The NorthStar Narrative
The NorthStar Narrative
The Evolution of Christian Education
The educational landscape is transforming before our eyes. As Principal Katie Ahmadzai reveals in this illuminating conversation, Christian education has evolved far beyond traditional classrooms into a diverse ecosystem serving each student's unique needs.
What drives parents to consider different educational models? Katie explores how the foundation of Christian education—recognizing each child as created in God's image—fundamentally changes how students engage with learning. Unlike an escape from the world, today's Christian education prepares students to impact it purposefully.
Beyond academic growth, Katie emphasizes how we must entrust our children to God while supporting their spiritual development. Through literature, science, history, and mathematics, students encounter God's beauty in every subject area.
Looking toward education's future, Katie shares her excitement for how technology—including AI—can create more personalized learning experiences while freeing teachers to focus on meaningful human connection. NorthStar's international character, connecting students from over 80 countries, creates a unique environment where students don't just learn about different cultures but learn with peers from around the world.
For brick-and-mortar schools and families seeking to supplement traditional education, NorthStar offers remarkable flexibility. From individual courses to innovative programs like their new Entrepreneurship 1 Live class, students can develop crucial self-management skills while engaging with a global community.
Whether you're seeking alternative education options, supplemental opportunities, or simply curious about where education is heading, this conversation provides valuable insights into nurturing both the minds and hearts of the next generation.
Hi, this is Stephanie Shafer and you're listening to the NorthStar Narrative, a podcast from NorthStar Academy. I want to thank you for joining us. I hope you're encouraged, challenged and motivated by what you learned today. Enjoy the story.
Stephanie Shafer:Hi everybody, thanks for joining us today for our next episode, where we're going to be talking with our principal at NorthStar, Katie Amadzai, and we're going to talk about just Christian education in general, where it's moving, what's happening, why people may be choosing online school versus brick and mortar, or why not, and then we'll end up talking a little bit about NorthStar and what NorthStar offers to meet those needs that parents and students have, and what's really cool about NorthStar, I can add, around the globe, because we're not just US space, but one of our fantastic attributes of NorthStar is that students that join NorthStar get to experience so many different cultures and what life is outside of, maybe, their hometown. So I'm so excited to have Katie here today. And, yeah, if you are thinking about online school, it's going to be a great podcast for you to learn, so just stay tuned in. So thanks, Katie, for joining me for a few minutes today.
Katie Ahmadzai:Thanks so much for inviting me. It's always a fun time to be able to come and just talk and visit and talk all things education, yep, and you spend a lot of time researching, reading conferences, networking with people.
Stephanie Shafer:So, Katie, you're a great person I know to have on and share what is happening with NorthStar and with the education world, and also we're going to do two episodes, so we'll have an episode that comes out after this one. We're going to talk a little bit about state vouchers, what's happening in the government, state governments, all of that. So you'll definitely want to check that out so you can learn a little bit and just make sure you're staying up to date. So, anyway, tell us what you're learning right now with all of your networking and just looking at online education, the needs that are out there, but also just education in general. You might even talk a little bit about the topic that some people don't want to talk about AI, where that's going, yeah, so what are your thoughts just on the education world right now and where it may be going in the next five years?
Katie Ahmadzai:Education and just the way that education is changing right now and really just being reevaluated. I wouldn't say we need to necessarily jump into education and change it just for the sake of change. That's not the point at all. But being able to look at what is really the purpose of education and dive deep into that and then think about the world in which we live and think are we accomplishing those goals in a really authentic and helpful way for our students, who are walking into a future that's going to look a little bit probably a lot different actually, than maybe what I walked into 20, 30 years ago right out of high school. So I'll just kind of back up.
Katie Ahmadzai:One thing that I'm really excited about is the diversity of Christian education opportunities that are available now for students. I just want to start out that, like I did not grow up going to Christian schools, I grew up going to public schools. I had a wonderful experience in public schools. I've taught in public schools, but there is something that I think families are finding that maybe can be missing in public schools and especially depending in the areas in which they live. Just the nature of US schooling is that every school district is very different, and so there are certain school districts where education is thriving, public education is thriving, where there are wonderful teachers that are investing in students and we see really good fruit coming out of that educational purpose. There are places where that's not necessarily the case, where schools may not have the funding or may just struggle finding teachers who are qualified, and that can be a real struggle for families, because every family wants to provide the best for their students' education. I've never met a family that doesn't want to do that.
Katie Ahmadzai:And what we're discovering is that Christian education, because of the root of the value of God's love for us and the fact that we are created in God's image, as growing and learning creatures, who are then called to be blessed, to be a blessing, so we're also called to be able to grow in a way that we go out and impact our communities and our world. Sometimes just having this as a core drastically impacts the way that students approach education and so being able to provide families a place where that is the foundation of education and provide students an environment and a community where they are currently. You know they're consistently encouraged along these lines that they are not just like a test score in a state test. They are an individual, and so we see more and more families recognizing this and looking at Christian education not just as an escape, maybe, from the world, so that they can go into their little bubble and be safe, but really as a beautiful addition to the education that they might be receiving in public education, but that they're able to add so much more context around that and develop the student more holistically With that.
Katie Ahmadzai:We see a lot of diversity coming out in Christian education. So we have classical schools, we have hybrid schools that are in-person two or three days a week and then parents are homeschooling the other two to three days a week. We've got purely online schools, like NorthStar, that are international in nature and students are getting to interact with people from around the world. We have nature schools that are popping up where they're spending more and more time with young kids outside, experiential learning schools in a Christian context and tech and STEM-focused Christian schools. I mean we really run the gamut of what's available and I think that comes from a place of just knowing that every student is different and wanting to be able to feed into students' passions and their gifts, to see them grow for the glory of Christ and for, ultimately, the impact of the world and the kingdom.
Stephanie Shafer:I love that. So beautiful, just thinking about each student as a completely unique and individual, and God has made them so beautifully, knitted them together. Think about scripture, just the perfect way. And so schools and educators yeah, recognizing that. And options. So I just think about, like, all the options you gave that students can choose from, and online school is one option, and there's also, yeah, different types of online schools, just like brick and mortar schools, and so finding the place where your student best fits. One of the things that come to mind is sometimes, parents. We probably do this in some ways. We have a plan for our student or we think we know our students' brain and what's best for them, but is that always true, and should we make decisions for them all the time?
Katie Ahmadzai:Yeah, that gets really really in a challenging, you know question. I definitely think that there's a place where, yeah, parents end up, you know, making the final call, but I think it's really important for us to know our students and have conversations with our students. I have three kiddos in a regular conversation that I have with them, picking up you know, people from schools. What did you really enjoy about school today? Even thinking, you know, if you could design a school, what would it look like? And my kids design very different schools because they're very different people.
Katie Ahmadzai:So my oldest is more of an academic, so she wants to be reading, she wants to be in Socratic seminars, she wants to be talking about the books and the history and all the things talking about the books and the history and all the things. My middle child is much more hands-on learning and loves science and outdoors, and so she wants to be able to be outside and experiential learning and applying what she's learned gardening and all the things. And my youngest is a little bit of a mix of both and all boy. So you know, being outside definitely sounds like fun to him and so he just wants to be able to apply what he's learning. So if he can apply his math to Pokemon cards, yay, you know. If he can apply what he's learning in science to going out and knowing where to find which bugs and identify the bugs and identify the fish, you know, all the better. And so whether they're learning like in a public school setting, knowing this about your kids, I think is so valuable, even for enrichment opportunities. You know, knowing what I know about my kiddos, that's how we pick extra stuff that we do on the weekends or how we pick. You know, summer camps are a great enrichment opportunity and as they get older and they get more choice in high school with elective courses, it allows them then to know a little bit more about themselves.
Katie Ahmadzai:They've had time to think and reflect on how they like to learn and what they like about themselves. They've had time to think and reflect on how they like to learn and what they like to learn, and then they can make better choices for themselves, which we want students to be owners of their learning. We want them to be engaged, but beyond an entertainment value, engagement, we really want them to have ownership of their learning. Like this is what I want to learn and I'm going to go and learn it. Now, there are times, you know, we come alongside and that's why there are graduation requirements, because not every kid is going to be like, oh, and I really want to learn algebra, that's going to be something that we're like, well, we need to learn algebra. So we're going to do that because it's going to help you in other areas.
Katie Ahmadzai:But whenever we can give them choice, whenever we can instill in them that curiosity and wonder that helps them develop that love of lifelong learning, which you know is one of NorthStar core values and something that I absolutely love and want to encourage in all of our students. And I mean we have a huge amount of electives too, and that's part of the reason I love that our students, whenever they get into high school, can really think about, like, here's an area astronomy I love. Well, guess what? We've got a science elective in that area. Or I really enjoy veterinary science or animals. Well, you can take a veterinary science class. So there are lots of options here that we are able to offer and even supplement, maybe, what families are doing at home, if they're maybe not close to a Christian school and they've decided to homeschool, but they don't maybe have access to everything that their kids are interested in. That's a beautiful way that NorthStar has been able to come alongside families and help.
Stephanie Shafer:Yeah, I love the reminders you just gave us, but also bringing us back to the core Standards do matter. Diplomas, depending on their next steps, graduation requirements all that matters, but just as much is the uniqueness of your student and the way they learn and getting them engaged by knowing the way that they learn. Also, I can't help to think of prayer as a mom. How does prayer fit into all of what you just shared?
Katie Ahmadzai:Absolutely. Yeah, that is something I feel like I every day drop off with my kiddos. That is, I feel like I pull out of every school parking lot and pray for my kiddos and their day, and to me that is so much broader than you know. God helped them have a good day at school. I mean, I want them to have a good day at school, but what do I really want as a mom? You know I want them to know how deeply they are loved by God and allow that to start changing their heart, um, and and have that impact how they love others and how they see the world that God's created, um, and so being able to think through that on on a parent end is one thing.
Katie Ahmadzai:If you think about that through a Christian school lens, that's a whole other way, because that goes into.
Katie Ahmadzai:How do we then um, pray for our students and then support them in those prayers?
Katie Ahmadzai:Because there is an element of praying that impacts the heart that only God can do, and I'm so thankful for that, Because if there's anything I've realized as a parent, it's like you really have limited access to, you know, designing your kid.
Katie Ahmadzai:You know you would think like I could punch in and do this exact thing and I will get this exact kid out and that's just not the way it works. So prayer is a way that I know God is working in hearts and minds. But then as a Christian school educator, how do I come alongside and support that? How do I build wonder and point students back to God in awe in their science class or help them wrestle with some questions that may be really hard in history or in literature, but knowing that we're pointing them to the truth of who God is through that and sometimes those experiences you know, impact hearts in ways we can't even imagine Literature, science, history, math, even we see beautiful aspects of God through those subject areas. That again, because every student is God's love and His beauty in all aspects of life, whether that's relationships or content, area that that becomes something that I think only God can kind of open eyes to see.
Stephanie Shafer:And no matter what campus our students are on online brick and mortar public christian. Um, there's more than just the courses, because my husband takes holton, who's in elementary school, he drives him to school and drops him off every day, and I know he always prays with them on the way and he talks about making an impact on others, serving others. And so I just recently found out one of the ways, because I was asking him questions about it Well, how are you doing this? How are you making an impact? And he says well, I challenge myself every day to open the door for three people. And he told me about that. And so he came up with that all on his own, because Charlie just tells him impact, you know, and then letting him be creative about how he does that. And so he came up with that all on his own, because Charlie just tells him impact, you know, and then letting him be creative about how he does that. And so that just floored me. I don't know which is so, because you have to intentionally be thinking about that. So he, like, plans it out when he's going to try to open the door, whether it's a teacher or a student. He told me three, his three specific door openings for that day and I thought that's so cool.
Stephanie Shafer:So, even in that that they're learning to be a servant, and so just trusting God with our kids' hearts, challenging them and then praying for them, is so, so good. It's not just about what courses am I going to pick? How am I going to get my kid through high school? What are they going to be? I got to get them off my payroll. You know all the things that might come through our minds because we do care about them and we do love them so much. All right, that's some good stuff, and I didn't know we were going to go that direction really. But I think it's such good reminders just for me and you, as we're sitting here talking about it and challenging one another, and these really are, I mean, the heart issues and what God cares about and loves and gives us the opportunity to be a part of all of these areas and play a role.
Stephanie Shafer:So so cool, All right. Talk a little bit about the online education world, what you're seeing and learning. Why would parents even look into this, research it? Why would they make this selection versus brick and mortar?
Katie Ahmadzai:So, yeah, over the past five years right, it's hard to believe we're going five years since we went into COVID, and so during that time we've seen a huge shift in A what parents think about online education, and a lot of that has been based on their experience of what happened during COVID and their local schooling situation. And then also just technology continuing to grow and it's amazing. I mean AI in the last two to three years has just rapidly impacted the way that we do things as a society and will continue to do so. I mean, there's no evidence otherwise at this point in time. So whenever I think about the state of online learning, the first thing that pops into mind is just to kind of combat maybe a little bit of pushback after COVID.
Katie Ahmadzai:Covid was hard, and I want to acknowledge that, and being at home was really hard for students and for families and a lot of times for the teachers, who had to pivot within like a couple of days notice. They were not prepared to go into an online setting and, furthermore, every school did things a little bit differently, so some schools tried to do what we would say a very synchronous version of school. So you're going to be online from 8 am until 3 pm, just like you were in class from 8 am to 3 pm. Others went kind of the other extreme, which is very asynchronous, which is just like I'm going to throw out some assignments and you just kind of get those assignments done and good luck. And so all of that extreme has really impacted the way that families may have experienced online education or what they may think about it, because they've heard stories from other people. What we're finding is there's definitely been a push to go to have a more human element in online education Back whenever NorthStar started 27 years ago.
Stephanie Shafer:Sometimes, once we got past 25, I kind of lost count.
Katie Ahmadzai:I started thinking about like technology was limited. It limited the amount of humanness really we could access. We could write letters back and emails back and forth to students. Students sent in very static documents to us and thankfully, with the way that technology has advanced, we can now make online education much more human and I feel like NorthStar has done a really good job at moving that direction over the past 27 years, consistently re-evaluating and seeing how we can move forward bit by bit. So now most online education it envelops a social aspect, so some way for the student and the teacher to interact. In some schools that involves, like, students interacting with each other more outside of a classroom setting. That again depends by the online school, by the online school.
Katie Ahmadzai:Some online schools have moved more towards project-based and some have moved kind of more along a more traditional path and it goes back to a philosophy of education and it's not that one's great and one's horrible. They are just different philosophies and different families, you know, may value different things and so it's a value situation. I feel like NorthStar has done a really good job at being able to kind of blend these together. There is an understanding at NorthStar that some base foundational knowledge and understanding of concepts is important. There is also a great understanding that students need to be able to apply what they're learning so that they're able then to transfer it outside of, like I know how to do a math problem as long as I'm sitting in math class, you know. So they can transfer it to like oh, maybe they're in science class and there's something that they need that math skill for, they'll know how it applies, and so the way that we have written our curriculum has allowed for more of that.
Katie Ahmadzai:Where I see online school going that is exciting to me is educational opportunities for students and then allow more space for human interaction. So where I see it growing is individualization. Ai can be used to help students target, maybe, areas where they have struggled in the past. Students target, maybe, areas where they have struggled in the past. It allows them also, maybe, to target some areas where they would like to go deeper than other students are. So that enrichment area, which in the past has taken teachers a lot of time to be able to individualize for students on you know who maybe don't aren't walking down the middle of the road, is what we call it of education, which is a lot of where we like aim standardized education content towards.
Katie Ahmadzai:We're able to use technology tools to help us meet needs on either side and in so doing, those students then are able to stay more engaged with the class as a whole, and the teacher is also freed up, because they would have spent hours and hours trying to work on individualizing assignments or readings or whatever to match every single student. If you can imagine that in an online classroom, you know of hundreds of kids that would have taken so long. But to be able to do it a lot more quickly then frees up the time for the teacher to invest more time to spend one-on-one with kids and to reach out and talk to them and see how they're doing. So I'm excited about that element of where online school will continue to grow and go in the next few years. Of course, that's to be done with caution. You know it's not something that you rush into, and we always consider student online safety as a really important element of that. But it is something that truly excites me because of the opportunities, if it can be done well, of what's available.
Stephanie Shafer:Yeah, that's so good. So much good information. All right, what's one other thing you can share before we wrap up that you're really excited about for education?
Katie Ahmadzai:I think the way that we as a society uses AI is going to force us to re-evaluate how our students need to engage with their education.
Katie Ahmadzai:And that excites me because it's very easy in education to kind of do things the way that we've always done them, because they feel safe and they do have outcomes. We're able to. We've got lots of test data for outcomes. But knowing that our students may need different skills, I think is kind of forcing us to look at what. What does it look like to be more project based, to be more authentic learning opportunity, to build more authentic learning opportunities for our students and our kids, and to me that's valuable because that usually involves engaging with others and engaging with their communities and engaging in their world with some really deep critical thinking. And that is not a change I think will happen overnight. But I think, just like I said, the way AI is impacting the way society works, it's forcing us to wrestle with that a little bit more and in so doing there's more motive to try some new things and see how they work, and we just don't know until we try. But this has been a good motivating factor to kind of push more in that direction.
Stephanie Shafer:And I know how much you enjoy and value reflection, so us taking time reflecting on the past and then reflecting on what we're learning and how yeah, we're to use these tools that are before us in a really faithful way that helps our students is important. All right, so I know that you're really split between your love for in-person that community, the brick and mortar, but also the online world and all that that brings. Some you've shared, some you haven't about your love for both. So, thinking about that, how and why would brick and mortar schools want to take advantage of some online opportunities, like through NorthStar and other online schools?
Katie Ahmadzai:So I think this is a wonderful way for brick and mortar schools to A help their students build skills of learning that are different than skills that they would learn in the brick and mortar in-person classroom. It does really promote students to be able to work on their time management, to be able to take ownership of their learning in some different ways. Like they learn to be resourceful in how they research and do they. They have to ask themselves questions like did I really understand what I read? Like, if I didn't, what am I going to do about that? How do I advocate for my own learning and take that ownership? So I think those are valuable skills that students develop.
Katie Ahmadzai:On the other hand, it again depends on the school in which your students are engaging. Schools like NorthStar that are international, in which students regularly have access to interact with one another. To me, that's extremely valuable because it's so easy to get in a bubble and you know your students, you know your peers at your school, but maybe you don't know how people live in other parts of the world and our student body is so diverse. But over 80 countries on a regular school year and over the years I think we've reached over 110, 120 different countries, you know, if we counted way, way, way back each other's stories. That widens their understanding of the world and it widens their understanding of what God's doing in the world and what God may be calling them to do in the world.
Katie Ahmadzai:And so to me that's extremely valuable because it's not even the matter of like I've met somebody on the street from another country. It's like I'm learning with that person, so we're learning together. We're on a common learning journey and I'm learning from that person and they're learning from me. So what I'm bringing is important for this other student living in Uganda, and then what the student in Uganda is bringing to the class is valuable for me. I'm learning from them too, and together we're moving forward. And so, whenever you can have that combination, it's a whole different layer of education and learning for our students, an experience that, yeah, most students aren't going to be able to travel to Uganda while they're in high school, but if they can meet students from Uganda and they get pictures and they get to see how other people live, that starts cracking those doors and it just allows us to see the world in a whole new way.
Stephanie Shafer:It's so important because our world is smaller and smaller every day with how we have the technology to be really close and learn. So that is important. If you're listening, hear it, maybe replay that part so you can catch it. Okay, as we really wrap up, because there's so many questions I could ask, I love learning right alongside you. So parents that are listening, that have their students in brick and mortar but want them to have some sort of online experience, what can they do? How can they go to the brick and mortar schools and ask them, convince them you need to check out a school like NorthStar Academy and how you can partner. And also, as you answer that, throw in a couple sentences about our new opportunity with entrepreneurship that we are heading to, that brick and mortar schools could take advantage of.
Katie Ahmadzai:Sure. So one thing is really just to be able to have the conversation. We have affiliate schools from all over the world as well, so you can actually go to our website and look up affiliate schools and you can share that with your school. The key thing, I think, is just being willing to have the conversation. So it may be that you want your student to be able to take a language class that the school does not offer, and so we have students who maybe they're just one or two students at the school who are taking courses with us and that's because they couldn't access it in another way. At the school and the schools have are usually like yes, that's a great opportunity for you to be able to do that. They often find a time in the schedule which is what we would recommend as well where there's a dedicated time in the day where that student is working on NorthStar, and so that student is active in NorthStar and interactive with our school community during that time and working on the class.
Katie Ahmadzai:Sometimes it's a bigger opportunity for your school to grow and offer new things. So you may realize that your school's having a hard time finding a certain teacher for a subject area maybe some AP classes. Maybe you've got a group of advanced kids who really like US history and they were hoping to take AP US history. That is something that we could help you with, so we could actually take on like a class of kids in a certain area. They would again be mixed in with the rest of our students from around. So in discussion boards and things like that, they're going to be having conversations, but it allows them to access a being it, like I said, being able to develop those skills of executive functioning we call it but time management, of ownership of your learning, of advocating for yourself and your learning. But it also allows them to interact with our amazing teachers. For one thing, shout out to NorthStar amazing teachers. You have a variety of different international experience as well as students from around the world. That being said, if you want something a little bit more structured. So in most of these cases our students would go into our asynchronous program and they would kind of be self-paced throughout their work and our teachers would be interacting with them again on a regular basis and they would interact with their peers through their work in the course.
Katie Ahmadzai:We also have NSA Live, which is a cohort model and so a course that we're offering this year that you talked about was the entrepreneurship class, and this, to me, goes right along with what I was talking about, about what excites me about education, about it being authentic, about it being applicable, about it requiring critical thinking and collaboration skills. So this class is going to be a cohort model. It meets once a week, live Tuesdays at 11 am, central time, and it's Entrepreneurship 101. It will go through the entire school year, from the end of August through the month of May, and through that time students are going to work on learning about, and what an entrepreneurial mindset means, what that looks like in everyday life, about identifying opportunities, about the purpose the kingdom purposes behind entrepreneurship, of being able to help others and move yeah, be able to promote good for others. And then they are actually going to have like an internship in the second semester where they launch or help launch a business, and these can be a huge variety of different ideas out there. It might be individual to your community, or it might be something where they collaborate with students internationally on a business.
Katie Ahmadzai:So I'm really excited. I cannot wait to see what ideas come out of the diverse student population that we have. But if you are part of a brick and mortar school and you're like I would love to have a class like that, if you would reach out to us, we would love to see if we could facilitate a class at your school, either separately, or bring you into that 11 am slot that we already have set up. If you have three or four students that would like to be a part of that, that goes along with, like cohorts of or homeschool co-ops as well. I think that would be an amazing experience. It's open for ninth through 12th graders, so the variety of ages is important. The diversity of backgrounds is important Again. We're going to be iron, that sharpens iron, and so we need that diversity in there. We want to be able to think differently and bring different skills and passions to the table in that class.
Stephanie Shafer:Yeah, that's so good. We're super excited to find out more Stephen Carter's podcast. Check that out. It was out a few weeks ago and so hear it. It's dynamic what he's doing in the entrepreneurship world and brick and mortar schools and now with online working with NorthStar. All right, we've had some great information today. Thank you, Katie. Share this podcast. There's parents out there that need to hear it, need to be motivated, might have some of these same questions and can get some answers. You might have more questions. Contact us. Katie would love to talk to you. You can email us at info at NSA dot school and we can get the email whatever questions you have to who that needs to go to. So share, share and there's so many good podcasts that have so many different topics that we've recorded some really cool stories, some great wisdom from everybody, great wisdom from, yeah, so many different walks of life hearing from our students. So definitely check out some podcasts and make sure to share, because people need to know what God is doing around the globe.
Katie Ahmadzai:Thanks, Katie. So much my pleasure. Thanks for inviting me and, yeah, I'd be happy to talk with anybody anytime about amazing things that are going on at NorthStar and do want to shout out like. As a parent, one of the key things that I would pay attention to if I'm looking at an online school is how students interact with the community, so being able to listen to some of our student podcasts give you a great picture of that, so that would be a wonderful way to do a little bit of research on your own. If you're thinking, is NorthStar going to be a good fit for my student, that would be a great way, yeah.
Stephanie Shafer:And lots of other podcasts about NorthStar you can find, so search our stuff. We have hundreds. All right, talk to y'all next time. Thank you so much for listening today. If you have any questions for our guest or would like information about NorthStar, please email us. At podcast at nsaschool, we love having guests on our show and getting to hear their stories. If you have anyone in mind that you think would be a great guest to feature, please email us and let us know. And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on upcoming stories.