Week 10 - #CathEdSocial - Catholic Identity

Week 10 - #CathEdSocial - Catholic Identity
This blog is written as part of the NCEA Social Media Influencer Contest.

I have worked in 6 different Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.  Yes, six!  Some of these Catholic schools had a tremendously strong Catholic identity, and some felt not Catholic at all.  So what was the difference?  Honestly, The biggest difference was the JOY that the Catholic school teachers felt (or not felt) in fulfilling their mission as Catholic school teachers.  Truly, authentically Catholic schools with a strong Catholic identity approach educating the whole child with love.  There is prayer, multiple opportunities for students to encounter Jesus through retreat, each other, Scripture, Mass, and school faculty and staff members.  Each student, their families, and every faculty and staff member feel Christ's love through the educational setting of the Catholic school.  That is an authentically Catholic school with a strong Catholic identity.  So how do you increase your Catholic identity in your own Catholic school?  

First, increase the number of times that students have the opportunity to encounter Jesus.  This can be done through intentional planning of prayers (Rosary, stations of the cross, Divine Mercy chaplet, Eucharistic adoration).  

Second, increase the Catholic interpersonal culture in your school.  If you are an administrator, only hire for MISSION.  This means that you hire quality educators who are also faith-filled disciples willing to evangelize their student and get them to heaven.  This is THE most important thing to creating an intentional strong Catholic identity, the Catholic interpersonal culture.  Have intentional conversations and PD about how to treat each other with respect and how to see every person, especially students, as created in the image and likeness of God and as children of God whose dignity we honor and respect.  

Third, pray.  Pray a lot. Tell your students that you pray for them.  Ask your faculty and staff members if they have something that you can pray for them, and then FOLLOW UP with them regarding these prayer intentions.  Make prayer a part of the school culture.  Intentionally build up your own prayer life too because you cannot give what you do not possess.

Fourth, put Christ at the center of everything in your Catholic school, especially your curriculum.  Make sure that your students can see Christ in everything.  Use a lens of Catholic faith to teach all content areas.  Living our Catholic faith is central to everything that we do, and your students need to understand this.

Being a part of the NCEA #CathEdSocial Social Media Influencer Contest these past 10 weeks have been a true blessing.  Thank you to NCEA for giving me this opportunity to prayerfully discern my ministry in Catholic education and helping me share all of the Christ-centered things that our Catholic schools are doing and sharing.  I am only God's instrument, and He is working through me doing this work, and it is so Good.  So, thank you for reading my tweets and my blogs, and I pray that I am called to serve in Catholic education for many more years to come.  I am very much looking forward to meeting and reconnecting with Catholic school educators at #NCEA19 in Chicago in April!  Come, Holy Spirit!

Week 9 - #CathEdSocial - Leadership in Catholic Schools

Week 9 - #CathEdSocial - Leadership in Catholic Schools
This blog is written as part of the NCEA Social Media Influencer Contest.

Leadership in our Catholic schools is should be servant leadership.  Always.  This means putting others’ needs before the leader's needs, being present, being visible, being transparent, and being trustworthy. Effective Catholic school leaders create the conditions where the POSSIBLE becomes PROBABLE.

According to this video, the 10 things that servant leaders are effective in doing include:

1. Transferring love from thoughts and values into action
2. Recognizing our common humanity
3. Using power rightly (right use of power)
4. Undertaking leadership as a spiritual practice (looking at leadership as MINISTRY)
5. Viewing leadership as a journey of faith
6. Building an embodied peaceful presence
7. Valuing community
8. Seeking personal transformation
9. Understanding the universal
10. Lifelong learning

Jesus was the perfect leader. Just like Jesus did, I believe that effective Catholic school leaders build a strong team around them who possess complementing gifts and talents, clearly state their  vision and mission, delegate duties, are not afraid of confrontation, and empower others.  Jesus' approach to leadership was rooted in interdependence. ALL of us are smarter than ANY of us.

Leaders do not create followers; leaders create more leaders.  In Catholic schools, we create evangelizers, we create intentional disciples, and we create more leaders and saints.  Leadership is not about being the best. Leadership is about making everyone else better. In our Catholic schools, this means practicing the virtue of humility and prayerfully leading.  

Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and ensuring that impact lasts in your absence.  It is not about being or becoming "the best," but working with others to be united together in mission. In our Catholic schools, this means our Catholic school leaders should foster teams, should work with faculty to learn Google Classroom, and should pray with each other and for each other.

The BEST thing that I have recently read about leadership in Catholic schools is the publication written by the Andrew M. Greeley Center for Catholic Education School of Education Loyola University of Chicago titled, "A Systems Approach for Developing Leadership Paths for Catholic Schools."

I recently found and read this free ebook from leadlikejesus.com entitled When Personalities Clash: Understanding Who God Made You to Be. Basically, it is a tool that has helped me become more self-aware and become more aware of others' personality types and motivations, which are essential skills to have as a Catholic school leader.

Week 8.5 - #CathEdSocial - Gratitude

Week 8.5 - #CathEdSocial - Gratitude
This blog is written as part of the NCEA Social Media Influencer Contest.

This week, we celebrated Thanksgiving with our families and friends.  I took the week off from posting (mostly) on Twitter using the hashtag #CathEdSocial for the NCEA Social Media Influencer Contest.  Instead, I focused in prayer on those things in my life for which I am forever GRATEFUL.  They include (but are not limited to):

1. Having meaningful employment, for which I am grateful.
2. Having enough to eat and drink, for which I am grateful.
3. Having people in my life who listen and want to help, for them I am grateful.
4. Having a faith-filled prayer community of women who RUN toward Jesus with me, for them I am grateful.
5. Having a great faith and TRUST in God's plan in His time, for which I am grateful.

Week 8 - #CathEdSocial - #NCEA19 Convention & Expo: Preliminary Sessions of Interest

Week 8 - #CathEdSocial - #NCEA19 Convention & Expo: Preliminary Sessions of Interest
This blog is written as part of the NCEA Social Media Influencer Contest.

I am SO EXCITED to attend the NCEA 2019 Convention and Expo in Chicago from April 23 to 25, 2019!  I had the opportunity this week to tweet about the published schedule of preliminary sessions for the upcoming #NCEA19.  And I found at least 1 or 2 sessions in each of the 21 different categories of breakout sessions offered!  Here is a breakdown of the sessions that I feel the Holy Spirit is leading me to attend in each category.  However, as past NCEA Social Media Influencer contest winner, Adam Cottos, writes in his blog: "Sometimes we need to let go of our plan and let the Spirit lead us to His plan."  So true!  But here is MY plan of sessions I'd like to attend:

Academic Content Areas Sessions = 56 total sessions!

I am excited to hear Michelle Lia from The Andrew M. Greeley Center for Catholic Education at Loyola University Chicago present about incorporating religion and literature.  Sometimes in Catholic schools we add on the "Catholic part" to lessons when we need to use a Catholic lens to teach in our Catholic schools. 

I am really excited to hear Denise Bibly, the Technology Coordinator at National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, St. Joseph School in Lockport, Illinois present about digital discipleship.  I want to learn more about how to be disciples and not just good digital citizens.  #StJoeLockport represent!


I used the Flipped Classroom teaching methodology in my 8th grade math classroom, and I am looking forward to collaborating with other Catholic educators who are trying this too.  I am always looking to improve my teaching craft, and collaborating with other teachers helps me do this!  The presenters are teachers at Holy Cross Academy in St. Louis.

Adult Formation Sessions = 19 total sessions!

Seriously, any time that I have heard Joe Paprocki present, he has amazed me.  And anytime that I can get some spiritual tips on how to get closer to Jesus, I.  Am.  There.  I'm looking forward to jumpstarting my own faith formation with this breakout session!

I'm excited to listen to Dr. David Spesia, a Catholic educational leader and missionary disciple, present on Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on the call to holiness, Rejoice and Be Glad.  Dr. David is an engaging speaker and an expert in his field.  And I am excited to hear what he has to say about applying our Holy Father's words into our lives.

Kristin Melley is the Director for Professional Development for the Roche Center for Catholic Education at Boston College, and Fr. Ronny O'Dwyer is the Director of the Billiken Teacher Core at Saint Louis University.  And I need to know all I can about leading faculty retreats!

Assessment Sessions = 11 total sessions!

Faith-based curriculum is something that I would like to learn more about!  In Catholic schools, sometimes we tend to "add on" the Catholic part to the ends of content area lessons, but really, we should be teaching all areas of our Catholic school curriculums by using a Catholic lens.  This session might give me a chance to ask questions and learn more about this.

Campus Ministry Sessions = 12 total sessions!

Honestly, I just want to hang out in Central Chat with Dr. McCarty and talk about his work with Going, Going, Gone and his research about why young people are leaving the Catholic Church.  As a Catholic school leader, I need to converse about Catholic youth evangelization.  And it is better to do it with an expert like Dr. McCarty!

Classroom Management Sessions = 17 total sessions!

 I just want to meet Fr. Nuzzi, since my doctoral project group at SLU has read a TON of articles that he has written about Catholic school leadership and being the spiritual leader of Catholic schools as Catholic school principals.  But I bet his session about improving classroom teaching will be good too.

Collaborative Partnerships Sessions = 35 total sessions!

I am very interested to hear what Jodee Blanco has to say about parents bullying the Catholic school.  Apparently she has written books and does keynote speaking about bullying.  She even just did a webinar for NCEA on how to handle exclusionary bullying.  I'm excited to hear what she has to say about parents bullying.

I will go to listen to anything that Sr. Mary Angela Shaughnessy has to say.  I have read all of her books, and she is so up-to-date with current topics dealing in the law realm of Catholic schools.

Digital Discipleship = 6 total sessions!

Seriously, I am presenting for the first time at #NCEA19.  And it is going to be in the Central Chat!  I have prepared detailed ways how to get on Twitter, build your professional learning network (PLN), and participate in personalized professional development.  I promise that Twitter has made me a MUCH better Catholic school teacher and Catholic school leader.

Diversity Sessions = 10 total sessions!

Heather Gossart is the Director of Executive Mentoring/Coaching and Senior Consultant for NCEA.  Honestly, I want to listen to a panel discussion about a topic that has been discussed a lot recently by our bishops.

Early Childhood Education = 8 total sessions!

Susan Ferguson, the Executive Director of the Center for Catholic Education at the University of Dayton, will present with Dr. Shauna Adams, the Executive Director of the Center for Early Learning at the University of Dayton.  For the future of our Catholic schools, we must engage the parents of our youngest students, starting when they are in our preschools.  I am excited to hear pro tips from these two very knowledgable presenters.

Enrollment Sessions = 9 total sessions!

It would not be an NCEA Convention and Expo if I did not get to talk with and learn from Dr. Kurt Nelson.  Dr. Nelson will be presenting on two topics that I need to know more about: increasing enrollment and student retention.  I will be learning from an expert for whom I have great respect.

Exceptional Learners Sessions = 15 total sessions!

Both Dr. Maggie Hubbard and Doreen Engel are passionate about inclusion in Catholic schools.  As a hopeful future Catholic school principal, I am eager to learn new ways to implement teacher coaching to support the mission of teaching all of God's children in our Catholic schools.

Fiscal Responsibility Sessions = 10 total sessions!

Shout out to Catholic school educators Jennie Picha and Pete Cerone from St. John Vianney Catholic High School in St. Louis!  I am excited to see their presentation and implement their ideas into my own Catholic parish school.

Governance Sessions = 5 total sessions!

Yes, children do benefit from Catholic schools.  I'd like to hear all the research from Dr. Cheryl Reichel, however.

Leadership Sessions = 34 total sessions!

I have a great respect for Dr. Tim Uhl, Superintendent of Montana Catholic Schools.  If he is speaking about leadership, I will definitely be there.  I have much to learn about leadership from him.

Marketing Sessions = 11 total sessions!

I have great respect for what both Nancy Caramanico and Abbie Greer and what they have done in Catholic education, especially using digital social media platforms to share the good news of their Catholic schools!  I have a lot to learn from them.

National and State Perspective Sessions = 8 total sessions!

Yes, I want to hear what the President and CEO of NCEA has to say about the state of Catholic education.  It will be riveting and informative.  I am really looking forward to this session!

Student Engagement/Academic Rigor Sessions = 14 total sessions!

Seriously, John Meehan just got a book deal with that pirate guy, Dave Burgess.  And yes, I still use Kahoots to review content area in my classrooms.  And yes, I think I can challenge myself to bring something more engaging back to my students.  I'm looking forward to meeting this fellow #CathEdSocial tweeter in person!

Student Faith Formation Sessions = 20 total sessions!

I get excited any time I get to hear Dr. Bob McCarty present about his research on why our young people are leaving the Catholic Church!  Honestly, I just want to hang out in Central Chat with Dr. McCarty and talk about his work with Going, Going, Gone.  Can we make this happen at #NCEA19?

Student Formation Sessions = 2 total sessions!

I loved reading The Joy of the Gospel by Pope Francis, so I am probably going to enjoy this breakout session too.  The real question is, which John Collins is presenting this session because when I Google search "John Collins," I am not quite sure.....however, it could be the Dr. John J. Collins who is the President of the Catholic Biblical Association and a professor at Yale.  I'm excited to hear about this topic though.

Student Services/Programs Sessions = 15 total sessions!

Shout out to my Saint Louis University Ed.D cohort member, Mallory Green, who is the Campus Minister at St. Mary's High School in St. Louis.  She, along with her colleague Katie Albin, Director of Admissions, will present how to develop servant leaders, and it will be excellent!

Technology Integration Sessions = 13 total sessions!

I am hoping that Keven Rinaman teaches me 1) how to get a 3D printer in my classroom, and 2) what to do with it exactly.  I am also excited to meet fellow #CathEdSocial tweeter in real life!

What I Am MOST Excited About

Yes, I am most excited about the #CatholicEdChat Social Media Hub because 1) that is where I am presenting, 2) I need a place to tweet everything awesome that is happening at #NCEA19, and 3) in years past, there has been a monitor that filters and shows ALL tweets with the hashtag.  It is a great idea to gather here and connect!

Also, are you not sure if you have enough $$$ to attend?  NCEA has provided a "Justification Letter" to fill out and submit to your local LEA to use Title II Part A funding.  It is printed on page 11 of the Preliminary Program for the #NCEA19 Convention & Expo.

I continue to be SO EXCITED to get to #NCEA19 in the Windy City in April.  My hotel is booked.  My presentation is almost complete.  I have chosen sessions to attend from the Preliminary Program.  I have tweeted my excitement all week.  I will continue to count down to the biggest gathering of Catholic school educators in the country.  As of today, there are only 157 more days until #NCEA19!  I am praying for a successful conference for all Catholic school educators.  Come, Holy Spirit!  Unite us with your JOY!

Week 7 - #CathEdSocial - Digital Discipleship

Week 7 - #CathEdSocial - Digital Discipleship
This blog is written as part of the NCEA Social Media Influencer Contest.

Before one can be a digital disciple, one must first be a DISCIPLE of Christ.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines a disciple as, "The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it" (CCC #1816).  To be a digital disciple means that we do all of these things DIGITALLY, which includes: everything online, social media, TV, and radio.  We need to be disciples of Christ when we engage and interact with anything online on the Internet, whenever we watch something, or whenever we listen to something.  That's A LOT!  Luckily, if we are truly Christ's disciples, we are putting Christ in the center of our lives.  And our lives already include a LOT of digital stuff (at least my life does).  Therefore, Jesus is already at the center of our digital living.  Let's explore this.

How is Jesus present in our digital watching?  Think about everything we watch: Netflix, YouTube, Grey's Anatomy.... Part of being a Digital Disciple is putting Jesus at the center of our digital watching choices.  Since Jesus is at the center of my choices, as I have Christ at the center of my life, I choose to not watch certain stuff.  There's the obvious choices to avoid, like porn and pagan Netflix shows like that Sabrina remake.  However, there are also other choices to avoid because they take away from the truth of Christ.  And it is important to recognize the truths (or lack thereof) in very entertaining shows like Grey's Anatomy.

How is Jesus present in our digital listening?  Think about everything we listen to: the radio, podcasts, news... Part of being a Digital Disciple is putting Jesus at the center of what we listen to.  Are we focusing on our faith and encountering Jesus in our listening?  Or is it totally mindless chatter.  I listen to praise and worship music in my car on my long drives to and from my Catholic school.  I also listen to podcasts to hone my teaching craft and leadership.  I focus on the positive and intentionally choose joy.

How is Jesus present in our social media usage? Social media is an important collaborative tool for teachers to develop relationships, share best practices and ideas for teaching, and promote the charisms and Catholic identity of their particular Catholic school.  

My love of and dedication to Catholic education is a direct result of my zealous and immense love for Christ and His Church. I am a tenacious follower of #CatholicTwitter, and I feel that if more Catholic school teachers were united to the mission of Catholic education, which is to form intentional and missionary disciples of Christ. I love Jesus, and I love working in a Catholic school.  My goal is to intentionally lead other Catholic school teachers to love their teaching vocation too by tweeting my joy for Catholic education.

Here are the topics provided by NCEA for the final weeks of the NCEA Social Media Influencer Contest.  Follow along by following the hashtag #CathEdSocial!  I am immensely enjoying tweeting, posting, and blogging about each week's topics regarding the awesome things happening in our Catholic schools.  I have learned so much, connected with many Catholic school educators, and have increased the joy for my teaching vocation.

Week 6 - #CathEdSocial - Exceptional Learning in Catholic Schools

Week 6 - #CathEdSocial - Exceptional Learning in Catholic Schools
This blog is written as part of the NCEA Social Media Influencer Contest.

Catholic schools (at least the ones where I have taught) are really good at teaching to "the middle."  As a young teacher, I struggled to provide challenging and relevant curriculum to my highest-achieving students, and I struggled to provide learning supports for my students who students who struggled.  I, too, was really good at teaching to "the middle" of my class.  In Catholic schools, sometimes we need help teaching all of our students.  As God calls us to fulfill our vocation of Catholic school teacher, He calls us to teach ALL students.  It is a matter of justice.  But it took a while for me to truly believe this.

I started teaching 18 years ago in a very small Catholic school in North St. Louis County.  This school had a reputation for extreme academic excellence, sending many of its graduating 8th graders to the top Catholic high schools in the St. Louis area.  This also meant that many families chose not to send their child/ren with learning needs to this Catholic school.  During my first three years teaching, I had one student with a learning disability.  Honestly, I do not think that student would have been enrolled in our Catholic school if their three older brothers and sisters had also not been enrolled.  This Catholic school had NO resource teacher, NO learning consultant, NO Care Team, and NO student support system in place.  There really had never been a need for them.  And so, as a first-year teacher, I attended the IEP/ISP meeting for my one student with a diagnosed learning disability at the local public school while my principal stayed and substitute taught in my classes.  I was 22 years old, and I had NO IDEA how to support this student.  Reading the written ISP following the meeting, I still needed help.  I asked my mentor teacher for help.  She gave me some general ideas to get started, such as reduce the math homework, give extra time to complete tests and assignments, and seat the student at the front of the classroom.  (And yes, this was in 2001, a time that was before personalized PD on Twitter, before Facebook teacher groups, and before PLNs that met on Voxer.)

Fast forward a few years.  My first Catholic school closed due to decreasing enrollment.  This school consolidated with a nearby Catholic school.  My principal was hired to be the principal at this newly consolidated, and thanks be to God, he hired me to teach at the newly consolidated Catholic school.  This school was larger, with 2 classes per grade level.  For the first time, I had a partner teacher.  For the first time, I had the support of a building-wide learning consultant.  There was still NO Care Team and still NO resource department.  The number of students who had a diagnosed learning disability increased.  The number of students who had an ADD/ADHD diagnosis also increased.  The learning consultant in the building was actually a person to whom we sent our students when we didn't know what to do, like for testing and for behavioral outbursts.  I was still teaching to "the middle" but had started attending workshops and reading books about how to respectfully challenge my higher-achieving students and how to support my struggling students.  

Fast forward a few more years.  My teaching job at my Catholic school was eliminated due to decreasing enrollment.  I signed a teaching contract at the largest Catholic school in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and taught a 5th grade class with 31 students.  That year, there were four 5th grade classes with at least 30 students in each class.  There was a Care Team, a full resource department, a full-time counselor at the school, and multiple teacher aides who pushed into classrooms.  Of the approximately 900 students in the school, there were over 200 "student learning plans" to assist students with diagnosed disabilities and to assist other students who may not have a diagnosis but who struggled.  This was the first time that I heard, "Being average is not a disability."  The number of students who I taught who had a diagnosis increased dramatically.  I learned SO MUCH about teaching all students in my two years at this school.  I became a much better teacher, and I met my husband, who was also a teacher in the school.

Fast forward to me teaching in another Catholic school much closer to the city.  This was the first Catholic school in which I taught where many of my students were not Catholic.  There was NO learning consultant or resource teacher or resource department, although we most definitely would have thrived with one.  Instead, the teachers met after school for a few hours each Wednesday as a Care Team.  Together, we wrote "Student Learning Profiles" for over half of the students in our Catholic school who had learning difficulties.  I led a year-long professional development book study on differentiated instruction.  I taught a few students who may have been diagnosed as having ASD if their parents would have supported the school's Care Team's united efforts.  I became a MUCH better teacher, learning to differentiate and support all of my students' learning needs.  I won an archdiocesan teaching award.  I earned my Master's in Catholic school leadership, discerned God's plan and will in my life, and decided to leave this beloved school to take a principal position an hour away at a Catholic school in an area with much different demographics.

Before I started as principal of my new school, I attended NCEA in St. Louis, my hometown.  I had been slowly building my PLN on Twitter, and my personalized PD now included reading everything that other Catholic school educators tweeted, including articles and resources regarding Exceptional Learners in Catholic schools.  I started following Beth Foraker (@inclusionchick) on Twitter, and I read every single thing that she tweeted.  Beth is the President of the National Catholic Board on Full Inclusion.  And after attending the Inclusion Summit the night before NCEA began, I fully fell in love with the mission of full inclusion in Catholic schools for students with disabilities.

In my year as principal, I talked with many parents, both of students currently enrolled and of students not yet enrolled.  I stayed to work in my office on Wednesday evenings so I could be present to talk with parents of PSR students.  It broke my heart to hear reasons from parents as to why they felt they could not enroll in our Catholic school, or any other Catholic school.  The reasons included: they felt the Catholic school classroom could not teach their child/ren who had a learning diagnosis, ADD/ADHD diagnosis, or another medical diagnosis.  I was heartbroken.  Exceptional Learners should be able to be enrolled in any Catholic school.  This is my goal, as Catholic education should be for everyone in the full-time day school.  Here are my suggestions for Catholic schools to make this possible:

Suggestions for Catholic Schools

1. Start With One - As Dr. Raul Escarpio (@CatholicEd4All) says, Catholic schools just need to start with one.  #StartWithOne and say YES to one family, one student.  

2. Put Support Programs in Place - This includes putting support plans in place for students who are already enrolled, including those students who may not have a learning disability.  About 8-10% of our students enrolled in Catholic schools have exceptional needs.  We need to have the support system in place so that they can learn.

3. Provide Ongoing PD - Catholic schools can use their Title II funds to provide necessary and ONGOING professional development for their faculty and staff to ensure that all students learn.  This includes training our faculty and staffs on how to educate students who have a learning diagnosis AND ESPECIALLY students who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. 

In conclusion, I am on fire in supporting and living the mission of making Catholic education possible for all students.  In my future principal position, I want to say YES to (at least) one family and one student.  It is a matter of justice and love.