Flourishing in the City

Join Us Online and In-Person

ACSI and Spreading Hope Network are excited to present this series of virtual and in-person gatherings designed for educators serving socio-economically and ethnically diverse student populations.

The aim of our time is fellowship, refreshment, and strategic consultation on issues you are facing. In addition to targeted instruction, our small group sessions will help you gather insight from fellow leaders and teachers on practical or strategic issues you are facing in your school. Our prayer is that each teacher and leader will leave with renewed zeal, deepened insights, and new peers to reach out to in the future.

Event Details

Event Registration

Virtual: October 24, 2025 | 2-3:30pm EST

Benefits For Teachers & Leaders

Leaders and teachers are encouraged to attend!

Networking opportunities with likeminded individuals: both in person and online events will offer breakout groups
CEU credits, which can be used towards future ACSI certification
Christ-centered, biblical worldview-focused, high-quality, relevant, research-based content for immediate application in your classrooms

Past Event Recordings

Selected clips from previous gatherings:

God's Story: Helping Students See Themselves in God's Bigger Plan | August 8, 2025

Featuring Dr. Vernard T. Gant
Join us for the next Flourishing in the City event on August 8, 2025, featuring Dr. Vernard T. Gant, retired Director of Urban Schools and the ACE Student Success Center. Dr. Gant is a nationally respected voice on educational equity, urban school transformation, and serving students from under-resourced communities through a Biblical lens.

In this powerful session, Dr. Gant will speak on the theme "God’s Story – Students believe they are a part of God’s bigger plan and can be used by Him to make a difference." He will share practical and inspiring strategies for helping students in private Christian schools understand their God-given identity, purpose, and calling.

You’ll gain insights into how to:

Foster a biblical view of purpose and belonging in your school culture
Help students see their story as part of God’s redemptive work in the world
Equip educators to support students in discovering how they can be used by God to make a difference

Effective, Christlike Teachers | April 5, 2024
Dr. Justina Jenkins led this interactive session as we explored the qualities and strategies of effective, Christlike teachers within an urban school context. As we evaluated practices such as exhibiting humility and servanthood, promoting justice and fairness, encouraging kindness and generosity, teaching with integrity and honesty, and practicing forgiveness and grace, we also generated ideas with one another on practical applications in the classroom and for hiring policies and recruitment.

Cultivating Calm | August 2, 2024
In this interactive and reflective webinar, educators in Christian schools explored effective strategies and habits for handling stress and feeling overwhelmed. Dr. Justina Jenkins and Darrell Gillespie, Head of Family Ministry and Dean of Students for Hope Academy, led us through meaningful discussions as we generated practical ideas on how to reach our goal of shaping an environment that promotes peace and resilience in the face of difficult and stressful situations. This session also delved into how teachers can support students in managing their stress and developing the skills to respond to and recover from challenges effectively.

Navigating Multilingual Environments | October 11, 2024
Dr. Justina Jenkins, Head of School at Rivertree Academy, and her team presented this special live in-service session broadcast. While catering instruction to all students within multilingual classrooms presents unique challenges, many educators are already doing it well! This session explored instructional approaches that create inclusive learning environments for multilingual students and English Language Learners (ELLs/ESLs) that promote student engagement, development, and success.