Aspirational Statements

Aspirational Statement One: Transformational Education

LBS will be a community recognized for Transformational Education... where academic excellence and life-changing experiences ignite leadership potential that increases our students’ desire for wisdom, understanding of calling, dedication to nation and community, and preparation for Christian service.

Academic Excellence

LBS has a tradition of providing a rigorous traditional education to our students. During the last decade, we have enhanced academic opportunities in many ways, including adding AP and honors classes, gaining approval of courses through UC a-g, creating tutoring programs, and strengthening our faculty ranks through hiring and training.

We are in a position to build upon these strengths and to make significant new strides in the area of academics.

Therefore We Will:

• Build on our rich tradition of quality teaching by a caring, dedicated staff through effective retention, recruitment, and training;

• Create a professional development strategy to ensure the proper allocation of resources and strategic investment;

• Strengthen the elementary and secondary curriculum with intentionality toward our ESLOs through ELSO binders and curriculum mapping;

• Increase the use of data to drive academic decisions and planning;

• Increase our PSAT test scores to the 70th percentile in Evidenced-Based Writing/Reading and Mathematics;

• Utilize technology strategically and selectively to enhance the school’s learning environment and educational offerings;

• Create a technology development strategy to ensure the proper allocation of resources and strategic investment.

Student Engagement

Transformational education requires moving beyond the cognitive domain and reaching the affective domain of every student. To this end, ideas exchanged, questions answered, experiences shared, and relationships developed on campus are the heart of the LBS experience.

Our students' educational experiences must connect their academic learning and faith to a world beyond the classroom. In particular, students should be inspired to connect their classroom learning to experiential opportunities that promote meaningful reflection and action. Experiential learning opportunities develop LBS students into Christian leaders who know what they believe and why they believe it.

A transformational education is cemented with experiences the student will remember for the rest of their lives. Whether it is a teacher seizing a mentoring opportunity, an administrator forming a relationship, or friends enjoying a special activity at school, all of these moments must be intentional and focused on the LBS ESLOs.

LBS must strive for more coordinated ties between student life, staff relationships, and academic affairs creating a more holistic and heartfelt experience for LBS students.

To create this learning experience, we will:

• Establish an effective academic, career, and spiritual counseling center;

• Create a student success strategy and and establish an effective Student Success Center;

• Build a robust and coordinated set of activities and programs that help all students to integrate a biblical worldview and our ELSOs into their inner person;

• Create a coherent set of learning experiences that foster student success, involvement, and completion;

• Enhance engagement between students and faculty and between students and staff;

• Provide additional opportunities for students to explore and discern beliefs, convictions, and vocations.

Leadership Development

We understand leadership as one's ability to influence others while maintaining a commitment to doing what is right and good, even in the face of competing priorities. The church and our nation need a new generation of Christ-like leaders who will be willing to give all for liberty and for the Lord.

To support leadership development, we will:

• Enhance curriculum and initiatives to help students develop as ethical leaders informed by a biblical worldview;

• Strengthen and expand experiential learning programs that develop leadership and provide opportunities for practice and reflection (e.g., internships, student jobs, community involvement opportunities, student council, service-learning courses, mission trips, and student organization involvement);

• Create opportunities for our students to engage with community, state, and national leaders.

Aspirational Statement Three: Competitive Opportunities

LBS will be a community recognized for Competitive Opportunities... where a wide variety of high quality and well balanced extracurricular programs provide students with every opportunity to grow in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man.

Historically, LBS has sought to provide every opportunity for our students to compete and grow in extracurricular activities. This stems from our purpose of educating and to training the whole student: spiritually, intellectually, physically, and socially. Since our founding, we have offered a wide variety of programs in athletics, student clubs, music, and fine arts. Oftentimes this has stretched LBS beyond its capacity and resulted in spreading ourselves wide, but not digging very deep.

As our school grows, we will build upon the tradition of providing a wide variety of programs with a strategic eye toward balance, quality, and depth. This will be achieved by expanding and enhancing our extracurricular opportunities so that every student has every opportunity to achieve comprehensive development into who God wants them to be.

Therefore We Will:

• Adjust current athletic offerings to be in alignment with student population, demographics, staff support, and league competitiveness;

• Expand athletic opportunities at the elementary level and physical education at the elementary and secondary level;

• Build on our rich music tradition and offer high quality and diverse music education;

• Create opportunities for students to engage in fine arts outside of the area of music;

• Expand opportunities for students to develop gifts in art through a variety of methods;

• Strengthen and build the Fine Arts Competition;

• Develop after school clubs and organizations to support a variety of student interests;

• Ensure students receive excellent spiritual development, training, and growth opportunities in close coordination with Lancaster Baptist Church Youth and Children’s Departments.

• Seek new opportunities through the lens of what is sustainable, balanced, achievable at LBS and only add programs that will achieve high quality results;

Aspirational Statement Five: Judicious Stewardship

LBS will be a community recognized for Judicious Stewardship... where the value generated by and derived from a LBS experience is supported through a diversity of revenues, prudent management of our resources, and firm financial footing.

The value of a LBS education is derived from the educational experiences that occur both inside and outside of the classroom. In the broadest and most basic sense, our unique mission demands excellence in all things. Outstanding academic opportunities, close interactions with faculty and staff, quality extracurricular programming, vibrant student organizations providing meaningful student leadership experiences, physical environments conducive to learning and working, and the integration of a biblical worldview and learning all contribute to this value.

A transformational education depends upon an extensive investment of resources. At the same time, LBS’s operational model (to serve the members of Lancaster Baptist Church and to keep tuition affordable) creates distinct challenges to acquiring these resources. This dictates a creative approach to revenue and demands faithful and efficient stewardship. LBS must continue to be attentive to the broader market in which we compete for students. We must also be ever-vigilant about monitoring our comparative position in terms of tuition and fees. While continuing to practice diligent and responsible management of current revenues, LBS must pursue new and competitive funding sources to support our aims. We are called to be accountable for the stewardship of our financial, physical, and human resources.

In order to realize as fully as possible the potential of this responsibility, as well as to continue to deliver an educational experience that remains accessible to students and parents who share our definition of value, we will:

• Increase the degree to which the cost of a LBS education is met by financial aid for needy families;

• Discover new sources of program support and revenues;

• Grow the International Student Program and Preschool Program;

• Create more efficient and effective fundraising opportunities;

• Establish a firm financial footing by generating annual surpluses each year to provide long-term financial stability.