Skip to Main Content
Servant Leadership Institute
Dr. Kent Schlichtemeier
Director, Servant Leadership Institute
(949) 214-3256
[email protected]
Posted on 7/18/2025 - 11 minute read
The future of education hinges on leaders who can inspire change, elevate student outcomes, and navigate the complexities of a rapidly evolving landscape. If you’re an educator eager to make a lasting impact, you might be asking: Is an MA in Educational Leadership truly worth it?
View Post »
By Dr. Sara Morgan and Robin Gomes Posted on 7/10/2025 - 11 minute read
The Bible offers a foundational perspective on responsible decision-making, emphasizing trust in God, moral discernment, and love for others. Several verses articulate God’s command to live wisely and faithfully (Luke 10:27, 2 Timothy 1:7, and Proverbs 3:5-6). In addition to direct instruction, character stories illustrate responsible decision-making (e.g., Daniel, Samuel, Esther, and Timothy), growth in judgment (e.g., Moses and David), and consequences of irresponsible actions (e.g., Moses and David). These examples highlight biblical values, such as courage, self-control, grace, forgiveness, and wisdom, which are provided through the power of the Holy Spirit. These biblical values align with elements emphasized in CASEL’s definition, showing that both Scripture and social-emotional learning frameworks highlight the importance of wise and ethical decision-making.
By Dr. Sara Morgan and Robin Gomes Posted on 7/10/2025 - 6 minute read
The Bible, God’s inspired word, is filled with stories, illustrations, and characters that exemplify the brokenness of humanity and the wholeness of Christ. From the Garden of Eden to the exiled island of Patmos, God, in his omniscience and grace, spoke through prophets and apostles to reveal his timeless, inspired word. At the center of it was his promise to restore us through his messiah. His word shows us the raw, unedited lives of God’s chosen that demonstrate how His perfect plan was carried out through imperfect people, which ultimately brought about salvation through His Son, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
By Teresa Hess, PhD Posted on 6/27/2025 - 8 minute read
A child’s first experiences in school impact both the child and the parent (Hannon & O’Donnell, 2022). Starting school can have emotional significance to a parent as it signifies the first steps of independence for their child. It is the beginning of a new developmental chapter that may be fraught with anticipation, hope, and anxiety. These emotions may have their genesis in the parents’ own experiences going through school (Bolt, 2020). The first school experience is powerful as it is the beginning of the educational pathway for that student and can set the pattern of future expectations and experiences (Zulauf-McCurdy et al., 2024).
By Dr. Belinda Karge Posted on 4/15/2025 - 5 minute read
The last three years it has been my honor to serve as a leadership coach for the Servant Leadership Institute (SLI) at Concordia University Irvine. The SLI was designed to bring teams of leaders from public, private, and charter schools to the university campus in Irvine, California, twice during a year for professional learning related to servant leadership.
By Dr. Kara Bratton Posted on 1/28/2025 - 8 minute read
Dr. Kara Bratton serves as an Assistant Professor in the School of Education in the doctoral programs at Concordia University Irvine, teaching special education and research classes and working as a dissertation chair. Previously, she was a special education director for 11 years and spent 11 years teaching K-8 special education in Lutheran Schools . Kara also serves on the board of directors for the Indiana Non-public Education Association and is co-author of Resilient Minds: Christ-centered Mental Health Curriculum, which is available from Concordia Publishing House.
By Magazine Editorial Team Posted on 1/10/2025 - 4 minute read
Bill Selak, adjunct faculty member in Concordia’s MAEd: Learning, Design & Technology program and Director of Technology at Hillbrook School, a private K-12 institution in San Jose, is an early adopter of technology, which befits his role teaching college students and children of high-level tech employees in Silicon Valley. In Selak’s view, generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already changing society and classrooms as much as electricity did more than 100 years ago.
By Miranda Gasenica Posted on 12/23/2024 - 9 minute read
Since the pandemic, the increase in individuals’ desire to look a certain way has changed many lives, mainly those of our youth. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, eating disorders have increased by 50% among youth, causing alarm for many. (Rodgers et al., 2020; van Eeden et al., 202). Research shows that a few causes of eating disorders include body image and social influence, genetics, and comorbid mental health issues (Barakat et al., 2023). Therefore, as social media usage and social distancing increased during COVID-19, it is not unnoticed that these factors could have exacerbated the growth in eating disorders as adolescents who had more time to access social media networks and utilize them in ways they had not been used before, such as sharing weight-loss strategies and promoting a culture that labeled food as “good” or “bad.” This allows those who are not aware of what can cause eating disorders to be engulfed in this idolized world.
By Julie Stiegemeyer Posted on 12/11/2024 - 6 minute read
Language is essential to the human experience and carries with it great power. Ruiz (2017) highlighted this: “The word is a force; it is the power you have to express and communicate, to think, and thereby to create the events in your life” (p. 14). Perhaps our most powerful use of language is through writing. Forster (1927) wrote, “How do I know what I think until I see what I say?” In other words, we must write to find out what we think.
By Dr. Tim Young Posted on 9/25/2024 - 7 minute read
Recent research highlights the importance of developing a strong sense of belonging to enhance and improve student educational outcomes (Patrick et al., 2023). A sense of belonging refers to the ways students feel personally accepted, included, and supported at school. Belonging includes all school-based experiences and student relationships with teachers and peers (Allen et al., 2018). Through the lens of belonging, some students experience the academic environment as welcoming. These students are often highly engaged and involved in school. When a student experiences a strong sense of belonging, achievement and retention increase. Most educators understand that students thrive when they are part of a community, and research confirms this (Passano, 2021).