In light of the Holy Father's visit to a Catholic school in Harlem this week, our superintendent shared an inspiring article with principals that reflects on the resurgence of Catholic schools. In Catholic Schools Are Back, and There's Hope For Their Future, the author, Andy Smarick, reports that less than a decade following massive Catholic school closings in urban areas, Catholic education is once again on the rise.
The turnaround factor that he points to is a recent trend toward innovation in both instruction and financing. The world is changing, the needs of our graduates are changing, cost structures are changing. Catholic schools that are thriving are the ones that are responding to new needs with new ideas - and are doing it within a context that preserves all that is good about Catholic education. I read this as a combination of innovation and tradition. 'Sound familiar?
Though St. Robert is not an urban school in the sense of this report, the story of innovation is our story as well. Furthermore, it's no longer only parents and educators that will write the next chapter. Our authors will necessarily include a village. Smarick points to faith leaders, entrepreneurs, university experts, and philanthropists as critical members of the team.
We are blessed in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to have well-established collaborative best practice teams that include diverse members outside our own system. St. Robert has benefitted immensely from our participation on several of those visionary teams. At a higher level, a partnership with Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education and a team of educators, philanthropists and business executives has led to a new design for consolidation of our urban Choice schools. The first cohort of the new Seton Schools is ready to roll out this year. The comprehensive plan is for a system of urban Choice schools with common data-driven curriculum and instruction, a consolidated governance and management structure, and guaranteed standards of excellence.
We are told by our superintendent that although there is no single template for viability, iterations of this conceptual design for strength by consolidation are expected to largely replace our current more vulnerable parish school models within the not-so-distant future. Fond du Lac, Kenosha, and Racine are well on their way. Plans for Milwaukee have been launched. Suburban districts are entering the conversation.
The story of innovation is bigger than us, because Catholic schools are critical to the success of entire communities, not just individual graduates. History has shown that where Catholic schools close, the surrounding community falls into decline.
I extend my most humble gratitude to our faculty and leadership boards for working side-by-side with me on creating innovative and visionary models for a viable future. Know that your work will reach far beyond your own children.
Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/424409/catholic-schools-are-back
Friday, September 25, 2015
Friday, September 18, 2015
Joyful noise
From our Centennial Mass with the Archbishop to the Pope's first visit to America, our celebration of faith continues next week as we join in the national welcome to Pope Francis.
At precisely 3:00 p.m. CST on Tuesday, September 22, when the Holy Father’s plane is due to touch down on American soil, our parish carillon will sound and our students and staff will join people across the land in ringing out a national welcome. You are invited to join us on the Capitol Drive side of the property just before school dismissal to be part of our joyful noise and public witness of faith. Any bells you can add to the cacophony would also be appreciated!
The following information, excerpted from from the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops offers contemporary ways to follow this historic visit and help your children to understand the significance of this "great Catholic moment in our country," which will include an address to the World Meeting of Families, the canonization of America's first Hispanic saint, and an historic address to the United States Congress.
At precisely 3:00 p.m. CST on Tuesday, September 22, when the Holy Father’s plane is due to touch down on American soil, our parish carillon will sound and our students and staff will join people across the land in ringing out a national welcome. You are invited to join us on the Capitol Drive side of the property just before school dismissal to be part of our joyful noise and public witness of faith. Any bells you can add to the cacophony would also be appreciated!
The following information, excerpted from from the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops offers contemporary ways to follow this historic visit and help your children to understand the significance of this "great Catholic moment in our country," which will include an address to the World Meeting of Families, the canonization of America's first Hispanic saint, and an historic address to the United States Congress.
Pope Francis’ September 22-27 visit to the United States will be available via a video livestream at www.usccb.org/live, where people from around the world can follow every moment of the visit. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is also launching social media profiles on Twitter and Instagram, “Pope In US” and “Papa En USA.” An animated gif of themes associated with the papal visit accompanied the launch of these channels:
#PopeInUS and #PapaEnUSA are also hashtags being promoted with the visit. USCCB will also post updates to Facebook at: www.facebook.com/usccb and www.facebook.com/USCCBEspanol
Leadership of the Catholic Church in the United States has introduced its first mobile app: USA Catholic Church. Designed to draw Catholics closer to their faith by providing access to Church information on all screens and devices, this is the only app that brings together information from all Catholic sources: parishes, dioceses, the U.S. bishops and even the Vatican. Not only will the app include religious news, daily Scripture readings and local parish content, it will feature exclusive, in-depth coverage of Pope Francis’ September visit to the United States.
More information on the visit of Pope Francis is available at: www.uspapalvisit.org
Friday, September 11, 2015
Happy birthday!
On September 15, 1915, St. Robert School opened its doors for the first time to 43 students in first through fourth grades. In anticipation of this milestone birthday on Tuesday, I have been reviewing our archived histories and am struck by three themes: first is the urgency our founding parishioners placed on starting a school; secondly, the remarkable speed with which they turned their dreams into reality; and, finally, the exponential rise and fall of the student population.
With humble seeds of inspiration from our founding pastor, Monsignor Farrel Reilly, along with the vocational services of the Sinsinawa Dominican sisters and financial resources raised through the then-new School Society endowment, our school opened less than a year and a half after the founding parishioners had moved into their first permanent church building (which you now recognize as the south end of the current school building). Two Dominican Sisters taught the four grades - and one of them, Sr. Aloysius Reilly, also served as principal!
From these modest beginnings, the ranks of students grew to three large class sections at each grade level by 1960, with a peak enrollment of over a thousand students. The building grew right along with them in two separate additions in 1927 and 1958. Over time, the domino effects of fewer religious sisters, a growing lay staff (who had to be paid!), the advent of tuition, and other complex impacts of the modern world led to population reduction in the 1980s. By 1986, most grade levels were once again reduced to a single section. Our last Dominican sister retired in 2003.
Recent years have witnessed a somewhat larger, more stable population along with rapid transformation of education and the world - and our legacy school has not been unaffected. Quite to the contrary, we have often been trailblazers in implementing educational innovations. Inkwells and abacuses have been replaced by mobile technology. Rows of desks bolted to the floor have made way for flexible collaborative furnishings. One-size textbook-and-drill instruction has nearly disappeared while personalized, evidence-based learning takes center stage. Why?
Because Monsignor Reilly charged the original faculty - and by extension all of us today - with "educat[ing] and sanctify[ing] children for Christian leadership in accordance with the teaching of Jesus Christ and the highest standards of knowledge and human ideals." Though the statement of this mission has undergone numerous structural changes throughout the decades, its essence remains remarkably unchanged. St. Robert School still serves as a parish ministry purposed with continuing the legacy of forming competent, ethical leaders who will build the Kingdom of God - and the best way to be sure our graduates will have the hearts and minds to transform the world is to give them a relevant, world-class education.
Since the first class of eleven graduated in 1920, nearly 6,000 saints and leaders have been sent forth from our halls to touch the future. As we prepare to launch our first digital "tech book" and design financially sustainable models for the future, I wonder... how many more blooms will Father Reilly's seeds yield?
With humble seeds of inspiration from our founding pastor, Monsignor Farrel Reilly, along with the vocational services of the Sinsinawa Dominican sisters and financial resources raised through the then-new School Society endowment, our school opened less than a year and a half after the founding parishioners had moved into their first permanent church building (which you now recognize as the south end of the current school building). Two Dominican Sisters taught the four grades - and one of them, Sr. Aloysius Reilly, also served as principal!
From these modest beginnings, the ranks of students grew to three large class sections at each grade level by 1960, with a peak enrollment of over a thousand students. The building grew right along with them in two separate additions in 1927 and 1958. Over time, the domino effects of fewer religious sisters, a growing lay staff (who had to be paid!), the advent of tuition, and other complex impacts of the modern world led to population reduction in the 1980s. By 1986, most grade levels were once again reduced to a single section. Our last Dominican sister retired in 2003.
Recent years have witnessed a somewhat larger, more stable population along with rapid transformation of education and the world - and our legacy school has not been unaffected. Quite to the contrary, we have often been trailblazers in implementing educational innovations. Inkwells and abacuses have been replaced by mobile technology. Rows of desks bolted to the floor have made way for flexible collaborative furnishings. One-size textbook-and-drill instruction has nearly disappeared while personalized, evidence-based learning takes center stage. Why?
Because Monsignor Reilly charged the original faculty - and by extension all of us today - with "educat[ing] and sanctify[ing] children for Christian leadership in accordance with the teaching of Jesus Christ and the highest standards of knowledge and human ideals." Though the statement of this mission has undergone numerous structural changes throughout the decades, its essence remains remarkably unchanged. St. Robert School still serves as a parish ministry purposed with continuing the legacy of forming competent, ethical leaders who will build the Kingdom of God - and the best way to be sure our graduates will have the hearts and minds to transform the world is to give them a relevant, world-class education.
Since the first class of eleven graduated in 1920, nearly 6,000 saints and leaders have been sent forth from our halls to touch the future. As we prepare to launch our first digital "tech book" and design financially sustainable models for the future, I wonder... how many more blooms will Father Reilly's seeds yield?
Friday, September 4, 2015
Recipe for success
Back in my childhood - perhaps even in yours - the intended outcome of an elementary school education was a solid foundation in “the three Rs.” We still give kids that basic foundation for success in academics and in life, but now, in addition to teaching the academic codes of reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic,” we are charged with developing portable skills for a more complex future. So our contemporary curriculum is also marked by “rigor and relevance.” These are the qualities of learning experiences that foster high order thinking, enduring knowledge, and skills that will allow our graduates to solve complex problems across disciplinary boundaries.
Remarkably, ninety percent of brain development occurs before school age, but the elementary school years are a critical period for developing “habits of mind:” those dispositions for thinking, relating, and behaving that are critical for success in any endeavor. Neuroscience has proven that rich experiences provided in a relational fashion are the single most influential determinants of this intellectual development. In other words, DNA is not destiny; experiences are.
Specifically, environment, nutrition, and relational interaction are the most powerful sources of stimulation to a child’s growing brain - pointing to the simple fact that even the most rigorous and relevant schools will never be sufficient for optimal development. It will always be parents who have the most influence in shaping the outcomes of education. I would like to suggest that you can partner most effectively with your children’s school in nurturing intelligence, social competence, and effective habits of mind by providing an intentional diet of four additional “Rs” during these formative elementary school years: rhythm, routine, ritual, and religion.
Children who do best in school enjoy consistent expectations and routines for mealtimes, chores, and homework; for starting the day and for ending it. Moreover, children will develop most optimally with daily routines that are respectful of their natural neurological rhythms. This means they need time for active play and time for quiet dreaming; time indoors and time in fresh air and sunshine (and rain and snow!); time for structure and time for self-directed exploration and problem-solving.
Children who do best in school enjoy consistent expectations and routines for mealtimes, chores, and homework; for starting the day and for ending it. Moreover, children will develop most optimally with daily routines that are respectful of their natural neurological rhythms. This means they need time for active play and time for quiet dreaming; time indoors and time in fresh air and sunshine (and rain and snow!); time for structure and time for self-directed exploration and problem-solving.
Rituals are also critical to healthy development; rituals for coming and going; rituals for blessing and praying and celebrating - not only big occasions, but small accomplishments, too. Despite how chaotic our own days may be, we need to slow for rituals that give meaning to all of it, because simple compliance will never lead to the accomplishments that authentic intrinsic motivation can drive.
And what higher purpose is there than faith in something eternal? For this reason, children who come from homes that practice a lived faith identity come to understand all work in the context of a higher purpose. There is, quite simply, no better way to achieve in school or in life.
There are a lot of Rs in this ingredient list...but no worries! We can stir them all together and serve them up as a one-pot meal called love, for it is only in a loving context that children - or adults for that matter - are free enough to risk, to care, to dream, and to expect great things (Bisell).
I am honored to partner with you in accomplishing great things in the year ahead.
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