Feature
Strong Leadership, Christ-Centered Community
Our Savior Lutheran School in Fenton, Mo., has benefited greatly from the leadership training offered by LCMS School Ministry’s SLED program.
On a frigid January morning at Our Savior Lutheran School in Fenton, Mo., toddlers drove toy trucks around their classroom before lining up for chapel. In another room, fifth- and sixth-graders learned about fractions during a math lesson. Down the hall, third- and fourth-graders nestled into bean bag chairs and other cozy spots for quiet reading time.
When Assistant Principal Katie Chandler entered another classroom for her daily visit, her second-grade son ran over to give her a hug — and his classmates quickly followed. Soon, she was surrounded by students eager to give her hugs and say hello.
Chandler has only been at Our Savior since the start of the school year, but she is already loved by staff and students alike. This is her first time serving in a school administrator role, where she works hand in hand with Principal Linda Dehn. Chandler and Dehn have a lot in common: a passion for Lutheran education — and for Our Savior in particular — and experience in LCMS School Ministry’s School Leadership Development Project, called SLED for short.
Equipping Future Leaders
SLED is a one-year program for teachers serving in LCMS schools who are interested in becoming Lutheran school administrators. When Chandler accepted the position at Our Savior, she was getting ready to graduate from the program.
The Rev. Michael Meyer, managing director in the LCMS Office of National Mission, shared that SLED is vital to the ongoing health of LCMS schools, where approximately 40% of the current administrators are expected to retire within the next 10 years.
“Trained leaders in these roles are key to the success of LCMS schools,” Meyer said, “from governance and finance to fostering Lutheran identity.” SLED also helps these future leaders make the shift from “caring for students to caring for teachers and staff who are then strengthened in their care for those students.”
Up to 25 educators are accepted into SLED each year. They are then divided up into small groups and paired with a veteran Lutheran school administrator. The program draws a mix of participants, from those currently serving as principals to younger teachers interested in exploring future career paths.
This year, SLED is adding an additional 10 slots exclusively for early childhood educators who will participate in a uniquely crafted program that will share many of the same benefits as the traditional SLED program.
At the beginning of both programs, participants meet in person in St. Louis for several days of learning and fellowship. For the rest of the school year, they work independently on a project that they can apply immediately in their own setting while also meeting online regularly with their small group to discuss readings and assignments. At the end of the program, the participants return to St. Louis again for their final session. As one cohort graduates and says their goodbyes, the next cohort eagerly gathers to start the program.
God’s Guiding Hand
When Dehn met Chandler, she was already well-versed with the SLED program, since she had graduated from it in 2021. Dehn’s principal at her previous school nominated her for the program, even though Dehn was not looking to move into an administrator role. She was happy serving as a middle school teacher who helped with marketing and some day-to-day operations.
But although Dehn didn’t realize it at the time, her nomination to SLED turned out to be God’s guiding hand in her life. Shortly after finishing the program, she came to Our Savior to teach middle school. A few months later, Our Savior’s principal died unexpectedly, and Dehn was asked to step into the role. At the time, she didn’t have the strong connection to other Lutheran educators in the St. Louis area that she has now. “But I had those SLED connections,” she said.
Dehn described walking into the former principal’s office and wondering, “OK, what do I do? … It’s hard to know whether administration is something you are gifted in.” But, she said, SLED “gives you the opportunity to work through it with other Lutherans. The importance of the Lutheran perspective of the SLED program is huge.”
She noted that many of the secular programs that prepare school administrators are tailored to those working in large public school districts, which isn’t the situation that Lutheran school administrators typically face. Instead, SLED equips leaders to serve in unique Lutheran school contexts, while keeping their Lutheran identity as the heart of everything they do.
Taking the Next Step
For Chandler, SLED was helpful in equipping her to take the next step from early childhood director at nearby Abiding Savior Lutheran School. Her project during the year was aimed at bringing together Abiding Savior’s early childhood and K–8 programs. “Before I even stepped into administration as a director, I felt the disconnect” between the two, she said. “Early childhood can be a drop-and-go situation sometimes. … [The idea] is to get those families in the building to experience our community.”
Over the past few years, Dehn also had been working to unify Our Savior’s programs in a similar way, so the addition of Chandler helped “the school continue to move forward with this vision,” according to Dehn. Although the contexts are slightly different — Our Savior is smaller than Abiding Savior and has different opportunities and challenges — Chandler is implementing many of the ideas from her SLED project at Our Savior.
She does this in numerous ways, both by making personal contacts whenever possible and by training the teachers to do likewise. On this particular day, she braved the cold to greet families at the door as they dropped their children off for school. Later, she visited every classroom to observe the lessons and interact with students.
Our Savior welcomes families into the building through various events throughout the year, such as Pastries with Parents, a daytime New Year’s Eve party for families, an all-school Grandparents’ Day, and more. There is also an open invitation to families to come to chapel.
This summer, Chandler plans to continue expanding this effort by sitting down with the preschool and kindergarten teachers to make sure that the curriculums are aligned, making the transition from early childhood to elementary school as smooth as possible.
“I never miss an opportunity to share about the whole school and what we do here,” she said about a tour she had given earlier that day to a prospective family with two toddlers. The goal is that through all these connection points, a family looking for an excellent early childhood program will later want to stay for elementary school because of the school’s strong, faith-filled community.
“Lutheran school, first of all, is an investment. You are investing in the life of your child,” Chandler said. “I personally know how I want my kiddos to be, the character that I want them to have, and the values that I want them to possess. The most important part is knowing that my kids are surrounded by other kids and adults that all have the same values and love for Jesus.”
No doubt, Chandler’s and Dehn’s SLED colleagues would agree.
Learn More
- Learn more about the SLED Project
- Read more about SLED’s new early childhood track
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Megan K. Mertz
Managing editor of Lutherans Engage the World and chief copy editor for LCMS Communications.
