Catholic School Leaders Today: ¡Animo!Go and revolutionize education.

Dr. Alberto Vazquez Matos

“…[Catholic] educators must be willing to learn and develop knowledge and be open to the renewal and updating of

methodologies, but open also to and sharing. In the context of the present day, this is essential for responding to the expectations that come from a constantly and rapidly

changing world in which it is increasingly difficult to educate.” (Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education. 2007)

A Catholic School Leadership Journey

Reflect on your leadership journey. What experiences have led you here?

Know your story of leadership – understanding your history and what has led you to this point will allow you to more authentically lead.

“A school of excellence is not about who we take/accept into our schools, it is about who we give back to society.”

Dignity + Love + Unity=Culture of Success

Dignity

We must continually challenge our closely held assumptions – what was right as recently as a decade ago may not be so today

Every child is called to be Holy We must be willing to beyond what makes us

comfortable, always having the best interest of our school communities.

This task is beyond just Catholic school educators: the whole Church has to be involved in promoting Catholic schools

Love

In order to create long term growth and sustainability schools need to have strong leaders who focus on establishing clear Catholic identity (Faith), rigorous academics (Excellence) and active stewardship.

It should be our primary focus – effective leadership eliminates minor problems and mitigates large ones.

Love our Faith Core of all that we do

Leaders Love to strive for excellence Rigor and laser focus on student learning measured by data

Love of our community We are not owners but inheritors; obligation is to continuously improve for

future generations – return with increase

Unity

“Leaders breathe new life into organizations by insisting that the people and the organization need

to adapt to changes in the outside environment. Given the speed and complexity of external change today, leaders need to stimulate internal change to

keep up. The basic idea is that if your organization is not changing and growing, it is

dying.” Blessings for Leaders, Dan Ebener (p. 82)

Be Bold and Brave

Catholic schools need to adapt and innovate to meet the needs of the 21st century family and student. The ways that have worked in the past will not in the future so change is a requirement for growth.

Technology Integration Curriculum Innovation

Language immersion, CCSS, Blended learning, etc. We are limited only in our imaginations – tap into what you are

passionate about

Relationships

Relationships drive everything Key in any leadership role but especially in Catholic schools

Sophie story Empathy is a key leadership trait

Understand what people are going through Active listening is important

All relationships are important but don’t let adult issues affect the students

Presence establishes relationships Invest time in knowing names and histories of principals,

teachers, etc.

Confront the Brutal Facts

In order to grow into greatness, you must face the brutal facts of your current reality

You should create a culture wherein people have a tremendous opportunity to be heard and for the truth to be heard – especially by the leader.

Reflect

Mistakes will be made – know that from the outset – but the only bad mistake is one that you don’t learn from

Good leaders are continually reflecting on their work and they are continually trying to further develop themselves professionally

Carve out time at the end of each day to reflect on what has happened – good and not so good – and be honest about how you can improve moving forward.

How are your actions as a school leader effecting social change.

Go Big: Depth v. Breadth

Bishop Gordon Bennett: “You can’t control the length of your life but you can control the depth of your life.”

Same for your leadership tenure – plan for each year as if it is your last.

Pray like everything is in God’s hands and work like everything is in your hands (Ebener, p. 22)

Always ask yourself is your school the best place to teach and learn.

Focus energy internally – don’t obsess over things which are out of your control.

“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out

before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you

will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to

the joy and glory of the climb.”Sir Winston Churchill