Christian Academy in Japan
Board of Directors Minutes
Harvest Hall, Matsukawa Place
8:45 a.m.
March 16, 2021
Attendance:
Gerald May (TEAM)
Joel Peterson (Member-at-Large)
Anda Foxwell (Head of School)
Daniel Sexton (OMS)
Jeremy Seminoff (Member-at-Large and Educator)
Pauline Carlson (ECC)
Lawrence Spalink (CRJM)
Karen Stoesz (SEND)
Jaine Chung (Jaine Loh) (JVENTURE)
Supervisor- Auditors
Akira Endo
Takahito Iwagami- attended by video conference
SY20-21:101 Devotions
Akira Endo shared from Psalm 57. He reminded us that sometimes even when we do what is right,
things don’t go well. In our unpredictable circumstances, God is our refuge and He will keep His
promises.
SY20-21:102 Time of prayer for CAJ (B 4.6.7)
Time was spent in prayer for the needs of the board and the school.
SY20-21:103 Call to order / Determination of Quorum (AoE Chap 3, 18.9)
The meeting was called to order at 9:20 a.m.. A quorum was established with all members present.
SY20-21:104 Approval of signers for this meeting (AoE Ch. 3, 20.2)
MSC to approve Gerald May, Karen Stoesz and Pauline Carlson as signers for these minutes.
SY20-21:105 Approval of agenda (B 4.3.5.3)
MSC to approve the agenda as presented.
SY20-21:106 WASC process update
Director of Teaching and Learning, David Marshall gave an update on the mid-term WASC review.
Due to COVID-19, this year’s mid-term review will be held online on May 17-18, 2021. The reviewers
will want to meet with the board or representatives from the board. There are four critical areas
addressed in the report: professional development (block scheduling), achievement data(progressing), global competencies (mostly finished), scope and sequence of curriculum (finished).
The WASC review is intended to help the school achieve the goals set by the school.

Global competencies: are the skills students need to work and live in the future (ability to collaborate,
think and plan- working in groups).
The board was asked to read through the WASC update and be familiar with it, especially as related
to the board’s part of the strategic plan.
The RAD team is looking into ACSI accreditation along with WASC.
Jeremay Seminoff prayed for David Marshall and the RAD team.
SY20-21:107 Strategic Discussion● CAJ’s Spiritual Formation: Review “Why Does CAJ Matter?”○ A staff survey answering the question, “Why does CAJ matter?” was presented. A hard
copy of this survey will be filed with these minutes.
■ General comments and brainstorming responses to staff answers:■ The answers to the questions reveal that the staff really feel called to ministry atCAJ.
■ One of the staff made a comment about the need to provide some kind of Bible
introductory courses for the CAJ community. A board member suggested that thisis maybe one way the PTA could be involved in the spiritual training of thecommunity (Bible study, ALPHA course, review CAJ’s Statement of Faith). PIP(parents in prayer) is one way the PTA already influences the spiritual climate ofCAJ.
■ CAJ partners with parents in the education of students- could do more in inviting
parents into spiritual teaching in the community■ How we assess our students’ spiritual growth needs to be done carefully■ Gerald May contacted Daniel Egeler (former president of ACSI) to inquire abouta spiritual assessment for CAJ. ACSI doesn’t offer a spiritual assessment
anymore, but Mr. Egeler would be willing to put a team together if this is how CAJ
wants to proceed. Mr. Egeler provided several documents regarding a spiritualassessment and these were emailed to the members of the board for review.
■ Is the 20% cap really guarding our Christian identity? (B2.3.1.1.3)● The board members were asked to answer this question: “Why does it matter that there is anevangelical presence in Japan?”● General Board responses:○ CAJ gives students a foundation for life - during difficult times students have learned
that they could pray, talk to their parents, and know where to go for guidance and help.
○ Students have accepted Christ at CAJ, especially during Spiritual Emphasis Week.
Students also have influenced each other to spiritual growth (prayer groups initiated bystudents). Students learn the importance of confiding in and learning to know others in
an open and honest way.
○ Teaching received in a Christian home is reinforced at school (chapel, SpiritualEmphasis Week)

○ Making connections with other MKs, staff/teachers has impacted student’s lives eveninto the future.
○ In the Japanese context, we need a strong belief and confidence in the Bible - mostChristian Japanese schools have been leaving the Bible out- Need the Bible and theGreat Commission in Japan○ It is true that some students have walked away from faith in Jesus. When this happens
it prompts questions such as: how can I help these alumni come back to faith? What
could CAJ have done differently? Is there anything we could have done differently?
○ Remember the challenge to be faithful where we are at- the Holy Spirit is the one whoworks in the lives of our students○ Students learn critical thinking from a Christian perspective○ Missionary parents are able to minister because of the SSS program, and in the past,
because of the boarding program○ God wants one. Keeping our core values strong and remaining faithful means a lot in
the Japanese culture○ Teachers who have faith and have confidence in their faith, make safe places that allow
students to share their point of view without judgement.
○ Not everything goes well all the time for our students and staff - there is room for
improvement- need to be vigilant and alert - policies are in place for harassment, childprotection, bullying, etc- sometimes hard conversations need to take place with staff,students, and parents.
○ CAJ is one of the spiritual influences in our students’ lives● The board members were asked to review the material shared from Daniel Egeler by Gerald
May regarding a spiritual assessment of CAJ.
● Policy Governance Review■ The board members answered these questions: Why do we need a board? Whygovernance at all?
■ Keepers/guardians of the mission■ Represent the owners■ Future planning/focus- Understand what the trends are in education■ Place for checks and balances■ Protect from unbiased perspective■ Connection to the world outside of CAJ, unlike staff who are here all the time
● How we govern○ Pre-policy governance the board was very involved in the detailed inner workings of theschool.
○ Policy Governance was adopted July 1, 2004 (SY 03:04-76)● Begin overview of Community Governance○ PG focuses mostly on how the board functions○ Community Governance brings more emphasis on how the board can engage with orfunction in the community

SY20-21:108 Approval of consent agenda (B 4.2.3)
MSC to approve the consent agenda● March 9, 2021 Finance and Audit Committee minutes● March 2021 Monitoring Report B 2.1; Ends - B1.3 (B2.1.1, 3,5,2,1)● Head of School report (B 2.1.5)
SY20-21:109 Other business● Discuss comment from Monitoring Report regarding process undertaken for retirement age
policy change.
Should it be on the board side of policy making? Should this policy be on the administrationside of policy making?
● Board email addresses for all board members○ Shared drive access, links from HoS reports, security/confidentiality, new board
members have history of previous school year for information○ Some mission representatives must have a mission email for legal reasons○ Could IT add board members’ gmail email addresses would that make it easier toaccess the links?
○ By general consensus, providing all board members with a CAJ Google email accountis not necessary at this time.
● Board index "D", "Discussions, Ongoing" – explore the idea of moving these items to the board
shared drive.
○ MSC to move “D” “Discussions, Ongoing” to the shared drive.
SY20-21:110 Board housekeeping● Annual agenda preparation for SY 21 -22 (B 4.3.1, 4.3.2, 4.3.2.1)
Gerald May will bring an annual agenda for SY 21-22 for approval at the May 11, 2021
meeting.
● Next meetings:○ Board of Councilors – May 10, 2021, 8:45 a.m., KCC○ Board of Directors - May 11, 2021, 8:45 a.m., Harvest Hall
SY20-21:111 Monthly review of board process: Verbal (B 4.1.7)
Did we, as a board, just react to the head of school or did we initiate things?
Did we, as a board, do work that had long-term impact outside of the organization?
General Comments:● Ensure the HoS and monitoring report get the appropriate amount of attention in ourmeetings.
● We were somewhat reacting to what the HoS brought to our attention, but ourdiscussion wasn’t limited to only what the HoS brought for discussion.
SY20-21:112 Adjournment
MSC to adjourn the meeting at 2:52 p.m.

SY20-21:113 Signing of previous minutes (B 4.2.9.5))
The designated board members signed the following set of minutes:
February 15, 2021 Board of Directors Minutes
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Stoesz
Board secretarySignatures________________________________
Gerald May- Board Chair________________________________
Pauline Carlson- Board Member________________________________
Karen Stoesz- Board Member