Week 4 - #CathEdSocial - Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed

Week 4 - #CathEdSocial - Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed
This blog is written as part of the NCEA Social Media Influencer Contest.

Learn
Our Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis are known for their academic excellence. The Archdiocese of St. Louis has 107 Catholic elementary schools and educates almost 23,000 students in K-8th grade.  I have worked as a Catholic educator in 6 different Catholic school buildings, and I can state without any hesitation that academic excellence ABOUNDED in each one of these buildings.  Students were challenged, motivated, and engaged.  Our Catholic schools offer high academic standards, good grounding in basics, caring teachers, solid discipline, and safe orderly environment.  How does student motivation and student engagement happen in Catholic schools?  

1. Personalized PD - You maximize STUDENT learning when you maximize ADULT learning.  A highly excellent school leader will lead this lifelong learning that happens inside the Catholic school and outside the Catholic school.
2. High Expectations - There are very high academic expectations for students in our Catholic schools.  In fact, the grading scale in our Catholic schools is much tougher than the grading scale in local public schools; local public schools use the 90-100 is an A scale, and Catholic schools use the 93-100 is an A scale.  Student work is valued and expected to be completed.
3. Blue Ribbon Schools - Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis have earned the National Blue Ribbon Award 21 times, which is more than any other school district in Missouri.
4. Differentiated Instruction - Each child is unique, and Catholic schools help unlock the distinct interest and talents of each child. Catholic schools teach children about the deeper underlying themes of society, and equip them with the ability to know how their knowledge can better the world around them.
5. Develop the Whole Child - Each Catholic school in which I have served educates the whole child.  Our teachers in Catholic school don't just teach the rigorous and relevant curriculum; they teach PEOPLE.  Catholic educators are data-informed and not data-driven, as they do not "teach to the test."  Our Catholic schools enable children to grow to their full potential.

Lead and Serve
In all 6 of the Catholic schools I have served, service learning is an expected part of the school year.  It is each Catholic school's mission and duty to provide opportunities for Christian witness and service.  There is a Catholic school in St. Louis that has a theme for each of their grade levels, which helps to determine what the service learning projects for the school year will be.  Student leadership is fostered and developed in Catholic schools primarily through SERVICE.  Catholic schools have an obligation to foster a leadership model in young people that draws its inspiration from the life and death of Jesus.  The days when the role of student leaders centered on organizing and collecting the mission money, taking out the recycling, stacking chairs in the cafeteria and classroom should be long gone.  Instead, service should be focused on dying to oneself in serving others (not literally, but definitely making sacrifices) AND uniting the service to student prayer.

Succeed
Our goal in Catholic schools is two-fold for our students: 1) Academic Excellence, and 2) Heaven.  Students who attend Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis are higher achieving than their peers and better prepared for the future, and here is why:

1. The archdiocesan average ACT score is higher than 99% of Missouri school districts and 4.5 points higher than the state average.  
2. A higher percentage of Catholic high school graduates attend a four-year college.  
3. Recent Catholic school graduates are 7 times more likely to attend weekly Mass.

AND the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis help students develop a heart and mind for God.  Through passing on the great traditions of the Church and immersing our students in them in Catholic schools, students are formed as saints and get to heaven.  These are our goals to learn, serve, lead, and succeed for our students in Catholic schools.