Our to Spirituality in Schoolcircle.adventist.org/files/jae/en/jae201275023006.pdf · bad as jail, Pat chose an Adventist educa-tion rather than juvenile detention. While at school,

at Featherstone is a dedi-cated Christian who lives toserve others and is a leaderin his church. But he hasn’talways been that way. As an

adolescent, Pat found himself before ajudge in juvenile court. The judge gavehim a choice: spend time in juvenile de-tention or go to the local Seventh-dayAdventist school. Though I’m sure thatsome students might think school is asbad as jail, Pat chose an Adventist educa-tion rather than juvenile detention. While at school, he managed to stay

out of trouble, but didn’t give his heartto Jesus. It wasn’t until years later whenhe was in the military and facing an es-

pecially difficult time that God im-pressed him to take a two-day leave anddrive hundreds of miles back to theschool where he had first learned aboutGod. He sat in the school’s parking lot,prayed, and gave his heart to Jesus.Now, decades later, he volunteers hisservices at Livingstone Adventist Acad-emy in Oregon, not the school of hisyouth, but nonetheless, a place wherehe “feels the presence of God”1 in orderto fulfill his commitment to give backto the community.What is the value of Adventist edu-

cation? Results from the North Ameri-can Division’s CognitiveGenesis Study2

indicate that academically, Adventisteducation is as good as, if not betterthan, its public counterparts. But as

Jesus discussed with His disciples,3 thebottom line for anything in life, includ-ing academics, is this: Unless it profitsone’s spiritual life, there really is nopoint to it at all. A look at Adventist ed-ucation’s philosophy4 (see sidebar onpage 35) confirms that its distinctivecharacteristic is, “to restore human be-ings into the image of their Maker.”In life, there are many things that

can be done correctly in only one way.Spirituality at school is not one ofthem. This article will describe thejourney and process that LivingstoneAdventist Academy in Salem, Oregon,has taken and continues to implementto achieve faith integration and au-thentic spirituality.

B Y C H R I S S E Q U E I R A

Our

to Spiritualityin School

The Journal of Adventist Education • December 2012/January 2013 http:// jae.adventist.org30

intentionalityThe journey to becoming a spiri-

tual haven for students does not hap-pen by accident. Though LivingstoneAdventist Academy has been an insti-tution of Adventist education since1898, many former students havestated that it has not always focusedon spirituality. As occurred in manyAdventist church schools until the1980s, students received the messagethat they were saved through their be-havior. Tied to that concept was theidea that school rules such as dresscodes were linked to salvation. I recallfrom my academy days being told thatthe length of a boy’s hair was reasonfor expulsion on the grounds that hewas not going to heaven. In the early1990s however, through the leadershipof Principal Jim Roy, the school boardand the staff intentionally reorientedthe school to bring it into line with thePhilosophy of Seventh-day AdventistEducation5: “to develop a life of faithin God and respect for the dignity ofall human beings; to build characterakin to that of the Creator; to nurturethinkers rather than mere reflectors ofothers’ thoughts; to promote loving serv-ice rather than selfish ambition; to en-sure maximum development of each in-

dividual’s potential; and to embrace allthat is true, good, and beautiful.” A sig-nificant way of achieving this goal is tobe intentional in distinguishing schoolbehavior issues from salvation issues.We did this by communicating to ourstudents and parents that violatingschool rules does not cause God tolove us less, but nonetheless is unac-ceptable. Our school has particularly con-

centrated on two elements in the lastparagraph of the Adventist Philosophyof Education. First and foremost is ourfocus on a balanced development ofthe whole person—physically, intellec-tually, socially, and spiritually, which isat the heart of everything we do. AtLivingstone, we are intentional aboutnot letting one dimension overshadowany of the others. This is not an easytask, and requires us to constantly finetune our program in order to keepthings in balance. Second is the three-cord strand of the home, school, andconstituent churches. As the old Afri -can proverb goes, “It takes a village toraise a child.” We realize that we areonly one of the agencies that God usesto mold our students’ lives; and there-fore, do everything we can to help ourstudents’ homes and local churches toembrace and achieve the same goals.

Role of the TeacherAt the forefront of a school’s spiri-

tual journey are the teachers. They arethe ones who minister to each youngperson with whom they come in con-tact. The ministry of the teacher shouldnot be underestimated—and it is not aresponsibility to be taken lightly. Aboveand beyond the role of conveying aca-demic information to students, theteacher at an Adventist school is also aspiritual mentor. This is a mission, nota job. To be effective, a teacher mustembrace this role fully. Not that many years ago, Living-

stone offered only kindergartenthrough 10th grade. However, sincemost students finishing the junior highchose not to continue at another Ad-ventist school, the community, schoolboard, and Principal Barbara Livesayenvisioned an expanded and unified K-12 program. Livesay managed to get allthe staff to support a unified vision of aK-12 school, rather than separate K-8and 9-12 programs. When all the staffare unified, it is amazing what God canaccomplish. Because of the shared pas-sion and vision, Livingstone AdventistAcademy, a quality K-12 program wasquickly incorporated.

http:// jae.adventist.org The Journal of Adventist Education • December 2012/January 2013 31

Prayer groups are just one way that Livingstone Adventist Academy students support one another on their spiritual journey.

At the end of every school year, thestaff re-evaluates Livingstone’s missionstatement. The reason we keep revisitingthis document is that it is a living decla-ration and focus for every classroom.

To develop relationships for now andfor eternity with Christ and each other.To help our students develop life skillsbased upon moral values.

To pursue our educational best.As a staff, we understand that just as

it’s important to develop a relationshipwith Jesus, when we form healthy rela-tionships with students, this goes along way to influencing them in a posi-tive direction. We have found that thebest way to do this is through variousschool activities and interactions withstudents outside the classroom. Everyactivity that we promote is viewedthrough the lens of developing rela-tionships for now and for eternity withChrist and one another. The teachersalso realize that some of the most im-portant lessons we teach are not neces-sarily academic. Therefore, life lessonsthat include Christ-centered moralityare taught with intentionality. To helpstudents achieve their educational bestwe have found that nurturing commu-nication and relationships with stu-dents and their parents pays enormousdividends. One of the most effectiveways we have found to communicate isthrough an online grade book pro-gram.6 When students know wherethey stand academically (updated on atleast a weekly basis), all parties benefit.

Role of the StudentThough the significance of having

the right staff cannot be understated,equally important is having the rightstudents. Students are the driving forceof spirituality in the school; they, inessence, have to “buy” into what theschool is offering in order for it towork. Students who negatively affectour school’s spiritual and academichealth are reminded that it is theirchoice to be here and to be a part ofour program. If, by their words and ac-tions, they show that they do not wantto be a part of our mission, then theycan choose to attend somewhere else. At first, this was a difficult step to

take. If we did not admit certain stu-

dents and/or asked others to seek suc-cess somewhere else, our enrollmentmight decline. However, now, with theright students in place, this has enabledus to attract more young people whoembrace the spiritual program as a pri-ority. God has blessed us with a healthyenrollment and student body.One of the biggest challenges in creat-

ing a culture of spirituality at school ismaking it relevant to the students.Teachers need to ensure that studentsknow why or how they are going to useacademic information. Students alsoneed to know that Jesus is a valuable partof the lives of the school staff and otheradults in their lives. One of the mostpositive results of the actions we havetaken is that, for both staff and studentsalike, our campus is a place where Godtalk is “cool.” Staff and students pray to-gether often, and students feel comfort-able talking to staff about spiritual mat-ters and other non-academic issues.Another vital element of spirituality

at school is student voice. School needsto be a place where students can notonly express their thoughts and opin-ions, but also know that their voices are

being heard and respected. Since Living-stone became a full-fledged academy, thehigh school-level student council hasplayed a valuable role in evaluating andupdating the student handbook. Someof the changes may appear to be trivial;however, one of the outcomes of givingstudents voice in school operations isthat they feel ownership of the rules. Is-sues such as allowing gum chewing andfingernail polish at school are not majoritems, but nonetheless, allowing inputon such matters reassures students thatwe are listening to their concerns andare willing to be flexible. Students knowthat if they abuse their privileges, theymay lose them. When we designed our new building,

including a chapel area was one of ourtop priorities. We wanted a locationwhere we could meet for various gather-ings, as well as a safe and spiritual placefor the students to “hang out” and visitwhen they are not in class. One of the most popular ways for

our students to express themselves isthrough music. For our weekly chapels,we have a student praise team that leadsout in the singing. Our school investedin a drum set and installed a sound sys-


Student praise teams lead out in singing for Livingstone Adventist Academy’s weekly chapels.

tem for various instruments. Whenthere are no formal meetings in thechapel, students are welcome to play thepiano and sing. It is a place the studentslike and respect. Soon after the comple-tion of our chapel, the student councilchose to make it a place of special rever-ence by having students remove hats andhoodies when in the room.

Small Steps to changeSpiritually healthy schools do not

become that way overnight. Change forthe sake of change, however, is point-less. Developing and following a masterplan has been very helpful. By begin-ning with the end in mind, we becameaware that to make a lasting and mean-ingful change in the perspective of ourstudents now, we needed to change onestep at a time. That change would beslow. School culture is difficult tochange! Our school needed to become

a place where all (students, parents,and community members) could seekspiritual insight; not just a place wherestudents acquired academic learning. We have done several things to facil-

itate this change. Among the most ef-fective was to change our teachingpractices. The teachers transitionedfrom being a “sage on the stage” to a“guide on the side.” To decrease class-room focus being entirely on theteacher, we implemented practices thatmade students central to the learningprocess. To do this, the teachers studiedand put into practice various “brain-compatible” learning/teaching strate-gies such as cooperative learning,Glasser Quality Schools, IntegratedThematic Instruction (now calledHighly Effective Teaching), Tribes, andMultiple Intelligences. The modifica-tions in teaching methods made it eas-ier for teachers and students alike toform healthy relationships and therebyproduced a better spiritual atmosphere.

Another strategy that we have incor-porated to facilitate the desired change isto affirm students’ positive choices. Bor-rowing the idea from Power of PositiveStudents International,7 every month wefocus on a themed character trait (forexample, the fruits of the Spirit) and af-firm teacher-chosen students who havemodeled that trait. Through the courseof a year, we make certain that every stu-dent has been affirmed. Every home-room teacher creates a paragraph or twofor each selected student that is read atchapel. Our principal hands the winnersa certificate for a treat of some sort (thisyear they get a giant cinnamon roll atlunch time).

1. Competitive SportsA rather controversial topic, and one

for which we are still seeking to achieveproper balance, is how to approach thearea of competitive sports. Thoughsports provide excellent life lessons, it iseasy for a school to allow the sports pro-gram to become its main focus. WhileLivingstone was still a K-10 school, Prin-cipal Jim Roy and the school boardopted for a non-competition policy. Asbasketball was the only sport in whichthe school was involved and the onlycompetitive event was a conference-wideFriendship Tournament, this step wasnot too difficult to take. Rather thandoing away with sports altogether, how-ever, Mr. Roy started a new intramuralconference-wide tournament program.Instead of pitting school against school,all players were put into a pool, andbased on skill level as assessed by thecoaches, the organizers created teams asevenly matched as possible. We discov-ered that when students played as team-mates with young people from otherschools, they formed friendships ratherthan rivalries. An unforeseen benefit wasthat schools with too few students tofield a team for the competitive tourna-ment could now participate. When wetransitioned to a full K-12 program,however, this policy changed. In orderfor our students to take advantage of allthe opportunities that Walla Walla Col-lege (now University) offered to acade-mies, we needed a competitive sports


Teaching in multiple intelligences and providing hands-on activities not only help students learn better, but also allow the teacher to be a “guide

on the side” rather than a “sage on the stage.”

program to participate in the soccer, vol-leyball, and basketball tournaments theyhost. We are still in the process of find-ing a healthy balance for this facet of ourschool program.

2. Group Bonding ActivitiesSoon after Livingstone began inten-

tionally focusing on spirituality andhealthy relationships, we noticed an im-provement in students’ relationshipswith one another and with the staff. Soas a result, the staff decided to start thenext school year with a special emphasison group bonding and spirituality.When you ask former students andalumni of Livingstone Adventist Acad-emy what they remember most abouttheir school experience and what hadthe biggest spiritual impact in their livesat that time, you are most likely to hearabout the school’s fall community-building activities. Our middle school students spend

some time at a ropes course getting ac-quainted, learning to trust God, and de-veloping friendships. The freshmen andsophomores go on a weekend campingtrip with the specific goal of buildingcommunity and constructing a spiritualbase for the school year. During SeniorSurvival, our longest outing, the seniorsspend almost a whole week in intenseBible study and collaborative activities.This program starts on Tuesday and lastsuntil Sunday, with the junior class join-ing them on Thursday for leadershiptraining. One of the highlights of SeniorSurvival is putting on the church serviceat Christmas Valley Seventh-day Advent-ist Church in central Oregon on Sab-bath. These campouts also provide agreat way to get to know parents whocome along as chaperons. Another tradition that Livingstone

initiated was a yearly school-wide fam-ily campout at the Oregon coast. Overthe years, this early fall event has be-come a gathering of not just students’families, but also extended family andother constituent church and schoolsupporters. We invite guest speakersand enjoy the weekend singing andpraising God together. The most meaningful of our inten-

tional spiritual outings, however, is a


three-day retreat, mid-year, for the sec-ondary-level students. We pack up afterschool mid-week and make the 30-minute drive to Silver Falls State Park,where we rent a large ranch houselodge that houses all 75 or so studentsand staff. There, we spend time playingand studying the Bible to recharge forthe remainder of the year. Away fromdistractions and out of cell service, thislocation makes it easier to focus onJesus and our relationship with Him.

3. Weeks of Prayer and ChapelsAnother spiritually powerful activity

is our weeks of prayer. Like other Ad-ventist institutions of education, weuse this time to refocus our attentionon spiritual matters. We try to schedulethree weeks of prayer in each schoolyear. During the fall week of prayer, weinvite a guest speaker. For our winterweek of prayer, the staff give their testi-monies. We have found these weeks tobe a powerful witness and another wayof building healthy relationships be-tween staff and students. In the spring,our high school students not only put

Every fall, the middle school students attend a low and high ropes course that in-cludes community building and spiritually

uplifting activities.

The Senior Mission Trip to our sister school/church in Golfito, Costa Rica, is a life-changing ex-perience for participants, many of whom have never been outside of the Pacific Northwest.

on weeks of prayer at our feederschools, but also give their testimoniesto their peers and the lower grades.This is one of my favorite weeks of theschool year, as I’m sure it is for many ofthe students and other teachers.When students lead out in spiritual

activities at school and church, it is agood indication that spirituality at schoolis healthy. Though we schedule qualityand memorable chapels such as LauraMorett from Survivor Samoa, or WorldWar II Veteran Donald Malarkey fromEasy Company of the 101st Airborne Di-vision of the U.S. Army, student inputand participation in chapel is what makesit a meaningful time for our students. The Campus Ministries Committee,

comprised of five students, the Associ-ated Student Body spiritual vice presi-dent, and each of the class pastors fromthe high school, plan and coordinate aquarterly youth church, put on by andfor the students. In addition, they leadout in numerous service projects.

4. Service ActivitiesI believe that service is another lit-

mus test of a school’s spiritual health.Most grades at Livingstone AdventistAcademy have a yearly service project.These range from crocheting hats forthe local Adventist Community Centerto raising funds for drilling wells inAfrica, to Toys for Tots at Christmastime, to clearing brush for ranchers incentral Oregon. In addition to theseclass service projects, the high schoolstudents, in conjunction with a con-stituent church, participate in a mis-sion trip every spring break. Liveschange when students get out of theircomfort zones and are put into a situa-tion of helping others rather than fo-cusing on themselves. When our first senior class planned

their class trip, the students and staffintentionally chose a mission triprather than a Disneyland-type event.Though we have had the privilege toserve schools and churches in PuertoRico, Mexico, and Costa Rica, it is the

spiritual lives of our students that havebeen the most affected.

Back to purpose“While God presents His infinitely

loving and wise character as the ultimatenorm for human conduct, human mo-tives, thinking, and behavior have fallenshort of God’s ideal. Education in itsbroadest sense is a means of returninghuman beings to their original relation-ship with God. Its time dimensions spaneternity.”8

For students like Pat Featherstone,the value of Adventist education is notjust academics, though that is impor-tant, but rather a place where he metJesus, which has made all the difference.It is my hope and prayer that throughAdventist education, we can “restorehuman beings into the image of theirMaker.” This is the journey and processthat we at Livingstone Adventist Acad-emy have gone down; we are alwayswatchful for more ideas and would loveto hear what is working at other schoolsto make them a place where people “feelthe presence of God.”

Chris Sequeirateaches high school-level Bible, history,and physical educa-tion/health at Liv-ingstone AdventistAcademy in Salem,Oregon, and is cur-

rently working on his Master of Arts de-gree in teaching at Walla Walla Univer-sity in College Place, Washington.

NOTES AND REFERENCES1. Interview with Pat Featherstone, Septem-

ber 2009.2. http://www.cognitivegenesis.org/. 3. Matthew 16:26, Mark 8:36, and Luke 9:25.4. http://www.journeytoexcellence.org/

purpose/. 5. http://www.journeytoexcellence. org/

purpose/.6. http://www.gradebookwizard. com/. 7. http://pops.com/.8. http://www.journeytoexcellence.org/

purpose/.

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philosophy of Seventh-day adventist education*

The Seventh-day Adventist Church recognizes God as the ultimate source of ex-istence and truth. In the beginning God created in His image a perfect humanity, aperfection later marred by sin. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God’s char-acter and purposes can be understood as revealed in nature, the Bible, and JesusChrist. The distinctive characteristics of Adventist education, derived from the Bibleand the inspired writings of Ellen G. White, point to the redemptive aim of true edu-cation: to restore human beings into the image of their Maker.

While God presents His infinitely loving and wise character as the ultimate normfor human conduct, human motives, thinking, and behavior have fallen short ofGod’s ideal. Education in its broadest sense is a means of returning human beingsto their original relationship with God. Its time dimensions span eternity.

Adventist education seeks to develop a life of faith in God and respect for thedignity of all human beings; to build character akin to that of the Creator; to nur-ture thinkers rather than mere reflectors of others’ thoughts; to promote lovingservice rather than selfish ambition; to ensure maximum development of eachindividual’s potential; and to embrace all that is true, good, and beautiful.

An education of this kind imparts far more than academic knowledge. It fos-ters a balanced development of the whole person—physically, intellectually, so-cially, and spiritually. Working together, homes, schools, and churches cooperatewith divine agencies in preparing learners for responsible citizenship in thisworld and in the world to come.

* http://journeytoexcellence.org/purpose/


Documents

Our to Spirituality in Schoolcircle.adventist.org/files/jae/en/jae201275023006.pdf · bad as jail, Pat chose an Adventist educa-tion rather than juvenile detention. While at school,