Clarifying Our Purpose In Offering The Pilot School Program

Free curriculum? Why would a publisher offer such a deal?

Our reasons to offer the program:

Put the program into the hands of schools and students which might not otherwise use it.
Obtain first-hand user feedback to improve a planned second edition.
Begin a loyal user base of schools and students.

Your motivation to enter a Pilot School agreement:

Free curriculum!
A completely new and revolutionary improvement in Bible curriculum!
A major step upward in student Bible knowledge and achievement test scores!

We welcome your application to become a Pilot School. However, before you make the move you need to consider what you are getting yourself and your school into. Here is the kind of school and teacher situation which will be given preference:

In order for your school to qualify as a Pilot School for Read Thru The Word Bible Curriculum we must be assured that you fully understand that this is a rigorous curriculum, with (as you can see in the lesson plans) the expectation that you will follow lesson plans strictly --- that is, that you will discipline yourself to become quite familiar first with the Teacher Handbook which gives all the information you need to understand how to use the curriculum and what results you can expect. You should expect to spend at least one hour of preparation time each day or evening to prepare for the next day's lesson, especially at first, and later for some lessons. This is all spelled out in the Teacher Handbook as well as the daily lesson plans.
The teacher must understand what we mean by "follow lesson plans strictly", must see the great value of this approach, and be very willing to implement this approach to the best of his or her ability, within time and energy constraints, as well as within the teacher's overall teaching assignment. What we mean by "follow lesson plans strictly" is that the teacher will . . .

take the time to read and study the Teacher Handbook carefully before the year begins.
take time to become as familiar as possible with the entire Read Thru The Word curriculum by reading and studying everything pertaining to the curriculum as provided on the website www.readthrutheword.com
take time to prepare for each lesson by reading it thoroughly and, if needed, writing notes to assist himself or herself to carry out each specific lesson completely, using every part of the lesson plan as far as time constraints, energy, and other essential factors permit, with the daily goal of completing every part of the lesson plan as written. If the teacher is familiar with this type of plan and plan implementation our plans will be fairly easy to implement successfully. If the teacher has never taught from a minute-by-minute lesson plan it will take first, a hearty agreement to implement the plan in spite of the constrictions this places upon the teacher's time in both planning and classroom implementation. Yes, we understand the self-discipline required. We also understand that this method will achieve superior results. Further we understand that the first time one teaches through a curriculum there is always a lot to learn, and that the second time through the same curriculum is much easier. It is also to be clearly understood that after one month of using this approach most teachers will agree that the method is a far superior method to one which simply permits the teacher and class to "take things easy and complete as much as possible during each period, dropping parts which the teacher does not care for, and adding parts which the teacher essentially teaches impromptu, or "off the cuff," and which results in the completion of significantly less than the entire text, quizzes, and tests designed to complete the full course. Using our lesson plans strictly the class will complete all reading of the Bible text, all quizzes and tests, all memory verses and tests, even if the teacher is not able to complete every detail of every lesson. The teacher who has committed to "strictly carry out the lesson plans" will understand that "strictly" does not mean "perfectly," but rather the use of his or her own godly wisdom and prayerful attitude in making decisions about which details must be passed over, and which must be implemented each day. An important feature of Read Thru The Word is that the usual teacher lecture time has been traded with the student reading time. This is clearly explained in several ways, including the use of graphs, at www.readthrutheword.com. Any teacher who loves to talk may have some difficulty accepting the teacher role in this curriculum. However, consider the fact that this course will probably be a favorite course of many students simply because they won't have to listen to the teacher for most of a class period, but will be actually reading the Word of God.

Keep in mind that your success with the curriculum will be placed under reasonable scrutiny at such time as the publisher and videographer personally visit your campus for a day or two to conduct interviews of students, parents, administrators, and teachers of this curriculum, which will be used as essential footage in the creation of an expanded video advertising campaign. This is a major part of our payoff for providing the free curriculum. This is where your school can make a major contribution to the blessing which Read Thru The Word Bible Curriculum will make in the future to students, teachers, parents, and schools across the nation and around the world.
With the regular communications between the Bible teacher and the publisher throughout the school year providing suggestions for improving the curriculum, asking questions not covered by the Teacher Handbook - as outlined in the Pilot School Contract, the school should find itself fully prepared for the on-site work by the publisher and videographer. This is a joint venture for the glory of God.

If you remain interested after reading the above please do the following: The teacher(s) and principal need to review the Pilot School Contract carefully and be sure you are willing to meet the conditions as explained above and in the contract. When you reach that point we will send the latest draft of the contract which probably contains a few changes from the sample provided at www.readthrutheword.com. You can then review and sign the form and send it to us for signing. We will then return a signed copy to you.

If you wish to discuss any of the terms of the contract and possibly customize them for your school, this will need to be completed before signing. We would then amend the complete text to agree with such changes. We would send you a copy to print and sign. You could either mail it to us, or scan as a PDF file and attach to an email for our signature. We would then sign, scan, and email you a completed copy.

This entire process of negotiating a mutually agreed-upon contract will take time - probably a month or two. If we are going to give the complete two-year set of materials to your school, We must be assured that you will do the necessary summer preparation in order to use the materials as intended over the following two years.

Pilot schools have some special obligations whereas school which purchase the curriculum have complete discretion in the use of it. However, only if a school uses the curriculum strictly as intended and as required under the Pilot School Contract will you be able to provide us with the kind of data we can use in our expected upcoming advertising campaign. I think you can see that these are reasonable expectations in return for providing the materials free of charge, including shipping.

We anticipate coming to your school at our expense to conduct interviews with you, your students, their parents, and the school administrator probably near the end of your first year, or near the end of the complete two-year program, or both. With the significant expense involved to bring a qualified videographer and myself to your school, it only becomes even more obvious why we expect a pilot school to give so much in time and effort to strictly adhere to the guidelines provided.

We are indeed grateful for your continued interest in Read Thru The Word Bible Curriculum and remain hopeful that a Pilot School Contract can be worked out to our mutual benefit, for the benefit of your students, their parents, and your school, and unto the glory of our great God.