Mission, Culture and Leadership in the Catholic School

1. Mission, Culture and Leadership in the Catholic School John W. Casey, CFC Raymond J. Vercruysse, CFC June 2010

2. Check-in • This will be good for me if . . .

3. The Grammar of Catholic Education • God is the beginning and end of human existence. • Education is essentially a moral endeavor. • Parents are the primary educators of their children.

4. The Grammar of Catholic Education The subject of education is the student. Teaching is an intimate communication between souls. The best educational decisions are made locally.

5. Topics Foundations of Mission History and Mission of Catholic Schools in the United States School Mission and Culture Integrating Mission and Culture Leadership Administrative Self-care

6. Topic 1: Foundations of Mission Centrality of Mission Derivation/meaning of word: Mission Sent by another Agent of parish, community, diocese

7. Jesus’ Mission Statement Luke 4: 18 - 19

8. Jesus’ Mission Statement "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord." Luke 4: 18-19

9. New Testament Sources For Mission • The Our Father • The Benedictus • The Magnificat • The Beatitudes

10. Canon Law • Different than civil/common law!!! • Civil – judges – precedents [English/German] • Canon – legislator – application [Roman]

11. Canon 796: Role of Schools • Among the means to foster education, the Christian faithful are to hold schools in esteem; schools are the principal assistance to parents in fulfilling the function of education. • Parents must cooperate closely with the teachers of the schools to which they entrust their children to be educated; moreover, teachers in fulfilling their duty are to collaborate very closely with parents, who are to be heard willingly and for whom associations or meetings are to be established and highly esteemed.

12. Canon 797: Freedom of Parents • Parents must possess a true freedom in choosing schools; therefore, the Christian faithful must be concerned that civil society recognizes this freedom for parents and even supports it with subsidies; distributive justice is to be observed.

13. Canon 798: Parental Responsibility • Parents are to entrust their children to those schools which provide a Catholic education. If they are unable to do this, they are obliged to take care that suitable Catholic education is provided for their children outside the schools.

14. Canon 800: Establishment and Promotion of Catholic Schools • The Church has the right to establish and direct schools of any discipline, type, and level. • The Christian faithful are to foster Catholic schools, assisting in their establishment and maintenance according to their means.

15. Canon 803:What Makes a School “Catholic” • A Catholic school is understood as one which a competent ecclesiastical authority or a public ecclesiastical juridic person directs or which ecclesiastical authority recognizes as such through a written document.

16. Canon 805: Approval and Removal of Religion Teachers • For his own diocese, the local ordinary has the right to appoint or approve teachers of religion and even to remove them or demand that they be removed if a reasons of religion or morals requires it.

17. Canon 806: Vigilance and Visitation of Catholic Schools • The diocesan bishop has the right to watch over and visit the Catholic schools in his territory, even those which members of religious institutes have founded or direct.

18. Canon 806: continued • Directors of Catholic schools are to take care under the watchfulness of the local ordinary that the instruction which is given in them is at least as academically distinguished as that in the other schools of the area.

19. Pair and Share • Discuss what you have heard about mission and Canon Law. • Ask yourselves: • What stands out for you? • How can it touch your daily life and the life of the school? • What new learnings occur here that will influence you from this point on?

20. Charism and Mission • Edmund Rice • Businessman • Husband • Father • Widower • Educator • Religious Order Founder [at the age of 40] • Presentation and Christian Brothers

21. Charism and Mission • Edmund was moved by Christ present and appealing to him in the poor. • His response was an apostolic community for education. • Charisms a gift to the Church • Give tradition and flavor and can enrich the texture of school life • Interpreted anew for each generation

22. Pair and Share • Turn to someone not from your school and ask yourselves: • What charism informs your school? • Who are your saints/heroes/heroines? • How can their charism inform, enlighten, enliven and renew? • How do we get students involved? • Where are the visuals?

23. Topic 2: History and Mission

24. “To Teach As Jesus Did” Jesus as Teacher • Rabbi • Stories • Actions • Paschal Mystery

25. Mission of the Church • Teach • Preach • Sanctify

26. THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL, 1977 The Catholic school is committed to the development of the whole person, since in Christ, the Perfect Man, all human values find their fulfillment and unity.

27. The Educational Mission of Catholic Schools in the U. S. A. • “… is an integrated ministry embracing three interlocking dimensions: the message revealed by God (‘didache’) …; fellowship in the life of the Holy Spirit ('koinonia'); service to the Christian community and the entire human community ('diakonia')." To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #14

28. History and Tradition • Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican monk, part of a long tradition of Catholic education.

29. American Catholic Schools • Elizabeth Ann Seton • Originally very much for the elites, who wanted to preserve the Faith in a Protestant land.

30. Immigration and Catholic schools • The Ancient Order of Hibernians • “American first, Irish always, Catholic forever” • Attention to ethnicity did not start yesterday.

31. New Realities • Vatican II • Lay leadership • Role of American Catholics in society • Parish demographics • Catholic Social Teaching • New faces of Church

32. Pair and Share • Turn to someone and respond to the following: • What are some of the realities that form your school’s mission? • Who are your target audiences when you speak of your mission? • How was your mission statement composed? • How do you use it? • Where are the visuals?

33. Mission Ownership

34. Mission Statement Publicized • In hallways • Literature • Handbooks • Course Compendia • Website • Is BRIEF (“Brevity is the soul of wit”)

35. Mission Statement Used by the Board of Trustees • As criteria in selection of members • “Mission-Appropriate” • In goal-setting • In appraisal of year’s work • In appraisal of school head

36. Mission Statement Used by President/Pastor • In promoting strategic plan • In assessing proposals • In cultivating support

37. Mission Statement Used by the Principal • In hiring process • In decision-making Curriculum Student Activities Budget Priorities • Reference for letters/newsletters

38. Mission Statement In performance appraisal • Teachers reflection in goal-setting • Measurement in appraisal In admission of students • Parents reflect on School Mission • Printed in Materials

39. Mission Statement For Students • Articulated/referenced in behavioral standards. • Reflected in student policies. • As focus for the student government retreat at the beginning of the year. • As benchmark/standard for activities. • As source of reflection for all students.

40. Mission Statement For Faculty • Referenced in proposals for study. • Used as basic part of faculty retreats. • Referenced when evaluating programs and processes. • Referenced in goals for year. • Referenced in proposals for extracurricular activities.

41. Mission Effectiveness Committee • Role/Purpose • New teacher orientation • New student orientation • New parent orientation • Basic tool of assessment • Composition

42. Take a look and share • Take a walk… • Look at other mission statements and publications and ‘artifacts’ • What do you see? • How clear is it? • How do they use it? • What are their visuals? • What will you take back?

43. Sources • To Teach As Jesus Did (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1972) • Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, ([Sacred] Congregation for Catholic Education, Rome, 1982) • The Religious Dimension of Education in Catholic School, ([Sacred] Congregation for Catholic Education, Rome, 1988) • Catholic Schools on the Threshold of the Third Millennium, (Congregation for Catholic Education, Rome, 1997) • Gravissimum Educationis (Declaration on Christian Education, Second Vatican Council, proclaimed by Pope Paul VI, October 28, 1965)

44. Sources 2 • ·Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and DirectionsReflections of the U.S. Catholic Bishops, (USCCB, 1997) • ·Compendium Of The Social Doctrine Of The Church, (Pontifical Council For Justice And Peace, 2004 – USCCB) • ·The National Directory for Catechesis ( USCCB, 2005) • ·Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium, (USCCB, 2005)

45. Sources 3 Charism • . . . is a specific “gift” received by individuals or groups for the service and building up of the Christian community. • Religious communities are “families” united around a charism [gift] received by the founder from the Holy Spirit to realize a mission for the people of God. • It is a living gift that should constantly be adapted to the times and needs of the people of God.

46. Sources 4 Other References • Pastoral on Racism • The Principal As Spiritual Leader (USCC) 1994 • Magazines like THE TABLET – British Catholic lay publication, etc. • USCCB and NCEA Publications

47. Topic 3: Mission and Culture

48. Mission and Culture "...the threefold purpose of Christian education...must strive to teach doctrine, to do so within the experience of Christian community, and to prepare individuals for effective Christian witness and service to others." To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #82 Faith/Community/Service and Worship

49. Remember the Incarnation • The Word became flesh . . .

50. Integrating mission and culture • “Christ has no body but yours,No hands, no feet on earth but yours,Yours are the eyes through which he looks withCompassion on this world,Yours are the feet with which he walks about to do good,Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.” Teresa of Avila