This post was first published just before the holidays, and we decided to repost it as we head into the new year, in hopes that some of these opportunities might be more viable for you to consider in the days ahead.
Curriculum Trak is blessed to exist at the crossroads between hundreds of schools who are seeking to define, refine, and enhance their instructional efforts and many organizations who seek to serve schools in that process. We enjoy connecting schools with great resources and services. We often do this in a more relational way as we interact with school leaders, curriculum directors, and even classroom teachers. But, from time to time, we like to make you aware of more time-sensitive opportunities. The following opportunities fall into that category. While there is no long-term or financial commitment on your part to take advantage of the options below, we do see them as opportunities that would tie directly to the advancement of the typical mission of a faith-based school. Even if not all of these opportunities are a good fit for your school, we do believe every school will find something beneficial in at least one or more of these options. Please feel free to share with anyone in your network who may find them helpful.
Wrink.ly Bible App Seeking Input from Bible Teachers
Wrink.ly is a free Bible memory app designed for anyone who would like to step up their Bible memorization game. The designer is currently looking for input on its design and features to make it as useful for the Bible classroom as possible. Specifically, he is looking for specific verses or passages that you would like to see added for the benefit of your students. He is also looking for input on how you approach your Bible curriculum and the role a technology tool might play in those efforts. The app is available for free right now, and you can help make it even better by participating in this survey. You may also send your questions or comments to support@wrink.ly.
Bible Curriculum Review & Input Opportunity Through Lifestone Ministries
LifeStone Ministries would like to introduce Illuminate Bible Series! Drawing on their 125 years of producing small group materials, LifeStone Ministries has created a daily Bible curriculum for grades 1 through 12. This discipleship program takes a five-step approach to Scripture, diving into story elements, context, connections to other parts of Scripture, doctrinal truths, and application. These are the same five steps that are taught in seminary. The accompanying workbooks encourage critical thinking and personal reflection, going far beyond the words on the page. The educators at LifeStone are very excited about this new product—but they need your help! They are looking for volunteers to review the curriculum and offer feedback. They are hoping to have it ready for schools by next fall. If you are interested in helping them refine this amazing resource, please contact Tammy Creamer at tammy.c@uniongospelpress.com.
Tastes Like Home Awareness Campaign for Connect Our Kids
This may be a tangible and practical service opportunity for small groups, homerooms, or entire schools that promotes family, community, and life! Connect Our Kids is a non-profit organization seeking to support vulnerable students around the country who are about to age out of the foster care program. In addition to the technology tools and curriculum resources they provide (be sure to check out this one related to trauma-informed learning), they are asking for people to help raise awareness of the need some children have for foster and adoptive families through their “Tastes Like Home” campaign. By simply baking the items that make you think of home and sharing them with others in your community, you are able to point out the fact that some kids in our community today are not able to enjoy the tastes of home. You can access the PDF tool kit for participating in this activity here.
Support Our Graduates Facing Anti-Semitism on College Campuses
As Israel is fighting to defend her citizens and as antisemitism around the globe, throughout the United States and on college campuses is spiraling out of control, Christians United for Israel (CUFI) can provide education and support for you, your students, and alumni. Learn more about CUFI- www.cufi.org
CUFI’s college department, CUFI on Campus, can provide your graduates education, resources, and support to help them stand with Israel and the Jewish students on college campuses. Please have them reach out to Laura Villanueva at Laura.Villanueva@cufi.org.
CUFI’s high school department, CUFI High School, can provide you with curriculum, educational materials, speakers, and support. Please be in touch with The Director of CUFI High School, Abel Taye at abel.taye@cufi.org.
Participate in a Global Discussion on Technology in Education through Protect Young Eyes
Are your students different today than in years past? Are you constantly battling for their attention? Are you tired of managing smartphones and AirPods in your classroom? Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes, has been given an opportunity to speak to a global audience in January about the impacts of technology in our classrooms, and he is inviting any educator in the Curriculum Trak community to contribute to that discussion. If any of the statements above resonate with you, he would love to connect. Please leave your email address here. Thank you!
Fundraising CRM and Donor Communication Software
Meet Simon (https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonbtumansky/), the founder and CEO of ChalkBooks. Simon founded ChalkBooks to create a financially sustainable model for independent schools by improving their Advancement function with AI and automations.
ChalkBooks is an AI-powered Advancement CRM and donor communication platform that helps independent school Development teams raise more funds with less effort.
ChalkBooks uses AI and automation to streamline common workflows, saving School Development teams over 20 hours per week while improving donor communication and information gathering.
This time of year is usually when school leadership teams finalize their plan and budget for Advancement software for the upcoming calendar year. If you’re interested in taking advantage of the preferential pricing and unlimited support offered to Curriculum Trak customers by ChalkBooks, now is the time to act.
Please fill out this brief form, and the ChalkBooks team will follow up directly.
The Curriculum Trak Companion App
After a soft-launch of the new Curriculum Trak app on a limited basis, we are excited to begin announcing the availability of this resource to our broader network of users. This app is not a replacement for your regular Curriculum Trak account or an alternate way to get to it. That hasn’t changed. But it is a great way to access a growing list of resources and thought leaders, training components, and even networking opportunities. There is a lot to find there, but let us highlight two big features:
- Free access to future and past webinars: All of the events we have hosted recently, as well as those coming up in the future, will be available at no charge to any one using the app. This gives any teacher on-demand access to these rich professional development opportunities.
- CT Certification Reference: The entire library of CT Certification videos is available through the app. While you can still only obtain certification by registering for the course and completing a few additional requirements, the bulk of the training content is now available for any user.
We hope you will check these resources out and stay tuned for even more information available through the app in the coming days.
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
