ICEC Jakarta Conference

Gravitas Executive Director, Sean Riley, and Stony Brook School Head of School, Joshua Crane, just returned from ACSI’s ICEC Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, hosted at Sekolah Pelita Harapan, where Gravitas served as the Platinum Sponsor. At the conference, we offered schools a chance to partner with Gravitas to extend their schools’ missions. The conference featured schools from all over Asia, and we were encouraged to see the good work that is happening in Christian schools throughout the continent. At the conference, Sean Riley gave talks on character formation in the age of AI and online education in the age of AI. Joshua Crane gave two talks on school leadership. Our primary purpose in visiting was to promote Gravitas as a program that can help elevate the quality of academic and character formation programs at Christian schools. 

Download Dr. Sean Riley’s Slides

• Download slides from Dr. Sean Riley’s presentations on Character Formation in the Age of AI and Online Education in the Age of AI.

Partner Opportunities

Here is what we shared with schools in attendance regarding how Gravitas can help school enhance their offerings and extend their missions:

Our goal at Gravitas is to support that work by helping Christian schools achieve excellence in academics and Christian character formation. We believe God is calling Christian schools to train up a new generation of Daniels for Babylon. We must collectively equip our graduates not only with strong faith but also with unassailable intellect and character so that they, like Daniel, will be granted positions of authority and influence in our broken world. In short, we believe Christian schools must cultivate students who possess gravitas.

The Stony Brook School is uniquely positioned to support Christian schools in this endeavor. Founded in 1922, The Stony Brook School has been integrating faith with the highest levels of learning and character development for over 100 years. While remaining faithful to Christ and to the Scriptures, we have garnered Daniel-like respect from the most prestigious universities in the world, with approximately 50% of our graduates gaining admission to the top 30 most selective universities. Billy Graham, Bill Bright (Cru), and Tim Keller have all entrusted Stony Brook with their children’s education. 

We are excited to share our resources and partner with Christian schools across the globe to strengthen the Christian School movement through our online program. Here are four ways to strengthen your school through Gravitas:

1. 1. Expand your course catalog – Offer live or asynchronous courses to your students to open doors to the most selective universities in the world
      1. Offer advanced math and science tracks for aspiring STEM majors – Gravitas offers Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, Mathematical Logic, Statistics, Advanced Bio, Chem, Physics, Environmental Science, and Advanced Scientific Research. 
      2. Ignite your students’ passions with our Passion Academy courses in Entrepreneurship, Computer Programming, Data Science, Finance, Graphic Design, and Digital Marketing
      3. Push your students to new depths with courses in Philosophy, Ethics, Ethics Bowl, Rhetoric, and Theology

• Utilize our Summer Accelerator Program

1. 1. 1. Help students advance their studies beyond what they can do during the school year. Our live online seven-week, full-credit intensive courses run from July 1 to August 15.
   2. Adopt the Gravitas Character Formation Program – Help students grow in love, hope, faith, wisdom, justice, fortitude, and temperance with our intentional character curriculum
      1. Each lesson consists of a brief teaching on an aspect of a core virtue or vice, a daily challenge drawn from the rich tradition of Christian spiritual disciplines, and a journal reflection
      2. Fill out this survey to receive a free eBook of Getting Our Bearings, module one of the program. 

• Teacher Partnership Program

1. 1. Schools can partner with Gravitas to offer their teachers opportunities to grow in their craft and earn supplemental income by teaching Gravitas courses in time zones east of the U.S. Gravitas offers competitive part-time wages and helps to cover administrative costs for partner schools.
   2. Prospective teachers can look for job postings on https://stonybrookschool.applicantpro.com/jobs/ and schools can reach out to gravitas@sbs.org to discuss partnership details.

This offer extends to all Christian schools, not just those present at ICEC.