools.
