SPICE 2001 Model Programs Descriptions - National Catholic Educational Association

Enhancing Catholic Identity is a comprehensive two-year program structured strictly for principals of Catholic elementary and secondary schools. The specific intent of this program is to focus on the development of the Catholic School administrator as the spiritual leader of the school community, as well as to enhance the administrator's ability to foster the Catholic identity of their school so that our Catholic culture will continue to be a pervasive force in our schools.

The program is designed so that a team from the Consortium for Catholic School Identity will travel to any diocese where interested superintendents/principals desire additional inservicing on fostering a Catholic presence in their schools. Financial aid is available for dioceses which need help to cover the cost of the program through a grant from Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.

The program format is a two-day workshop over the course of two years. It features several opportunities for school administrators to enhance their faith leadership skills. Two different seminars (a year apart) offer speakers, group discussions and reflection time for participants to focus on the topic of Catholic Identity. Each day's workshop is opened with a keynote talk on a specific topic such as "Prayer Leadership" or "Catholic Social Justice." Discussions follow during which the groups will identify examples of their "best practices" of how Prayer Leadership is modeled or social justice concerns are addressed in participants' schools.

The interim 12-month period is utilized to continue communication with all seminar participants. On a monthly basis, a variety of essays, suggested activities or other printed materials relating to prayer leadership and/or Catholic social justice teachings are sent to the principals for their consideration.

The goals of this program are to educate and support both parents and teachers with the Catholic Education curricula by providing them direct access via our Web site to the Diocesan Catholic Education Office and its programs. The Web site acts as a vehicle of distance learning for parents and educators. Parents, who are the primary educators of their children, have at their fingertips access to program descriptions that will better enable them to be in sync with their child's learning. Additionally, parents can use the information available through the Web site to reinforce what their child is learning in the classroom. This can make for a richer parent-child relationship, which can foster the faith life within the family.

Teachers in the Catholic school system having access to the Diocesan Education Office will use the Web site to obtain information that will support classroom learning. Modules, worksheets, activities, and suggested prayer services are just a few of the samples of the wealth of information available to the educators. These resources will enable the teachers to take ownership of the teaching situation and offer the students the best environment for learning. The Web site also allows teachers to take part in the Diocesan Religion Certification program, leading to a Certificate in Religious Education. Not only a tool for distance learning, the Web site also provides direct communication with the Catholic Schools Office, thereby offering a means of support for the educators.

The purpose of the Web site program is to assist educators in formatting their curriculum through the use of materials that can be easily downloaded, for example, modules and worksheets. By being able to download materials, teachers can format their class plans according to the expectations of the diocesan Education Office and thereby work to fulfill those expectations.

Teachers in any school environment could very well adapt this program because it is age appropriate and culturally diverse. The educator can access the information and tailor it to the children in their school setting, be it inner city, rural, urban, etc. For example, the Social Justice program might be adapted for the children in the inner city to reflect the needs of the neighborhood poor as opposed to a rural setting, which might reflect the needs of the farm worker.

The Urban Catholic Teacher Corps of Boston College and the Archdiocese of Boston exists to promote and support Catholic education in the Boston area. This 2-year post-graduate service program provides an opportunity for new teachers to gain experience teaching in urban Catholic schools under the mentorship of skilled Catholic school educators.

The goal of the Urban Catholic Teacher Corps is to provide qualified teachers for the Catholic schools in the hope that, as they begin their professional lives, these new teachers will be inspired to devote themselves to Catholic education. UCTC members teach full time in Catholic elementary and secondary schools and pursue graduate studies at Boston College. They make every effort to live a simple life and endeavor to carry out the mission of teaching as service. They support each other professionally and spiritually by living in a faith-based community with other like-minded individuals. They become more sensitive to diversity in the community and in the classroom by entering into honest, respectful dialogue. Through a common exploration of how each member finds God in his or her daily life, members take the time to notice and appreciate more of life and open themselves to a new dimension of the spiritual journey.

Teacher shortage is a growing concern across the United States, no less in the Diocese of Cleveland. The future of our Catholic schools depends on bringing into the classrooms as new teachers the brightest and best among today's Catholic students. Teaching in a Catholic school needs to be viewed not only as a promising career option/ but also as the essential ministry it is in our Church today. Our future Catholic schoolteachers need to be those students of today who are grounded in Faith and steeped in the mission of Jesus, those who will be sensitive to the diverse backgrounds and needs of our students.

The mission of the Future Catholic Teacher Club is to provide students with opportunities to explore teaching in a Catholic school as a profession and as a ministry to carry on the teaching mission of the Catholic Church, the mission of Jesus. Club members will explore teaching as a career and gain a realistic understanding of the many facets of teaching by working closely with other students who share a similar interest in becoming part of the educational community and teachers who are willing to allow students to assist them in the classroom.

Many teachers in Catholic schools lack an adequate understanding of the Catholic "story" about education. They are reluctant to apply for senior posts because of their perception that expectations of Catholic school leaders are impossible to meet, feeling particularly ill-equipped for the spiritual leadership role. The MA in Catholic School Leadership is an academic and vocational program for senior teachers. It integrates theology, management studies, and education and aims to support students in their task of integrating a Catholic philosophy of education with the principles and practice of school and college leadership.

Students are enabled to demonstrate greater confidence and competence in articulating and implementing the principal features of Catholic education in their work. It addresses a changing church context (for example, the ecumenical imperative, engagement with people of other faiths, and the need for renewed attention to the reception and inculturation of church teaching). It also faces a changing professional context (for example, increased accountability and centralization, new ground-rules, and the need to maintain motivation and morale in the light of internal and external challenges to Catholic education). Special emphasis is given to the spiritual formation of Catholic educators in this radical alternative to prevailing modes of managerial training.

In the early 1970s, the Department of Catholic Schools began a one-year training program for new teachers. It was designed to meet the needs of first-year teachers not yet fully credentialed as well as those new to Catholic Education. Over the years it has been continually evaluated and modified, but the basic purpose has not changed. The program begins with a three-day summer workshop with additional workshops in the fall and spring. All participants receive a training manual. Each teacher is assigned a master teacher who meets with his/her intern on a regular basis to discuss a variety of issues.

The new teacher observes in the master's classroom, and the master observes the intern teach. A record of all this activity is recorded for the new teacher's personnel file. The program is currently being expanded so interns can observe exceptional teachers at selected "lab" schools. This program stresses Catholic philosophy and values, classroom management, lesson planning, curriculum standards and methodologies, technology, dealing with parents, and professional ethics. It encourages intern teachers to network with those teaching similar grade levels. Its purpose is to evaluate, assist, and support new teachers in a positive way through a successful first year of teaching.

The Catholic School Leadership Program for the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island seeks to further the mission of Catholic school education by identifying potential leaders and then by developing these potential leaders along with all other leaders for service in the Catholic schools in the Diocese. The program has been in place for seven years, is ongoing, and is built around five pillars: Identification, selection, education, support, and evaluation.

The second phase is selection. Individuals interested in preparing for a position of principal in the future are screened as to their aptitude and potential. Individuals applying for a current principal opening are reviewed through a formal search process. Any individual hired as a principal who has not completed the Leadership Program is required to do so as a condition of employment.

The third phase is education. Potential principals and new principals take part in a course and seminars over two schools years. During the fall semester of the first year, each participant takes a graduate course through Providence College designed specifically for those serving as the administrator of a Catholic school. During the second year, each is required to attend three seminars addressing area of religious education as well as the development of people skills. The fourth phase provides for the ongoing support of principals. Key elements are mentoring, providing technical resources, professional development, faith development, and opportunities for networking.

The final phase is evaluation. Evaluation of the Leadership Program is written. The formal evaluation of each person who fills the position of principal is on a three-year cycle. The purpose of this evaluation is to provide feedback to the principal.

The Spiritual Growth Leadership Plan is a collaborative response by the Catholic Schools Office and Faith Development Department in the Diocese of Raleigh to establish a holistic spiritual formation process for both school educators and parish catechists. The plan is designed to be a developmental model identifying significant elements necessary for creating a successful formation program. The initial elements include: diocesan needs assessments, phases and timeline for preparation, development, implementation, resources, support, challenges, evaluation and sustaining the program. Well-defined models, as well as, recognition of current and readily available resources will enable parish and school leaders to implement formation programs that are tailored specifically for the needs of their constituency.

In planning our formation program, Border Crossings, we recognized that teachers could not pass on the faith, if they were not formed in the faith. One cannot give what one does not possess. We defined spiritual formation as a process by which we journey with each other in order to grow in our awareness and relationship with God.

The program is designed to provide support, information, direction, and sense of mission and of community to first year teachers and staff of the eight high schools of the Missouri and Wisconsin Provinces of the Society of Jesus. This program attempts to help individual schools with a yearlong orientation program that focuses on teaching as ministry, and also on the distinctive characteristics of Ignatian secondary education and history of the St. Ignatius and the Society of Jesus.

At the beginning of October each new educator in the two provinces is sent the first of five packets of reading material. At the end of the month the new educators meet to share their reactions to the readings and to ask questions of the local director.

In early February the new educators along with the principals of the eight high schools are gathered together for a three-day retreat/conference in St. Louis. The objective of this gathering is to allow time for reflection, conversation, and sharing among all participants.

The Archdiocese of Washington's Hearts Aflame Faith and Ministries Formation Program enables adults to deepen their knowledge of the Catholic faith and prepares them to effectively exercise a variety of ministries. Hearts Aflame is structured around three categories of courses: Core, Specialization, and Enrichment.

All Catholic elementary school teachers of Religion, parish catechists, RCIA team members, and youth ministers are required to take or be exempted from the following Core Courses, offered in English and Spanish: Creed I & II, Sacraments, Morality, Prayer, and Scripture.

Specialization Courses equip individuals for specific ministries, and are often a perquisite for some form of Archdiocesan certification. For their certification, elementary school teachers of Religion must complete the "Philosophy of Catholic Education" course, taught by their school's principal.

Other Specialization Courses explore the following topics: Evangelization, Social Justice, Family Life, Youth Ministry, RCIA Ministry, Catechesis, Ministry to Persons with Disabilities, and Natural Family Planning. As each Specialization Course is offered through a different Archdiocesan office, Hearts Aflame fosters coordination and collaboration.

Success of new teachers is linked to their first experiences and the opportunities they are given to talk about the issues they face in the classroom each day. Research has shown that what happens during the first year will determine whether or not a person will stay in teaching.

The goal of the Good Counsel New Teacher Program is to provide support so that new teachers will meet with success during the first years of teaching. The New Teacher Program has two main facets: Initial Support and Ongoing Support. Initial support is four days of orientation to the school and a weekend retreat in August two weeks before the start of school. Primarily the days are spent meeting various school leaders, learning about the culture of the school, and discussing and planning for effective teaching in the weeks to come. Following a week of work and bonding the teachers are invited to a New Teachers Retreat sponsored by the Xavarian Brothers. The retreat gives perspective teachers an opportunity to become familiar with and experience the Xaverian Brothers charism and also network with new teachers from the other twelve Xaverian schools.

Ongoing support is defined by monthly meetings, informal classroom observations, a Staff Development Newsletter, on and off-site professional development, tuition reimbursement, after school mini-workshops, and mentor colleagues. In addition, first, second and third year teachers are closely monitored as to any special needs or concerns.

Each segment of the program creates collegiality among the teachers, provides insight into best practices, and furnishes information and materials as support. A program such as this gives the new teacher opportunities to share experiences and meet with success during the first years of teaching.