School Chaplains Answer the Call

In 2023 Texas passed the school chaplain bill.

School chaplaincy has been legal in public schools since before the colonists fought our War for Independence. General George Washington commissioned chaplains in his military even before the U. S. Constitution.

Recent school chaplain bills introduced by legislative bodies in many states provided funding or policy for school chaplains, like in Texas, including any school in Fayette County.

Fayette County school districts may hire or accept as volunteers certified and trained school chaplains.

A recent survey by the Associated Press NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reported that the majority of Americans support chaplains in schools.

Today chaplains are assigned to every federal and state organization and facility like the US military, veterans hospitals, federal and state prisons, airports, the US capital, state capitals, police and fire departments and other organizations or government venues. Hospitals, corporations, colleges, and sports teams have all employed chaplains for more than a century.

Now chaplains are in public schools because chaplains help teachers, staff, parents, families and students.

After the School Chaplain Bill passed in Texas, that funded chaplaincy, a majority of school boards agreed and voted to put chaplains in their school districts.

International data provided by the 29 year old National School Chaplain Association shows a myriad of significant benefits of school chaplaincy such as:

• higher teacher retention *lower stress

• better student engagement

• no suicides where a chaplain was assigned

• less moral injury

• higher parental engagement • more community involvement • greater self awareness

• increased benevolence

• better job satisfaction

• more positive attitudes among teachers and students and many more benefits, such as these statistics provided by the NSCA; Schools with chaplains serving include these experiences: • Up to 80% reduction in teen pregnancies

• 37% increase in graduation rates

• Dramatic drops in school violence and domestic violence

• Zero student suicides reported in schools with chaplains present for two or more years Chaplains represent no one religion. Simply put; chaplains represent God and their “ministry of presence” sets an atmosphere of positivity in schools where they are assigned.

School Chaplains are not called to preach, teach, proselytize, pastor or evangelize. Chaplains are assigned to schools because chaplains help.

One of the greatest attributes of a successful school chaplain is their listening skill.

Schools where a certified chaplain serves, find greater teacher and student satisfaction, better teacher peer to peer rapport, parental engagement, and job satisfaction.

Chaplains help teachers, staff, transport personnel, board members, coaches, students and parents.

Some examples of effective school chaplaincy include 1. Organizing local churches, nonprofits, and organizations in an “Extreme Teacher Lounge Makeover” benefiting the oldest school in the district 1. Gathering prom dresses for impoverished students 2. Finding a significant percentage of students who went hungry on the weekend.... the chaplain answered the need with “meals on wheels” 3. Working significantly with probation officers, department of human services, crime prevention staff and other organizations to facilitate care and better well-being for teachers and students 4. Chaplains offer everything from spiritual care when teachers are going through divorce, financial stress or family issues, to free rides, hospital visits and referrals to such things as hospice, grief recovery, divorce care, financial planning and family restoration.

5. Teachers show marked improvement and better work experience because they have “someone to talk to” about their on the job problems or their own family issues.

Chaplains do not replace counselors, yet studies show a significant reduction in the need for counselors’ time when a school chaplain is engaged with staff, teachers or students.

Chaplains offer a common sense solution and a significant alternative in solving mental health issues in American schools.

Fayette County Judge Dan Mueller has been a local advocate for school chaplains because he has read the data and studied the benefits. Prior to being County Judge Dan Mueller served us Justice of the Peace, where he worked very closely with local school districts for 28 years.

“It just makes sense to help improve our schools and give teachers and parents an extra helpmate in today’s culture,’ states Judge Mueller.

Recent research by a Columbia professor, Dr. Lisa Miller, showed that spiritual wellbeing and engagement, (such that chaplains represent), offers better mental health. “Lack of spirituality leads to increased mental health issues”. (see The Awakened Brain “ Why Spirituality Matters” by Dr. Lisa Miller.)

A school chaplain’s greatest benefit is offering increased safety on campus because a certified school chaplain is trained in threat assessment, stop the bleed and campus awareness. A school chaplain’s primary role is “presence” and assessing campus activity. A school chaplain is focused and is not distracted by team outcomes, grade assessments or performance , grading papers, teaching or classroom activities.

For more than 250 years, America has embraced chaplains in every aspect of our culture. Now schools are finding this major resource and added benefit for local communities, schools and parents Simply put, school chaplains help.

To assess your qualifications in becoming a certified school chaplain or gain more knowledge on how a school district will benefit from a paid or volunteer certified school chaplain contact; https://www. nscaacademy.org And for more general information about the school chaplain movement, history, statistics and data please visit https:// www.nationalschoolchaplainassociation. org and/or email info@campuschaplains.org.

This column article was provided by Jim Schmidt, (aka: Armadillo Jim). Jim is an educator, author and speaker. He is a Fayette County native, a 1974 graduate of Bishop Forest High School in Schulenburg.

Jim is heard on KVLG/ KBUK radio Sunday evening 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. Monday morning in a 10 minute spiritual devotion called “Yall Have a Good Day.”

Jim is a certified school chaplain, senior ambassador for the NSCA and author of Helping Public Schools. www. HelpingPublicSchools.com.

He is also on the executive team of the new www.businessbible. com.