Christian schools are open organizations that must be aware of their environment and interact with it within the limits of their mission, vision, and values. This includes embracing technology, innovation, and instructional techniques to develop 21st century skills in both students and staff members. The faculty and staff of Mount Paran Christian School (MPCS) exemplify what it means to be innovative in this ever-changing situation by trusting the Lord and collaborating with each other to develop the most innovative solutions for the many challenges that surround them. To increase health and safety on campus, MPCS researched and invested in the Synexis microbial reduction system, a state-of-the-art air treatment system that uses dry hydrogen peroxide technology to kill germs in the air and on surfaces.
Ultraviolet cabinets have been strategically placed throughout elementary school so that students' devices and materials can be routinely disinfected. To ensure students could safely return to campus for classes in August, school leaders and staff used the four “C's” to define a new normal at school, providing students with the option of returning to campus or attending school virtually. Research has shown that schools with more creative teachers have a lot of well-planned ideas to choose from, increasing the likelihood that their innovative results will be high. To examine this hypothesis, researchers collected data from 87 principals and 902 teachers working in 83 German schools. It was discovered that the generation of ideas by teachers at the school level predicted objective measures of innovation.
This means true innovation in the classroom at Mount Paran Christian School starts from within, from the hearts and open minds of teachers, students, parents, and school leaders. Manufacturing, tinkering, and engineering may require schools to undergo structural changes that support research and project development for much longer periods of time than usual. Over the course of a weekend, MPCS went from being a physical institution to a virtual learning school, while maintaining its Christ-centered identity of providing academic excellence. Christian schools must strive to foster creativity and innovation among their students by embracing technology, investing in state-of-the-art equipment for health and safety purposes, defining a new normal for returning to campus safely, encouraging creative teachers to generate ideas, and undergoing structural changes that support research and project development. By doing so, they can ensure their students are equipped with 21st century skills necessary for success.
