Jeff Snyder, Head of School

  Tell us a little about yourself. 

I’ve always been a bit of a non-conformist. That’s why as a university student I was attracted to Jesus. His contrarian life and teachings are absolutely without parallel and are so relevant for today’s world. What started as a simple decision to surrender my life to God’s control has turned into a life of adventure and richness beyond anything I had ever dreamed of in my youth.  My hope and prayer is for the children in our school to have that kind of a future. 

I have been married for nearly 38 years to a wonderful woman, Vivien. For 35 of those years, we lived in China. Some of that time was in northwest China, where we lived without regular running water. Needless to say, I owe my wife a lot for going with me to many places with harsh living conditions and other challenges. 

I like pioneer situations, and that’s why I like starting schools. It’s a bit scary sometimes, but seeing God work and having the privilege to participate in what He is doing while stretching your own creativity and resourcefulness to the limit is what makes life worth living. And at the same time being able to have some influence on young lives is the icing on the cake that makes all the risk and hard work worthwhile. My other interests include hiking, exercising, reading and traveling. 

What is your favorite Bible verse or passage and why?

There are many, but my life verse is Psalm 27:4, which I claimed after I made Jesus the Lord of my life at age 21. It says, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that I will seek after; to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” I love this verse, because it tells me what is important in life and reminds me not to dabble. 

Besides the Bible, what is your favorite book and why?

I enjoy authors who write about organizational change, culture and leadership such as Peter Drucker, Max De Pree, Jim Collins, Ken Blanchard. However, if I have to pick a favorite book it would be On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis. In that book, he makes the case that leadership is not just something we do, it is closely linked to our character and is an expression of who we are. I especially like his simple, yet profound definition of leadership: “Leadership is character in action”.

If you could make 1 major change to education, what would it be?

I think American education would improve radically and quickly, if there was a school voucher system that allowed parents to send their children to any sectarian or non-sectarian school of their choice. Vouchers would make schools much more accountable to families. The market competition would force schools to improve. 

What aspects of Foundation First's model do you find most appealing?

Multiage classes. 

Describe your teaching style or philosophy.  Do you have any unique teaching methods you use to engage students?

Rudyard Kipling’s insightful verse reminds me that modeling what you teach is of the utmost importance. “No spoken work, nor written plea can teach young minds what they should be. Nor all the books on all the shelves, it’s what the teachers are themselves.” My favorite teaching method to engage students is to ask delicious questions, and then with my mouth shut, listen and watch carefully to understand what a student is saying. Sometimes I will interject a probing question not an assessment-of-their-learning question to get them and myself to think deeper.