By Rose O’Connor | Correspondent

The strong commitment to Catholic education in the diocese was evident as hundreds of representatives from parishes and schools met in two locations Oct. 18.

Teams from each school, appointed by parish and school leaders, participated in the meetings held in  St. Paul School, Burlington, and Mater Dei Prep, Middletown, to consider and identify the challenges facing the 36 Catholic elementary schools in Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

JoAnn Tier, diocesan superintendent of Catholic Schools, welcomed those who gathered in the Princeton school.  “We thank you in this Year of Faith for the hope that you bring, for the faith that you bring and for the future of our Catholic schools,” she said, as she introduced the facilitator for the evening, Dr. John J. Convey.

Participants broke into focus groups, led by teachers from the elementary schools to discuss and determine “what are the critical issues that the education planning committee should consider when planning for the future of Catholic education?”

Involving the entire school community to examine the challenges facing Catholic education and working as a group to identify and investigate possible solutions was a sentiment that was appreciated by many as they shared their experiences working in their small groups.

Second grade teacher, Sherri Hunkins, from Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Maple Shade, found her experience that evening to be an overall and overwhelmingly positive one.

“I just can’t believe the great ideas that people are sharing,” she said enthusiastically. “They are all so dedicated to Catholic education, and are really trying to think outside the box when examining the critical issues. I was truly amazed at what they were saying.”

 Ryan Killeen, principal of St. Paul School, Princeton, echoed Hunkins’ feelings as well.

“I think it was really enlightening to see all the school cultures engage and reach a consensus in such a short amount of time,” he acknowledged, reflecting on the sustainability meeting.

 He continued, “It is refreshing to see commitment from all arenas; parents, pastors, teachers, leaders and it’s exciting to see this commitment to sustain our schools.”