Progress Report

Launch an Office of Spiritual Formation to care for our students and minister to families and staff.

May 2024 | Completed with the hiring of Jake Ferrier as the Director of Spiritual Formation.

Assess student spiritual formation to ensure it is consistent with WC’s mission and improve the school experience to enhance spiritual formation.

Fall 2024 | The Flourishing Faith Index was administered to students in grades 8-12 and other stakeholders such as parents, employees, and alumni. The results, including national comparisons, have provided the necessary insights to build the roadmap for enhanced spiritual formation.

Winter 2025 | The Flourishing Faith Index results were positive overall with minimal negative benchmark comparisons. Numerous school leaders completed a consultation with the ACSI research team to develop an improvement plan in this area. The improvement plan is under development.

Develop a student-centered discipleship program to allow mentorship and support to extend beyond the classroom and chapel.

Fall 2024 | 16 Warrior Groups launched at the Upper School. Warrior Groups were created to bring together students who wish to have another opportunity to learn about God’s Word and form relationships within a smaller setting. They meet weekly at various times and locations.

Winter 2025 | Warrior Groups are still going strong with roughly 158 students in attendance on a weekly basis. One-on-one discipleship experiences have recently begun. Mrs. Ellifritz began “Rise & Shine,” a young women’s group of combined grades that meets at the Upper School on Friday mornings. “Pull-Up,” a young men’s discipleship movement, will launch in March of 2025. An assessment of these groups will be conducted at the end of the school year. At the Upper School, the average weekly attendance for these discipleship opportunities is 44% of the student body.

Incorporate service-learning into the academic experience as an ethical expression of living a Christ-centered life.

Fall 2024 | Service-learning helps connect academic knowledge with missional opportunities. The Lower School engaged in packing 1,908 bags of food in partnership with Lifeline Ministries, applying what they learned in class and chapel to serve those around the world.

Students at both the Lower and Upper Schools packed 350 Operation Christmas Child boxes to send to children in desperate situations worldwide in partnership with Samaritan’s Purse as they sought to engage in global citizenship.

We developed or deepened 17 service-learning partnerships. These range from all-school projects to ones with specific classes and content. Examples include: Columbus Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS), Festa, hurricane relief, and various local nursing homes.

Winter 2025 | The Lower School, specifically grades 3-6, launched the first installation of the Great Commission Campaign Service Research Project. All students in third through sixth grades researched organizations that give back to the community in some way. Select students presented their findings to a panel of judges, and the winning team will receive a grant to give to their respective organization(s).

Create and implement a wellness-based program for students to encompass mental and physical health.

This strategy will be prioritized starting in the Fall of 2025.

Expand leadership development curricular offerings and co-curricular experiences.

Fall 2024 | A Servant Leadership class for students in grades 9-10 was created to bridge the gap between the house leadership classes and enhance the foundation of biblical leadership at the Upper School. The class partners with the Chic-fil-A Leadership Academy to engage with the local community and participate in quarterly service projects. 

The school awarded the first Student Innovation Grant to assist with the WC Spirit Shop as part of our entrepreneurial learning focus.

Strengthen partnerships with area churches and key parachurch partners to underscore the imperative for school families to be involved in their churches for a WC education to be most effective in achieving its missions.

Fall 2024 | Dr. Hayes has continued his Church Tour.

The school sponsored the Center for Christian Virtue’s Essential Summit.

The school has partnered with numerous Christ-centered service organizations around the area, including Lifeline Christian Mission, Stowe Mission of Central Ohio, the Dream Center, Westerville Area Resource Ministry, Grace Polaris Church, and Samaritan’s Purse.

Create processes to facilitate the acclimation of new students and their families into the school and enhance students’ ongoing success by promoting a sense of belonging and community.

Fall 2024 | The Parent-Teacher Fellowship established a New Family Welcome Committee to facilitate intentional connections through events, mentorship, and more. A New Parent Dinner was hosted in August to allow dads and moms to engage with other parents. Each new family received a Welcome Box of WC-branded items. We also are gathering small groups of new students (per grade level) to meet throughout the year and foster relationships.

In an effort to promote multigenerational engagement, the school reinstituted Grandparents Day, welcoming over 100 grandparents at the Lower School.

Achieve compensation benchmarks competitive with comparator schools.

Winter 2023 and Spring 2024 | Employees received a 5.5% pay increase compared to the 2.6% yearly increase in the previous eight years. Additionally, $600,000 was distributed in bonuses, taking the average salary increase with bonuses to 19%.

In May 2024, the school provided each staff member with a bonus, granting a total of $300,000 in bonuses.

As a result of the restructuring that went into effect on May 28, 2024, the school increased wages by $122,000 for the addition of the Director of Spiritual Formation, for administrators assuming more responsibilities and oversight of additional areas, and for moving the Administrative Assistant to the Head of School role to full-time status.

For the 2024-25 school year, all employees received a 5% salary increase. In addition, the school granted targeted increases for the following groups with corresponding amounts beyond the 5% increase:

• Mid- to late-career teachers – $206,000
• Select administrators and salaried support staff – $29,943
• Support staff – $39,881

Fall 2024 | The school provided Christmas bonuses to all full- and part-time staff for a total of $120,000.

After conducting research with peer schools, we have established some compensation benchmarks for faculty compensation. We also participated in a benchmarking project with ACSI to determine administrator compensation and are utilizing the study’s results to make informed changes.

Offer a benefits package comparable to comparator schools to all employees.

This strategy will be prioritized starting in the Fall of 2025.

Implement a program to recognize exemplary performance.

Winter 2025 | The school received a gift from a donor to establish this program. Criteria for recognizing exemplary performance are being developed by school leadership.

Develop employee wellness initiatives to improve spiritual, physical, social, and emotional well-being.

This strategy will be prioritized starting in the Fall of 2025.

Recruit and select highly qualified employees for all roles, particularly faculty, to reflect the demographic composition of the student body.

Fall 2024 | In the Fall of 2024, the school replaced nine faculty members. In eight of the transitions, the new faculty members were judged to be more highly qualified when considering their professional licensure, education, and years of experience.

Spring 2025 | The school contracted with CarterBaldwin to lead the search for a highly qualified Upper School principal.

Articulate and implement a biblical approach to racial and ethnic diversity in recruiting, hiring, and promoting employees.

Fall 2024 | For the 2024-25 school year, we hired three employees who come from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.

A task force, led by Dr. Hayes, began articulating a statement on biblical unity to include our approach to racial and ethnic diversity.

Establish an aspiring leaders program for faculty and staff to develop leadership at all school levels and prepare them for possible promotion.

Fall 2024 | The Leadership Academy was launched with a cohort of 16 faculty and staff. They meet monthly and discuss a variety of topics, speaking into the future of the school.

Develop a differentiated professional development program based on the Five Attributes of Excellence in Teaching and Learning that fosters collaboration among faculty and progressives for self-directed educational growth to accommodate individual learning styles and needs and addresses priority needs for the faculty and the school.

Fall 2024 | A cohort of 43 teachers was selected to gather data and establish goals for their compliance, with excellence as their focus.

Faculty have requested to attend new conferences for professional development. An example of a new conference attended is the Literacy Symposium at Ohio State.

Articulate and implement an enhanced approach to school safety.

Spring 2024 | Head of School Dr. Hayes appointed two task forces to address school safety and Human Resource practices, both of which were comprised of parents, staff, and field experts.

Fall 2024 | Raptor, an integrated school safety software, launched at all campus buildings.

Winter 2025 | The human resources and Security Task Forces submitted their reports after external expert review. All materials and accompanying action plans were submitted to the Board of Directors for consideration.

Invest in the technology infrastructure and support services to enhance the teaching and learning experience and promote learning.

Fall 2024 | An AI Task Force was created to consider and implement policy regarding use in the classroom.

Winter 2025 | An IT Audit was completed and submitted to school leadership.

The school contracted with an IT consultant to begin to implement recommendations included in the audit.

The AI Task Force submitted a recommended policy to the Board of Directors for their consideration.

Create a comprehensive facilities master plan to prepare for optimal enrollment size, enhance the academic experience, serve the community, and generate non-tuition-based revenue.

Winter 2025 | The Facilities Planning Committee has begun a review of facilities needs and will recommend a master plan to the Board of Directors in the Spring of 2025.

Grow the Worthington Christian School Foundation endowment fund to provide a stable, long-term revenue source and invest it with a partner aligned with the school’s mission and identity.

Fall 2024 | The school received a generous estate gift to increase this endowment fund to over $1,000,000 for the first time in the school’s history.

Winter 2025 | School leaders have begun investing endowment funds with the National Christian Foundation.

Reduce the school’s debt aggressively to promote sustainability and prepare for expansion opportunities.

Fall 2024 | At the beginning of the school year, the school debt was $7,957,855. This reflects $275,000 of annual payments on principal in addition to the normal monthly payments since September 2023.

March 2025 | The school debt is currently at $7,574,068.

Restructure the development approach to enhance donor relations, increase the number of donors, and cultivate foundation giving.

Spring 2024 | Giving to the SGO for financial assistance increased from $50,350 in 2023 to $144,138 in 2024.

Fall 2024 | We launched an enhanced donor relations and recognition program. Research has begun to improve development practices.

An annual campaign with a theme consistent with the strategic plan was launched with targeted giving for financial assistance, Faculty Innovations Grants, Student Innovation Grants, and unrestricted gifts.

Launch a capital campaign to achieve the school’s strategic plan.

Fall 2024 | An outside firm, Mission Advancement, conducted a planning study. The study:

• Tested the image and reputation of the school and leadership​;
• Tested the strength of the case for support​;
• Identified any challenges and/or opportunities that will impact the success of a campaign​;
• Investigated the timing for a campaign​;
• Determined the attainability of financial goals​;
• Assessed stakeholder willingness to give and lead​; and
• Developed a specific campaign plan.

Spring 2025 | The school committed to a contract with Mission Advancement to partner on a capital campaign to enhance enrollment capacity and address several capital needs.