In the September 2022 edition of SRQ Magazine, we interviewed Joseph Stokes, Head of School at Sarasota Christian School as part of our In Conversation feature with educational leaaders about current trends in education. Below is an excerpt published in the magazine in which Stokes shares his insights with SRQ readers.

How do you think that having a set of principles has benefited the students at a school like yours?

In our mission statement as might be expected, it would embody our savior as part of being a Christian school. So we talk about the love of Christ, we talk about learning about the scriptures, but one of the things that's most important is that we serve. And so I think we find the service piece historically at this school has led to everything from environmental things to service projects in the community to mission trips. And so the more that we can help students develop their service concepts about other people and get outside of themselves, the love of Christ ends up becoming something that is visible and real. And you realize that if we're not serving in a way that helps others, we're kind of missing a point of the gospel. So I'm, I'm very happy to say that we may have different names for the things that are important in our creed, but I think we all have a creed that is trying to produce citizens that are an advantage for the community, for the churches they come from, from the families that they serve.

To read the full article, click here.