By trade, Captain Ryan McNeilly is a private pilot. He also devotes much of his time to giving back to the community by serving as the Director of Cadet Programs for the Ohio Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). In this conversation, he draws on his personal experience with the armed forces and his current role with the CAP to share opportunities available to youth interested in joining the military or exploring careers in aviation, cybersecurity, and more.

RESOURCES

Worthington Christian School Viewbook

Civil Air Patrol Cadet Programs

U.S. Struggles to Recruit Gen Z

Excellence is woven into every successful individual, business, and team. Yet, the temptation is strong to settle for mediocrity or fall prey to perfectionism rather than pursue excellence. With eleven years of experience as an NFL center, Super Bowl champion, and Pro-Bowler, Jeff Hartings has experienced and observed the pursuit of excellence and its pitfalls. He draws on this experience to share with parents what he feels is the meaning of, the measure, and the motivation for pursuing excellence. He also encourages parents to maintain a healthy balance as they encourage their children to pursue excellence.

RESOURCES

Worthington Christian School Viewbook

The Pyramid of Excellence

A child's holistic development includes physical, mental, emotional growth and spiritual growth. A loving, safe community of faith is vital to a child's spiritual development and can offer tremendous support to moms and dads on their parenting journey. Central Ohio-based pastor Zac Hess offers parents words of encouragement, challenging questions to consider, and insights from his own experience as a father to four in this conversation about the role of the local church in the lives of parents and children.

RESOURCES

Worthington Christian School Kindergarten Readiness Guide

Only 10% of Christian Twentysomethings Have Resilient Faith

U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time

Faith-based K-12 school enrollment is rising, while faith-based colleges across the country have declined in recent years. Educational choices at both the K-12 and college levels are critical in the overall development of children. What is the best environment for a child? What priorities make it to the top of a family's list? What is the true cost of faith-based education in comparison to its returns? Dr. Phil Cook, Executive Director of the North American Coalition for Christian Admissions Professionals (NACCAP), lends nearly 30 years of experience in the realm of faith-based education admissions to us in discussing these questions and more.

RESOURCES

Worthington Christian School Viewbook

Each generation of students has unique characteristics, including how they relate to authority and respond to discipline. Bringing 23 years of perspective and experience to the conversation, educator and administrator Tim Kraynak offers insights into how school discipline has changed in recent decades. What is a healthy approach to school discipline? What is the role of parents in the process? Kraynak answers these questions and more.

RESOURCES

Worthington Christian School Viewbook

Whether a child appears to be a natural-born leader or more of a follower, each has unique gifts and abilities they can learn to leverage to influence others positively. Parents play a critical role in modeling healthy leadership and guiding their children into their ways of leading.

Are some children natural-born leaders while others tend to be followers? At what age can parents begin conversations with their children about leadership? How can parents guide their children to be positive influencers? Seasoned university professor and counselor Dr. Mike Hayes brings nearly 30 years of study and experience to speak to parents about student leadership.

RESOURCES

Worthington Christian School Affordability Guide

With the recent changes to the college admissions landscape, academic rigor is perhaps more important than ever. The movement toward test-optional admissions has made the process more qualitative than quantitative. University and college counselors are not simply looking to see if an applicant has a certain test score or has properly completed the application. They are now reading the essays and transcripts more thoroughly, looking to see if students have challenged themselves throughout high school. This reality may leave students (and parents) wondering, what classes should I take in high school? How can I show colleges that I have challenged myself and am college-ready? Private college counseling expert Dr. Bethany Schweitzer offers wisdom and insight into this question and more.

RESOURCES

College Ready

Worthington Christian School Affordability Guide

Education in the U.S. continues to undergo massive shifts at the state and federal levels. In Ohio, a new state tax-payer benefit supports many private schools. There is also legislation that will greatly expand educational freedom in Ohio, similar to recent educational changes in Arizona and West Virginia. Additionally, the U.S. recently released its first post-shutdown report card, indicating significant learning loss in the last three years. Troy McIntosh, Executive Director of the Ohio Christian Education Network, shares insights into these topics and offers parents a word of encouragement as they navigate their child's post-shutdown educational needs.

RESOURCES

Scholarship Granting Organizations

The Backpack Bill

Worthington Christian School Viewbook

Much of our lives are filled with screens, and parents hear an increasing number of alarming statistics, cautionary tales, and warnings about screen time and children. As a mother of three, author Arlene Pellicane has navigated raising her children in a technology-centric world. In the book she co-authored with Gary Chapman, Screen Kids, she offers insight and encouragement for parents. In this episode, she shares glimpses of her parenting experience and highlights key elements of Screen Kids. 'Digital vegetables' versus 'digital candy,' the pathway to screen addiction, and jumpstarting a family reboot are among the topics of this conversation.

RESOURCES

Worthington Christian School

Worthington Christian School Viewbook

Many parents desire to pass their faith on to their children meaningfully. Often, this looks like taking our kids to church and teaching them the Bible—both important aspects of spiritual formation. Spiritual director, pastor, and father of four girls Jared Patrick Boyd suggests that knowing God through experiencing His presence and love is central to spiritual formation. He wrote the book Imaginative Prayer, written to be a tool for parents to create a shared space of connection for kids and parents around spiritual things. In this conversation, he discusses the power of using imagination in prayer and how we, as parents, can help our children grow deeper in their relationship with God.

RESOURCES

Curt Thompson, MD

Worthington Christian School