Search

The twin uncertainties of the pandemic and the economic downturn have taken a toll on our Catholic schools. Yet reports across the country are that Catholic schools have been very successful in remote learning. Although there are well-documented efforts to define the values of Catholic schools, these values are not fully known and there is still not a well-crafted national value proposition for Catholic schools. As the context surrounding Catholic schools has changed, it has become imperative that Catholic schools coalesce around a new value proposition during uncertain times. What follows is an attempt by a group of dedicated Catholic school stakeholders determined to change the narrative. As our schools have pivoted to new forms of delivery and connections, this ad hoc group represents the same type of creative efforts to form a community. As a committee, we identified five themes of hope that can continue to guide the work and witness of our Catholic schools: prayer, partnership with families, personalization, persistence, and planning. In the following sections, we provide a rationale and overview of each theme. We also include relevant testimonials of diverse stakeholders to illuminate each theme and give voice to the hope across our school communities.

This paper explores some of the documents that provide a foundation for the Church and its ministries to deliver justice and mercy to all, including students with disabilities. First, Catholic Social Teaching (CST) traditions will be presented as the foundation to some of the documents of the American Church. A chronology of the documents of United States bishops will trace the flow of CST as the impetus for designing and delivering programs for students with disabilities in Catholic schools. Implications for Catholic schools are outlined for next steps for implementation. [Note: The page range (5-22) shown via the .pdf is incorrect. The correct page range is 5-23.]

This documentary study of academic programs at Catholic Seminaries and Theology Schools through the United States sought to answer the question: "What types of preparation does the seminary curriculum provide to new pastors about their role in the parish's Catholic School?" Results of program syllabi review show a dearth of preparation given to this aspect of this parochial ministry. Recommendations for further investigation are offered.

Catholic school principals typically serve as the prime decision-makers in admission and enrollment issues. A key factor in this decision-making can be the principals' perceptions and attitudes about servicing students with disabilities within a Catholic school context. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of Catholic school principals toward inclusion of students with disabilities in Catholic schools. Overall, a majority of surveyed principals reported a positive attitude toward including students with disabilities. Some significant relationships were found between principal's pervious experiences with students with disabilities and the principals' willingness to enroll students with disabilities. Implications for practice are presented.

The increasing emphasis on the myriad of leadership preparation standards have caused university principal preparation programs to necessarily focus on the more secular aspect of leading schools. For the Catholic school principal, this has left little focus on the development of critical strategies to lead for Catholic Identity and faith formation. This article suggests using the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools as a framework for Catholic principal preparation programs to address this issue. Additional suggestions for program development are also offered.

Catholic school principals typically serve as the prime decision-makers in admission and enrollment issues. A key factor in this decision-making can be the principals' perceptions and attitudes about servicing students with disabilities within a Catholic school context. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of Catholic school principals toward inclusion of students with disabilities in Catholic schools. Overall, a majority of surveyed principals reported a positive attitude toward including students with disabilities. Some significant relationships were found between principal's pervious experiences with students with disabilities and the principals' willingness to enroll students with disabilies. Implications for practice are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Los directores de escuelas católicas típicamente desempeñan un papel principal en la toma de decisiones en las cuestiones de aceptación y matrícula escolar. Un factor clave en esta toma de decisión puede ser las percepciones y actitudes de los directores en cuanto al servicio hacia los estudiantes con discapacidades dentro del contexto escolar católico. El objetivo del presente estudio es investigar las actitudes y percepciones de los directores de las escuelas católicas hacia la inclusión de estudiantes con discapacidades en las escuelas católicas. En conjunto, la mayoría de los directores encuestados mostró una actitud positiva hacia la inclusión de estudiantes con discapacidades. Se encontraron relaciones significativas entre las experiencias previas de los directores con estudiantes con discapacidades y la predisposición del director de matricular a estudiantes con discapacidades. Se presentan implicaciones para la práctica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Les chefs d'établissements catholiques sont habituellement les premiers décideurs pour les questions d'admissions et d'inscriptions. L'un des facteurs-clés de cette prise de décision peut se trouver dans ce que ressentent les chefs d'établissement et leur attitude vis-à-vis de la manière de s'occuper des élèves handicapés dans le contexte d'une école catholique. Cette étude a pour but d'enquêter sur ce que ressentent les chefs d'établissements catholiques et leur attitude concernant l'inclusion des élèves handicapés dans leurs écoles. Dans l'ensemble, la majorité de ceux qui ont répondu à l'enquête ont montré une attitude positive vis-à- vis des élèves handicapés. Des rapports significatifs ont été établis entre les expériences antérieures du chef d'établissement avec des élèves handicapés et son empressement à inscrire ce type d'élèves. Les implications pratiques sont présentées dans l'article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]