PFO2GO Boarding Track
Presenter
Kristi Schliep
Associate Head of School | Black Forest Academy
Kristi Schliep was born and raised in California by two mission-minded, pastoral parents. She has served with Youth for Christ for over 20 years in California, Germany, and Thailand, and has worked at Black Forest Academy in Kandern, Germany for 12 of those years where she is currently serving as the Associate Head of School. Kristi has her master's degree in Educational Leadership and Administration. Her thesis focused on resident assistant retention at Black Forest Academy.
For most of her years at BFA, Kristi has served directly in the school’s boarding program, both as a resident assistant and as a boarding administrator who focused on the professional development of boarding staff. She continues to support the BFA boarding program through training, advice, consultation, and occasional dorm subbing. She has also served on or led several ACSI boarding accreditation visits examining and advising international boarding programs in Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Malaysia. She was also a contributing member of the editing team that helped to revise the Association of Christian School International (ACSI) Manual for Boarding Accreditation. Kristi is a certified trainer for Boarding Training Australia and has presented those materials at Black Forest Academy and Dalat International School. Finally, Kristi has been an advisor and presenter at ACSI’s in-person PreField Orientation (PFO) training program where she has trained hundreds of individuals on issues surrounding transition to the international school environment and most recently led the in-person Boarding Track at PFO for individuals about to serve in international boarding. Boarding is near and dear to Kristi’s heart and she is committed to raising the quality of caregiving in boarding homes whenever and wherever she can.
Boarding Track Session 1: Understanding Our History, Context, and Role
Description: In this session, Kristi outlines a historical context for international Christian school boarding, how to develop a framework for the need for boarding and the benefits of boarding, and shares how to develop an understanding of the role of boarding staff.
Boarding Track Session 2: Partnership with Parents
Description: In this session, Kristi shares the importance of a strong partnership with parents, how to raise awareness of the issues involved in partnering with parents, and how to apply principles learned from case studies.
Boarding Track Session 3: The Larger Team
Description: In this session, Kristi shares how to identify all participants in the care of students and introduces a case management approach to student care.
Boarding Track Session 4: Spiritual Development in the Dorm
Description: In this session, Kristi shares the importance of committing to spiritual formation of students in the dorm and developing Kingdom culture in the dorm. She also encourages participants to create a plan for both their own spiritual formation and that of the students.
Boarding Track Session 5: Creating Culture in the Dorm
Description: In this session, Kristi helps participants apply what they have learned about culture to learning culture in the dorm. She focuses on the importance of creating dorm culture rather than "consume or critique" culture.
Boarding Track Session 6: Youth Culture Trends
Description: In this final session on boarding, Kristi wraps things up by reviewing current youth culture trends and provides resources for navigating those trends.
Inspirational Video: ACSI Global
Description: This video will give you an overview of the work of ACSI Global around the world.