Alliance for Catholic Education
Dear Remick Leaders,
Happy feast of Sts Timothy & Titus! I hope you all are well and enjoying a great start to Catholic Schools Week.
Today's first reading contains one of my favorite lines of scripture, when Paul tells Timothy, "I remind you to fan into a flame the gift that God has given you." What a beautiful image for Catholic school teachers to help us think about our vocation. As educators, we are called to recognize the presence of God in each and every one of the children we serve, and we are called to help them fan into a flame the gifts that God has granted them, to ensure that they realize their full potential academically and in faith.
Last week I had the privilege to talk about this scripture passage with 28 cardinals, archbishops, and bishops at a gathering hosted by ACE and the USCCB about Catholic schools. Thanks to all of you who shared thoughts about what I might say to the bishops about school leadership. I talked about the Remick community, I talked about your zeal, and I asked them to do three things:
1. Demand excellence. Bishops are uniquely positioned to raise the bar and increase expectations so that our schools might compete as places of academic quality and character formation. Bishops should hire superintendents and principals who will hold teachers accountable for fanning into flame the gifts each child has been given.
2. Hire leaders, not administrators. I talked about Michelangelo and the need for Catholic school leaders to have an "ancora imparo" growth mindset. We talked about the "accreditation mindset" that seems to obsess too many of our current Catholic school principals, which can reduce them to mere administrators and can prevent them from being world-building leaders. I shared Aaron Brenner's image of school principals as either time-tellers or clock-builders, and I encouraged them to hire more clock-builders.
3. Kindle zeal. St. Timothy was young but that did not stop him from leading with zeal. Timothy inspires Paul to write, "Let no one have contempt for our youth." We need to build a bench of future leaders, and we cannot afford to wait to see who surfaces in our schools. I encouraged the bishops to personally invite the early-career, high-potential teachers in their schools to leadership, and I asked them to cultivate vocations to Catholic school leadership with the same energy and creativity they use to cultivate vocations to priesthood and religious life.
In the spirit of this passage, Sarah Cullum also shared with us last week that her school, Rosary Cathedral, which is part of the Central City Ministry of Toledo, was recognized recently by the Toledo Blade as one of the top workplaces in Toledo. Congratulations to Sarah and all of her team for the great work they have done to transform RCS into a wonderful apostolate of this mission!
Many thanks to each of you for bringing your zeal to our community and for sharing it with us last week in Florida. Have a wonderful Catholic Schools Week!
Christian
Spiritual Reflection
As we begin Catholic schools week, know that we are praying for each of your school communities and for your commitment to making these sacred spaces places where students can witness and experience the presence and love of our Lord. This week, we share with you the litany of saints, praying for all of your schools as we did during the Reconciliation service on Saturday night during retreat.
Mary and Joseph (pray for us)
Michael and all angels
Anna, Joachim, Elizabeth
Elijah, Moses, John the Baptist
Isaac, Sarah, Abraham
Jacob, Joseph, Samuel,
Ruth, David, and Solomon,
Isaiah, Jeremiah;
All you holy men and women, pray for us!
Peter, Paul, and Andrew
James, John, and all apostles
Mary Magdalene, Veronica,
Barnabas, Matthias,
Stephen, Philip, and Cornelius
Prisca and Aquila
Timothy and Titus
Linus, Cletus, and Clement;
All you holy men and women, pray for us!
St. Ambrose, St. John,
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton,
Therese, Peter, and Cecilia,
St. Vincent de Paul,
Michael the Archangel,
Ann, Agnes, and Monica,
John Carroll, John Vianney,
Jean Baptiste de la Salle;
All you holy men and women, pray for us!
St. Francis deSales, Blessed Mother Teresa,
San Felipe de Neri,
St. Matthew, San Miguel,
Sts. Louis and Clement,
Joseph, John Paul the Second,
St. Madeleine Sophie,
St. Peter Claver,
All you holy men and women, pray for us!
Brother Martin Hernandez,
Bishop Dunne, St. Benet,
Blessed Pauline, St. Dominic,
Father Francis Monroe,
St. Marcellin Champagnat,
St. Andre Bessette,
Sacred Heart of Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes,
All you holy men and women, pray for us!
Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of the Rosary,
Most Pure Heart of Mary,
Notre Dame, our Mother,
Jesus, Sacred Heart, Good Shepherd,
Cristo Rey, Corpus Christi,
at your blessed Nativity,
in your Holy Family;
All you holy men and women, pray for us!