The ACSI International Educational Leadership Conference is a response to a growing desire for developing practical cooperation among Christian school administrators from various countries of Europe. The first such conference was organized in 2015 and included 190 participants from 21 countries! We are blessed to be able to work together for the promotion of quality Christ-centered education across Europe. See the 2015 Conference Report

Conference Theme: "Leading from the Heart"

This conference will explore the ACSI Christian School Leadership Framework model, which outlines the competencies and behaviors considered most important to the performance of heads of Christian schools. This framework is built on three major categories: Leadership from the Heart, Relational Competencies and Strategic Competencies. Our desire is to help Christian school leaders understand and integrate a system of leadership which is built upon a personal commitment and a calling to Christ-centered education and impacts each relationship and decision within the school setting. This theme will be used by the various keynote speakers, the workshop presenters and those selected to share best practices from their schools in the General Sessions. Please refer to the DRAFT conference schedule.

Registration closed! (Registration is now FULL with 190 participants, 86 schools and 24 countries represented.)

Conference location:

Conference Goals:

• Encourage / initiate international cooperation among Christian schools
• Encourage networking among Christian school leaders
• Exchange best practices among school leaders
• Enhance leadership skills through plenary and workshop sessions

Program Details:

• This conference will highlight 4 keynote speakers from various regions.
• Workshops will be available, presented by highly experienced and qualified educators working in Christian schools settings.
• The schedule will incorporate a significant time for networking between schools and each school will be provided a small display area for initiating contacts and partnerships.
• The 2015 program is available here as a sample: Program_EN_febr16_small.pdf

Panel Discussion:

• Leading from my Commitment
• Leading from my Calling
• Leading from my Character
• Leading with Compassion
• Leading with a Christ-centered Perspective

** Questions for the panel discussion time can be suggested using the link from your participant email.

Workshops to be presented on Thursday and Friday afternoons:

• Developing the Character of an Effective Christian Leader
• Transformational School Leadership Skills: Leading Hearts while Achieving Goals
• Get the Word Out...and the Enrollment Up!...Practical Ways to Increase Enrollment and Publicize Your School!
• Your School and it’s Partnership with God for your Nation.
• Supervising and Evaluating your Teachers
• Who’s at the Wheel?
• and more...

School Networking Opportunities:

• IMPORTANT: Reserve your display table using the link from your participant email. Please respond by February 10. We can only provide 30 display tables on each day.
• Your School Profile Form must also be submitted by February 10 to be included in our database by the conference date.
• Your school display could be a self-running PowerPoint presentation, video or brochure that would communicate the potential for collaboration with your school.
• Please also think about ways that you want to collaborate with schools from other countries for the mutual benefit of your students and teachers.

Costs: + 20% beginning January 1

* These ACSI members receive a scholarship to help cover the costs of this conference.

Costs include simultaneous audio translation in several languages including Czech/Slovak, Hungarian, Polish and Romanian during the main sessions.

Cancellation Policy:

• All conference fees must be paid by January 15 or your reservation will be cancelled. Because participation is limited to 190, your payment guarantees your reservation.
• Payment can be made by credit card or by bank transfer after completing the registration process.

Speakers:

Stephen Reel has served for twenty-eight years in Christian school ministry as a Bible teacher, school administrator, and adjunct professor. He is the Senior Director of the Southern Division for the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). He previously served for eleven years as the Superintendent of Southside Christian School in Simpsonville, SC, after sixteen years at Ben Lippen School in Columbia, SC, as a Bible teacher, Admissions Director, Elementary Principal, and Associate Headmaster. Prior to this, he served two tours of duty in the United States Marine Corps as an infantry sergeant, tactics instructor, marksmanship instructor, and competition shooter.
Dr. Reel holds a Bachelor of Arts in Bible from Columbia Bible College, a Master of Education in educational administration from Columbia International University, and an Educational Specialist and Doctor of Philosophy in educational administration from the University of South Carolina.
He is the author of Clear Focus: Rediscovering the Most Important Aspect of Christian School Ministry(2015). Stephen and his wife, Melanie, have three children who are all graduates of Christian schools.

Mike Epp has been involved in Christian school education for over 30 years. He has traveled to more than 50 countries as an educational consultant and accreditation advisor. Mike served at a bilingual international Christian school, Pan American Christian Academy in São Paulo, Brazil for 19 years. His experience included serving as a guidance counselor, history teacher, coach and as the head of the school for the last 13 years. He travels extensively to serve the international school Christian community around the world. The Association of Christian Schools International serves nearly 20,000 schools in over 100 countries. He holds a Master’s in Education and Guidance, a B.S. in Social Sciences, and an Education Specialist Certificate in Educational Administration.

Berthold Meier has been involved in the ministry of Christian school education for more than 30 years. He studied theology, Christian education and educational leadership. During his ministry as pastor of a free church in Switzerland, he was appointed for the establishment of Christian Schools. Later he became the head of a Christian school network in Germany. Since that time he has been involved in teacher training at Christian schools. He is now general secretary of the Association of German Christian Schools (VEBS). The association is a platform for cooperation among evangelical Christian schools in Germany. He is in charge of public relations and networking for schools and provides training for teachers, principals, administrators, and also for those who are working on founding new schools. Berthold Meier is married and has four adult children.

Drs. L.N. (Rens) Rottier was educated as a primary school teacher, studied pedagogue and educational sciences at Leiden University, followed several (master) courses in school leadership and educational governance. He started as a teacher in a Christian Primary School, worked as an educational consultant and later on as a school leader of a school for special education. Since 1998 working at Driestar Christian university for teacher education, as director Teacher Training Department, nowadays as Chair of the Board.

Continued Education Units / Completion Certificates

As a participant benefit, ACSI Europe can issue a certificate for 2 CEUs or a completion certificate. Please indicate your request for a CEU certificate in the "notes" section upon registration. Completion certificates will be issued automatically for every participant that has not requested a CEU certificate.