This article was contributed by Pam Bernards, Ed.D., NCEA Director of Professional Development.
In June, I wrote to you about summer professional development offerings held in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Diocese of Baton Rouge that were focused on the topic of Growth Mindset. I had the privilege of attending the second phase of the Growth Mindset initiative implementation in the Diocese of Baton Rouge which was held on August 22 & 23, 2016 at the Manresa Retreat House in Covenant, Louisiana. During the Annual Advisory Board Retreat for diocesan level and local level Advisory Board members, board members and school leaders worked together on growth mindset and how it fits into the cycle of continuous improvement in the diocese.
Advisory Board members were provided with an overview of Growth Mindset on day one, prepping them to work with school leaders on day two. Reflection was the beginning point for their time together on day two as the school leaders shared how they incorporated the principles learned in June into their personal and professional lives. It was amazing to hear what the participants had learned about themselves and how integrating the Growth Mindset principles made a positive impact on their life.
Attendees then participated in collaborative, interactive sessions in which they continued to explore growth mindset content. They worked in teams to create vision statements for one of three focus areas: community engagement, enrollment management, and funding resources. It was exciting to see the comradery, collaboration, creativity, communication and team work shine through. A highlight of the day was watching the skits and songs the teams created to promote the ideas generated during the brainstorming session for the focus areas which they selected.
In the last session, the attendees completed the final visioning activity. Each team was asked to write one paragraph of a press release to be dated one year in the future. The objective was to share the “good news” resulting from their forward thinking and implementation of growth mindset. Specifics of the press release included the positive impact of the initiative on the diocese, school leaders, teachers, students, and parents.
About the experience, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Melanie Verges said, “Collaboration between board members and administrators is critical for the success of Catholic education. The annual board retreat provides the opportunity for leaders to be revitalized by reconnecting to the spiritual and faith-based foundation of their work while they learn how to be more effective in their mission. The next steps will be to review goals for continuous improvement within the context of the growth mindset. Principals will participate in a book study of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck this year and board members will return to their schools ready to share the information they learned with fellow volunteers.”
