Moving Forward Flourishing Series: Gods Story

ACSI: Moving Forward with Lynn Swaner

About Today’s Show

Today’s podcast features Marianne Vangoor, Director of Leadership at Edvance in Ontario, Canada. Marianne talks with Lynn Swaner about the Flourishing Schools construct of God’s Story, where “students believe they are a part of God’s bigger plan and can be used by Him to ‘make a difference’.” Marianne shares insights on how schools can ask “what does love require?” as a guiding question for students and staff as they grow in faith and serve God and their communities.

To go further in learning about this construct, check out these resources:

• Blog post What Does Love Require? by Marianne Vangoor
• The books Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools and MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education both feature Marianne’s and the team’s work at Halton Hills Christian School as a case study

To learn more about Flourishing Schools Research, check out the Flourishing Together book by Lynn Swaner and Andy Wolfe (Eerdmans 2021) and this video overview of the research. You can also find out about the related institute for leaders and instrument for schools here.

About the Guest

Marianne Vangoor is the Director of Leadership at Edvance in Ontario, Canada. Prior to this role, she served as principal of Halton Hills Christian School in Georgetown, Ontario, for 15 years out of 26 years in school leadership, in addition to teaching all grades in elementary school, including special education. She is passionate about having Christian education be life changing for students and helping them see that they can be difference makers in the world right now. Marianne believes in empowerment at all levels of the school—teachers, staff, and students—and loves seeing people flourish and grow as they step into their own leadership roles. Marianne is the proud Nana of nine grandchildren and is thrilled to see them growing and learning in their local Christian schools as the next generation.

About the Host

Dr. Lynn E. Swaner is the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at ACSI, where she leads initiatives and develops strategies to address compelling questions and challenges facing Christian education. Dr. Swaner serves as a Cardus Senior Fellow and is the co-author or editor of multiple books on Christian education, including Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators, and Schools and MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education. Prior to joining ACSI, she served as a professor of education and a Christian school administrator in New York.