The summer season is one to be savored and enjoyed.

Our many blessings are acknowledged in the simplistic gifts of life’s experiences - awakening to the random chirping of early rising birds, reveling in a soft morning breeze, or enjoying a ripe, succulent peach.  Summer is a time to pause and take pleasure in the bounty of God’s creation.

While summer may appear to be a time off, in actuality, it is a time “on” for administrators and teachers.  It provides the space to delve into and discover more about the artistry of teaching and learning.  It is a time for professional reading.  It is time to ponder changes in delivery that will engage students. It is time to think about how students learn, to reflect on the application of instructional strategies that will create interest, ensure academic rigor and promote continuous learning.

Summer is a time when students are given assignments to keep the spark of learning ignited.  It is a time when teachers, likewise, commit to examining their craft.  Teachers utilize brain research to inform instruction about the ways in which students learn as they create safe and supportive learning environments that will invite students to be risk-takers exploring the unknown and being comfortable not having the answer.  Catholic school teachers commit to employ a variety of instructional strategies to promote differentiated instruction and to honor preferred multiple intelligences.  They develop a broad repertoire of strategies for students to decipher complex texts and identify evidence to support their thinking in their search for meaning and understanding.

Teachers in our Catholic schools do not rest on the laurels of certification but embrace and savor learning for its own sake.  As the school year unfolds, they meet with other teachers in professional learning communities or professional learning teams.  Through discussion, at times, through observation of peers, they examine what works in education.  Like students, they too, keep the spark of continuous learning ignited. 

Our educators are to be saluted as they commit to and invest in the educational progress of each student they teach.  They model sound teaching.  They model a faith-based teaching approach in which each child is accepted and respected as a child of God, with unique gifts to be developed.  Although immediate feedback or acknowledgement of effort may not be the reality, they commit to investing in each student knowing that they touch their lives.

Just as teachers accept the courage to teach and to be vulnerable as they recognize that they do not have all the answers, so, too, our administrators promote transparency in examining what is working and what needs improvement in our Catholic schools.  The fall season is likely the time when parents and stakeholders will receive an update on the state of their school.  Back to School nights provide the perfect opportunity to apprise parents and members of the school community about school goals for continuous growth and improvement.  Gaining an understanding of the income and expenditures of the school helps to inform the school’s financial picture.  Pastors, school administrators, faculty, parents, board members and the wider community commit to utilizing their talents so students, formed in the faith, are prepared to be tomorrow’s global leaders. 

As a follow-up to the Commission Study, consultation and fact-finding will take place in the fall with pastors and administrators whose schools have declining enrollment trends and fragile finances.   A review and discussion of challenges and opportunities will guide the decision of the pastor in assessing the ability or the lack thereof to continue to provide Catholic education in their school community.      

Throughout the course of the 2014-2015 school year, the gift of vulnerability, of transparency, of self-discovery and commitment to improvement will be underscored.  Administrators invite teachers, parents and key stakeholders to reflect on the merits of our schools as institutions for conveying the Catholic faith and providing academic rigor as the diocesan self-study unfolds through the international accrediting agency, AdvancED.  Through surveys, introspection and discussion, procedural and instructional practices will be examined and evaluated.  Goals at the diocesan level, as well as within each school community, will be assessed in the ongoing commitment to improve student learning.  Surveys will yield information about perceptions relating to Catholic identity and 21st century learning in our Catholic schools.  The study will culminate in a visit by a team of educators in the fall of 2015 who will assess our work and make commendations and recommendations to foster growth in our practice as instructional leaders.  The ultimate goal will be fostering individual and continuous growth in learning for our students.

The 2014-2015 school year is one of much introspection and self-discovery.  It is a time to foster community and to build support as we commit to providing exceptional student learning experiences.  It is a year in which we reflect and model the traits embodied in the life of the Master Teacher, Jesus.  Those traits included deep faith, respect, vulnerability, the acceptance of God’s will, unconditional love and acceptance of all. 

May we savor this time of growth, this time of community, this time to appreciate God’s many gifts and blessings.