Behind the Scenes

(5-Minute Read)

For any school, there is a place where the rubber hits the road. It is where we can see the difference between what we say we value and what we actually value. It’s the place where hard decisions need to be made, and these decisions shape the focus and impact of the school. This place is the admissions process.

In January, we started the admissions process for the coming school year. Since you’re connected to all that God’s doing through Doulos, we’d love to bring you a “behind the scenes” look at how this important process works.

Like everything at Doulos, our process is very specific to the mission that God has called us to as a school. It involves a lot of prayer and input from the admissions team to help discern where God is guiding us.

Spots Available

The standards and expectations at Doulos are very high. God’s mission at Doulos is to equip a generation of servant leaders who will impact their country for His glory. To help each student reach their full potential, we limit enrollment for each class to a maximum of 22 students.

We also believe that God wants to raise up dynamic servant leaders from a variety of economic backgrounds. Because of this, 50% of each class is students on scholarships while another 50% of the class pays full tuition.

Filling the Spots

We really value the family's role in God’s mission at Doulos, and we believe that it’s best for families to not have their children divided into different schools. This means that the first students enrolled in the class (assuming they pass the cognitive and social screening) are students who have siblings enrolled here or whose parents are Doulos staff members.

The Application Process

In January, we start accepting applications from families who want to enroll their children. On this application, they mark whether they are seeking a scholarship or are going to pay full tuition.

Scholarship Families

We look for new applicants with strong Christian families who are passionate about their children serving the Lord and have stable homes but simply lack the financial means to pay full tuition. These applicants share their financial details and a letter from their pastor confirming their church participation.

Later in the semester, the sponsorship team reviews the applications and prayerfully selects the students that they think might be a good fit. Next, three people visit the home of each sponsorship applicant. During this home visit, the committee looks for stability, healthy family dynamics, and financial necessity.

Tuition-Paying Families

At Doulos, we believe that God wants us to influence not only Christian families but also families that may not be active in their faith. Our tuition-paying families do not need to show active participation in a church, and we also don’t do the home visit.

Multi-Day Cognitive/Social-Emotional Screening

with In-Depth Family Interviews

We bring ALL potential students and their parents on campus and guide them through a multi-day series of assessments and family interviews. This is one step that we have refined over the past couple of years. Now, thanks to our incredible team, we are getting better at pre-emptively identifying potential cognitive, social-emotional, or family habits that may become significant obstacles to a student's success at Doulos. Any evidence of these obstacles doesn't mean that a student will not be not considered. However, this process allows us to have candid conversations with the family about what their role would need to be if their student was admitted.

Decision Time

After all of this, the larger admission committee (made up of members from our interventions team, Pre-K team, sponsorship team, and administrative team) gets together to pray, share observations, and select which students will be offered spots.

This process is a TON of work, but it’s worth it. It helps Doulos enroll the students and families that are passionate and prepared to bring our unique mission to life.

November's Highlights

Puzzle

It was so inspiring to place the last piece in the puzzle and take the first GIANT step towards having a permanent home. Thank you to everyone who did their piece!

Victor is Back!

During the first semester, Victor from 11th grade studied abroad in the USA. It has been striking to see how much he grew from the experience.

Egg Babies

Our upperclassmen had to carry around and care for “Egg Babies”. This helped them get a taste of the profound responsibility of being a parent.

Celebrating Josh

We finished the month celebrating and sending Josh Griffin to his next chapter. We are so grateful for his intention and hard work that has set Doulos up to flourish. Click Here to see a video that honors his service.

Please join us in praying for...

The Admissions Process: Pray for clear guidance for the committee as they get to know the families and seek God’s will.

Recruitment: We are back in recruitment season. God knows exactly how he’s going to meet the staffing needs for His work this next year. Please keep the process covered in prayer. Click here to see specific open positions and pray over each one.

A Heart for God: Pray that the Holy Spirit would draw near to our students and staff- healing their hearts and helping them to know and love God.

January 2024