Happy New Year! Epiphany Blessings!

As we begin another New Year, I want to remind each of you how much I appreciate you and thank God for you! I also thank you for the significant contributions you make to Lutheran education in the Pacific Southwest District. More importantly, I thank you for extending the love of Jesus into the lives of your students and their parents as you lead, instruct, model, nurture, and share His love every day in your school. I hold you in my prayers as we start a new year – 2025!

There are significant challenges all around us today. There are fiscal/economic and political challenges that sometimes seem insurmountable. There are relationship challenges amongst our faculties and leadership teams. Children seem to have more challenges in their lives than we have ever seen previously, and they bring behavioral issues to the classrooms and ballfields. There are challenges in our personal lives...and the list of challenges goes on! But we have a God that is stronger and mightier than any earthly challenges we face. He is with us and He wants us to rely on this strength that He freely and willingly provides! One of my favorite Bible verses gives me great comfort and strength when I am feeling overwhelmed, troubled and unsettled. These are Jesus’ words that I cling to: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV)

I pray that the Lord gives you wisdom, courage, and resilience to deal with the tough stuff. I also pray that He gives you balance and the rest that you need! Most of all, I pray that the Lord provides you with the courage, strength and stamina you need to face daily challenges, but also make each day awesome for your students.

You are a blessing to me and to all with whom you come in contact! Have a marvelous New Year – rejoicing in the Lord and being joyful in God our Savior! Philippians 1:3-6, "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." ~Rachel Klitzing

Please join us in praying and thanking God for the following schools this week:

Victory Christian Academy (K-12), Chula Vista, CA

Shepherd of the Valley Learning Center, Moreno Valley, CA

God’s World Preschool and Childcare, Prescott Valley, AZ 

Below are photos from Victory Christian Academy, Chula Vista, CA:

Below are photos from God’s World Preschool and Childcare,

Prescott Valley, AZ:

National Lutheran Schools Week

January 26 – February 1, 2025

National Lutheran Schools Week is coming at the end of this month! This year’s theme is ENDURE, based on Hebrews 12:1-3. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the resources from the LCMS National School Ministry office are limited. Below is a link to the page of resources, with hopes that more will still be added this month. You can also find a direct link to this page on our School Ministries homepage, using the button in the Popular Links box.

National Lutheran Schools Week Resources

It’s a new year, and one of the “not to miss” events that you should add to your calendar is the PSD Administrators Leadership Conference! Make sure you have these dates reserved to attend: July 14-16, 2025 (yes, Monday-Wednesday). Location to be announced soon!

Click HERE to read the December praise report from Unknown Nations, this year's Hearts for Jesus recipient. We invite you to prayerfully consider having your NLSW chapel offering or any other offering go toward this wonderful organization!

The January devotion is now up on our website. It is written by Lyndsey Logas, teacher at St. Paul's Lutheran School in Orange, CA, and titled Celebrate Everything. Thank you, Lyndsey, for reminding us that "This is our year, rejoice in all that He provides and make the best of every moment."

Thank you so much to all who generously gave to the All Workers Conference Thankoffering. A total of $5,021.68 will go toward children of PSD church workers pursuing an undergraduate church work degree at one of our Concordia Universities. To God be the glory! Thank you for your generosity!

Please join us for our Resource Roundtable NEXT Friday, January 17, 2025. 

Understanding Special Education

Description: This presentation is designed to help Lutheran school educators navigate the complex landscape of special education. Special education laws and regulations can be challenging even for veteran public-school administrators, so it’s no surprise that Lutheran educators may face similar difficulties. Participants will learn how they can access assessment services for students and the criteria for qualifying for Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). This session will provide clear guidance and practical resources to ensure that Lutheran schools are better equipped to support their students with special needs.

Presented by: Paul Lavigne, Ed.D.

Paul has worked in the field of special education and educational psychology for over 20 years. He has held positions as a School Psychologist, School Principal, Director of Special Education, and currently as an Executive Director Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA). Paul holds a Pupil Personnel Services credential in School Psychology and an Administrative Services Credential. He has a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology, an Educational Specialist degree in School Psychology, and an Educational Doctorate in Organizational Leadership. As a School Psychologist and Licensed Educational Psychologist, Paul has expertise in the assessment and treatment of students with learning and developmental disabilities.

Audience: School Leaders, Counselors, Resource Teachers, and Teachers

Time: 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., including lunch

Where: Pacific Southwest District Office (16355 Laguna Canyon Road, #300, Irvine, CA 92618). Please check in at the front desk when you enter the building before heading up to the Pacific Southwest District Office located on the third floor. 

Please RSVP HERE by this Friday, January 10.

Discover how trust serves as the foundation for a thriving team culture and explore strategies to cultivate it within your school or organization. Delve into practical methods for establishing trust as the foundation of collaborative team dynamics while aligning the hiring and sales process with your vision for a successful team culture.

Session Title: Enrollment Sales: Trust as the Foundation of a Team Culture

Speaker: Steve Jin, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Services, Concordia University, Irvine

Audience: School Leaders, Admissions Directors, Marketing Directors, Community Outreach Coordinators, and others are welcome!

Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Time: 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Location: Pacific Southwest District (16355 Laguna Canyon Rd. #300, Irvine, CA 92618). Please check in at the front desk when you enter the building before heading up to the Pacific Southwest District Office on the third floor.

Reserve your spot here!

Lunch is provided! Please email eunchu.kim@psd-lcms.org with any questions.

Join Us for One of Our Upcoming Pastor/Director Conferences!

📅 January 23, 2025

📍 District Office, Irvine, CA

📅 January 30, 2025

📍 Christ Greenfield, Gilbert, AZ

A thriving Lutheran school ministry depends on the partnership between pastors and administrators. Together, we can lead with faith, purpose, and unity, ensuring church and school align in their mission to provide a Christ-centered education.

This conference will explore best practices that empower pastors and administrators to work together effectively, focusing on:

• Creating a strong foundational structure through the pastor-administrator relationship
• Delivering the Good News of Jesus Christ through spiritual leadership
• Valuing the school through advocacy and evangelism
• Uniting the church and school through integration and communication
• Creating a Gospel-centered culture of grace and forgiveness

REGISTER HERE by January 17!

Be inspired. Strengthen your partnership. Lead with Christ at the center.  

If you are a ministry with a Preschool-8th grade, please invite your principal to join us as well.

**The winner of the drawing for the free lunch out with PSD EC Consultant Mary Wolfinbarger and School Ministries Executive Director Rachel Klitzing (because of registering for the conference before Christmas) is Circle of Life Lutheran Preschool in Manhattan Beach, CA!

The application is now available for the second cohort of Foundations of Lutheran Teaching! There are five courses the cohort will move through together. The first class begins August 18, 2025, and the fifth class ends June 28, 2026. For specific details, including course descriptions, costs and the application, please visit the FLT page on the Mission Training Center’s website: https://www.missiontrainingcenter.com/flt. You will find the specific dates for each course and the cost for the program on the application itself. Please be sure to utilize the Pacific Southwest District application. 

The Pacific Southwest District is now seeking candidates for its Executive Director of School Administration position. Click HERE for more information, including the job description.

The deadline to respond is Friday, January 24, 2025.

Note that the position description for this role has intentionally been updated from that of the current Executive Director of School Ministries position held by Rachel Klitzing, who is retiring later this year. After 28 years of faithful service to the Pacific Southwest District in this position, we are not attempting to replace Rachel as she retires but envisioning this position for the next season of PSD School Leadership to be accomplished in partnership with the PSD Superintendent of School Innovation.

The 2025 National Administrators Conference, hosted by Lutheran Education Association - LEA, is in California this year! It will take place at the Irvine Marriott March 16-18, 2025. This is a great conference that is focused on topics and issues that affect school leaders. We are excited that this year it is in the PSD! Please consider attending!

REGISTRATION PAGE

Share Your Expertise at Our Early Childhood Equipping Conferences!

We know you and your team are doing incredible things in your ministry, and we want to celebrate and share those best practices! Consider presenting at one of our upcoming Early Childhood Equipping Conferences and encourage your staff to do the same.

Conference Details:

March 21, 2025: Shepherd of the Desert, Scottsdale, AZ

March 28, 2025: Trinity, Temecula, CA

This year, we’re introducing a multi-session format and are seeking presenters to cover a variety of engaging topics.

Submission Details:

Proposal Deadline Extended to: January 30, 2025

Notification of Acceptance: February 5, 2025

Proposal Submission Form

We look forward to reviewing your proposals and discovering the valuable insights you bring to our attendees. While we may not be able to accommodate all submissions due to potential overlap in topics, we deeply appreciate your passion and dedication to early childhood education.

Let’s work together to inspire and equip others in our shared ministry!

Upcoming EC dates for 2025:

January 23: Pastor/Director Conference at the PSD District Office, Irvine, CA

January 30: Pastor/Director Conference at Christ Greenfield, Gilbert, AZ

March 16-18: LEA Administrators Conference in Irvine, CA

March 21: EC Equipping at Shepherd of the Desert, Scottsdale, AZ

March 28: EC Equipping at Trinity, Temecula, CA

Save these dates in 2026:

January 22-23, 2026: Director’s Conference

March 13, 2026: EC Equipping at Christ, Huntington Beach, CA

March 20, 2026: EC Equipping at TLC, Casa Grande, AZ

TEC21 serves for the next great cloud of witnesses.

As we enter a new year, TEC21 Founder Brent Dieckhoff tells us he celebrates the National Lutheran Schools Week theme, Endure, from Hebrews 12:1-3. In his words, “God’s words tell us to consider Him who endured such opposition, that we might not grow weary and lose heart. This is the very center of TEC21’s ministry to Lutheran school teachers. Why do they run with perseverance the race marked out for them? Why do they fix their eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith? I will tell you, it is for the precious charge of our children, the next generation of Lutheran church and school workers and workforce leaders who will make Him known.”

Registrations for TEC21’s Season 17 Workshop Program (for a September start date in the 2025-2026 school year) have exceeded expectations! Please register as soon as possible, even with just your principal name, to save spots. To delay registration is to risk the possibility of not getting seats in your desired cohort from this exciting lineup:

• EC-8 educator cohorts (in-person and virtual options)
• New! EC-8 principal cohort (Virtual! Don’t miss it!)
• High school subject-specific virtual cohorts (ELA, science, social studies and theology) 
• K-12 music cohort (virtual)

Register Here

If you have questions or would like TEC21 to walk you through the registration process, reach out soon to Brent here to schedule a video chat or call him at 316.641.8356. You can also send a quick email asking him to hold spots for you. If you’re new to TEC21, find more information here about how the Workshop Program helps Lutheran school teachers find practical and relevant applications to create technology enriched classrooms.

PSD SCHOLARSHIPS FOR TEC21!

Pacific Southwest District School Ministries is once again offering a scholarship of up to $500 for PSD educators to attend TEC21 for the 2025-26 school year, thanks to a generous partnership with LCEF.  Click here for the scholarship application form. The deadline to register for TEC21 is March 31, 2025, and to apply for a PSD scholarship is April 15, 2025.

Click HERE to read the January CAPSO (California Association of Private School Organizations) E-Mailer. In this issue...

• Immigration and Schools- Plyler v. Doe (1982)
• Emergency and Mental Health Resources, Office of Non-Public Education
• AB 68 (2024), School Violence and Armed School Officers
• Green Ribbon Schools Information and Resources
• Emergency Preparedness Trainings Available to Private Schools
• Updated Air Quality Guidance and Resources
• CaPS-PD Survey for Private School PD Needs
• CAPSO CO-Presents with the CDE on ESSA/ESEA
• No Cost Private School PD Available
• Legislative Call to Action
• What I've Been Reading

The TLC Grant has been established by the former Trinity Lutheran Church in Reseda, CA, as an ongoing gift to School Ministries of the PSD, to be given for the enhancement of learning and the engagement of students in Lutheran schools of the District. The intent of the donors was that our schools be excellent because we serve an excellent God! There are many ways in which you can strive for excellence and enhance student learning and engagement in our classrooms and within the school property itself. Priority will be given to those who have clearly described how the money will be used to start a new program or educational platform or enhance an existing one on your campus. This is a competitive grant based on the strength of the application. It is open to all K-12 schools. Since the inception of this grant in January 2016, $481,746.00 has been granted to 56 different schools in our district.

Click here for the simple application. The deadline is January 31, 2025. Recipients will be announced in February, with the grants awarded upon receipt of the grant acceptance form. Grant requests will be made twice annually – in January and August. In July 2025, you will receive information about the next opportunity to apply, since this is a biannual grant.

If you received a TLC Grant in 2024 and have not yet shared an update on your project, please submit a simple breakdown of how the grant monies were spent. We always love seeing pictures as well! You can send that update to rachel.klitzing@psd-lcms.org.  We want to celebrate how the Lord used this grant money to further the educational mission of your school!  

Attention Administrators –

The Commissioned Minister call document has been revised effective January 1, 2025. The new version is 4.9.4 and reflects changes to the Benefits Section (pages 4 and 5). Please share this information with those at your church or school who prepare call documents. This new version must be used for new graduates/first calls that are sent to the PSD for President Gibson’s signature starting in January.

Username and password information remains the same but can be requested by contacting Ellen Pratt (ellen.pratt@psd-lcms.org) or Kim Violette (kim.violette@psd-lcms.org) in School Ministries.

• Please join us in praying for all those in the vicinity of the fires in Southern California. We pray for the firefighters and the families of all those affected by the fires, and we pray together:

Gracious and merciful Father,

We come to you by the leading of your Holy Spirit and in the Name of Jesus Christ our Savior to ask Your help in our time of need. You, Lord God, are our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. Today, we cry out to You for all who are impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles and beyond.

We pray for those who have lost homes, livelihoods, or loved ones. Comfort them with the peace that surpasses all understanding. Assure them of Your presence and provide for their every need through the kindness of neighbors, the compassion of strangers, and the generosity of Your people.

We lift before You the firefighters, first responders, and all who work tirelessly to protect life and property. Grant them courage, wisdom, and strength as they face the flames. Shield them with Your mighty hand and guide them in their efforts.

For your Church, Lord, empower us to be agents of Your love and care, bearing witness to the Gospel in our service to those affected. As a people saved from disaster through the gracious gift of the cross of your Son, help us to take the forgiveness and life we have received into the lives of those in harm’s way.

Finally, Lord, we ask for favorable weather conditions—calming winds, and rain without destruction—to aid in quelling the fires. May all your provisions in this time of disaster be a reminder to us of Your promise to bring beauty from ashes and hope from despair.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

We entrust this prayer to You by your Spirit and in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

• We are thankful to God for new life! Several PSD educators and their families have recently been blessed with babies!
• For a blessed start to 2025 for you, your family, your students, and their families. 

Schools we are praying for the week of January 12:

Christ Lutheran School and Preschool, Costa Mesa, CA

Christ Lutheran Preschool, Huntington Beach, CA

Community Lutheran Preschool, Escondido, CA

Each week, prayers of thanksgiving and prayers for teachers, administrators, support staff, pastors, students, and families of the Lutheran schools, early childhood centers, and churches of the Pacific Southwest District are listed. To include names on the list, please send information to anna.preus@psd-lcms.org by noon on Tuesdays.