What happens in schools and communities when empathy and compassion take center stage? In the bustling city of Nashville, where sweet music fills every street corner, two remarkable second-grade students at Overbrook Catholic School, Evelyn Thallemer and Matilda Crosswy, tirelessly crafted 2,500 beaded bracelets with a mission deeply rooted in compassion and guided by what […]
The Nation’s Report Card and Your Private School
Dear Catholic School Leaders: Sister Dale, NCEA Vice President of Public Policy, and I attended a meeting at the U.S. Department of Education last week, and we learned that Catholic schools’ participation in the NAEP assessment has declined to the point that, if it falls further, they will likely not be able to report our […]
Effective Boards are Rarely Bored!
Written by Karen Barreras, NCEA Director of Leadership Engagement [email protected] Decades ago, as a parent of children in a Catholic school, I completed my required service hours (and more) by volunteering for the Parents Club. We had a fun time preparing for fundraisers and support for our beloved school. After my children graduated, I was […]
Shaping the Catholic School Difference: Embracing Christ’s Love
Throughout my two decades as an educator in Catholic schools, the question that I have been asked most frequently is, “What is the Catholic school difference?” I must confess that my response to this inquiry has evolved over the years, given my various roles within Catholic education. However, one constant in my answer remains unchanged: […]
Teaching Faith Across the Grade 6-12 Curriculum and Programs: Math
Written by Father Tom Simonds, S.J., NCEA Director of Secondary Engagement [email protected] Teaching the Catholic faith is everyone’s job in a Catholic school. Father Tom Simonds, S.J., will be writing a series of blog posts over the coming weeks to provide examples of how to do that. How can faculty develop lesson plans across the […]
Bridging the Learning Gap: How Schools Can Address Summer Learning Loss
Bridging the Learning Gap: How Schools Can Address Summer Learning Loss As summer vacation comes to a close, students and educators across the country prepare to head back to the classroom. While many students are looking forward to seeing their friends and teachers again, there’s one thing that can dull the excitement of a new […]
Why Dual Language Catholic Education?
Written by Elena Sada, Pd.D., Boston College, Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Roche Center for Catholic Education I have spent the past twenty years interacting closely with dual language educators, both in the public and Catholic school setting, and the answer is always the same: “Dual language has so many academic, cognitive, sociocultural […]
Emerging Forms of Governance at Catholic Universities
Written by Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, CM, president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. A new national study identifies new governance models emerging in Catholic higher education stemming from the downsizing and aging of founding religious congregations in the U.S. For Catholic schools who also depend upon religious congregations for their sponsorship, these […]
The Transformative Power of the Latino Community
What if the U.S. Catholic Church possesses the key to reversing the trend of declining Mass attendance and disaffiliation? What if we never have to close the doors to another Catholic school because we have reached enrollment capacity? What might it look like for Catholic education to carry its magnificent legacy of serving largely immigrant […]
Nurturing New Teachers: Fostering Mission-Driven Mentoring in a Catholic School
Written by Dr. Josh Packard, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Operations, NCEA, [email protected] Mentoring new teachers in a Catholic school is a rewarding responsibility that requires a thoughtful approach. It’s also one of the most important things we can do in an environment that is increasingly competitive for top teaching talent. As school administrators, […]
