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
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:
- Transferring love from thoughts and values into action
- Recognizing our common humanity
- Using power rightly (right use of power)
- Undertaking leadership as a spiritual practice (looking at leadership as MINISTRY)
- Viewing leadership as a journey of faith
- Building an embodied peaceful presence
- Valuing community
- Seeking personal transformation
- Understanding the universal
- 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.
