The Goals and CriteriaWhat are they?The current articulation of the vision of St.

Madeleine Sophie as it has developed since 1800

How did they develop?

Brief historyLook back to 1800 in France, a country in

turmoil just after the French RevolutionGroup of women who joined together to

“discover and make known God’s love” through the education of young women

Leader of the group was Sophie Barat, born in Joigny, a village south of Paris in the Burgundian region.

What was to be the spirit of this education?“Madeleine Sophie Barat wasn’t born a saint-

she wasn’t even born a nun; she was born a French citizen in the turmoil of a fire and in the horror of the French Revolution. She became a saint because she had a vision- a vision that a school could be a home: the students were not just minds to be educated but people to be loved into maturity. Her name for the students was ‘Children of the Sacred Heart’ implying a family tradition.”

Sharon Karam RSCJ

Nuns in the early days were called “Mother” and it underscored the fact that we were to care for the children as if they were our own.

You may notice that when an RSCJ speaks of school they use the term “the children” and not “the students”.

Evolution of Goals and Criteria1804 – first Plan of Studies written, very

detailed and uniform

Revisions were done every few years at a General Chapter- gathering of RSCJ from all around the world. At a General Chapter discussions were held on how we were educating. What to add, what to subtract.

Evolution continued

General Chapters took place in 1804, 1815, 1826,1833, 1839, 1842, etc.

Uniformity remained until 1958 when the Society wrote “The Spirit and Plan of Studies”.

Differences were recognized and respected but the principles have always remained consistent.

Jump forward to the 1960’s

Vatican Council is called by Pope John XXIII and each religious order is asked to delve deeply into the charism and original vision of their founder

In 1970 the Society had a General Chapter, gathering of RSCJ from around the world

Reviewing our mission and service of education we articulated 3 main foci to express our mission.

Beginning of the GoalsWe seek to educate to:

1. A Faith that is Relevant in a Secularized World

2. A Deep Respect For Intellectual Values3. A Social Awareness that Impels to Action

These three foci were then sent around the world to be implemented

Situation in the United States

There were 5 distinct provinces and 5 governments called Provincial Teams- Washington, New York, Chicago, St. Louis and California.

Each of those Provincial Teams were the Board of Trustees for every school in their respective Provinces.

At the same time the were fewer and fewer RSCJ- crisis time was approaching

Why were the Goals needed?

Remember the setting. It is now late ’60’s early 70’s. Schools are closing all over the place.

“The 1960’s in the United States were marked by the most sweeping changes ever in Sacred Heart institutions of education.”

The number of elementary and secondary schools was reduced by ten between 1968 and 1972. Some examples…

Philadelphia- St Katherine’s (parish school) in ’61, Eden Hall in ’68, Overbrook in ’68

Omaha- Duchesne College in ’68Portsmouth RI- Elmhurst in ‘72 El Cajon, CA in ’72Buffalo– Nottingham in ’72

Addressing the problem…

Each province had studies to determine how many schools each Province could sustain.

We discussed ad nauseum, “How many nuns does it take to make a Sacred Heart School?” Should they be administrators or teachers?

“STOP THE CLOSINGS!!”

•Paradigm shift: question changed from, “How many nuns do we need in a school to make it a Sacred Heart School?”•Shift was to clearly articulate the philosophy of education and make sure that Sophie’s vision was being lived in each school•That was the expressed need

Several Responses…1. In 1968 the first of three national meetings

of faculty in Sacred Heart schools-Stuart Conferences- was held to create a common focus for Sacred Heart education.

2. In 1972 Creation of the IPB, Interprovincial Board (5 Provincials working together)

3. “Foreseeing the need to address the future of Sacred Heart education from a proactive and united stance, the five provincials of the United States provinces agreed to collaborate in all that touched the remaining institutions. “

Thus began “The Network”

In 1972 the Society of the Sacred Heart appointed the first coordinator for Sacred Heart Schools. Sr. Catherine “Kit” Collins

Catherine “Kit” Collins RSCJ

“Sister Collins served as national coordinator for Sacred Heart schools from 1972 to 1984 and was responsible for drafting the language that ultimately became the Goals and Criteria ™adopted by all members of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the United States.”

•Sister Collins then created “The School Committee” with representatives from each of the 5 Provinces

•Together “The School Committee” took the first three foci from the General Chapter and rounded them out with two more Goals

•To each of the Goals was added Criteria- steps to assure achievement of the Goals

From the General Chapter of 1970We seek to educate to:

A Faith Which is Relevant in a Secularized WorldA Deep Respect for Intellectual ValuesA Social Awareness Which Impels To

Action

We seek to educate to:

1. A Faith Which is Relevant in a Secularized World

2. A Deep Respect for Intellectual Values3. A Social Awareness Which Impels To Action

4. Building of Community as a Christian Value 5. Personal Growth in an Atmosphere of Wise

Freedom ( the 1975 version)

Goals as a living documentFirst publication in 1975Revision 1990 (Personal and Active Faith in

God)Revision 2005Goals unchanged, criteria have evolvedCriteria are really the “meat” of how we

check to see if we are living the mission of the Society and the vision of Sophie

The tool for checking ourselves is through SHCOG- Sacred Heart Commission on Goals which leads each Network schools in a self-study every five years and reports directly to the Provincial

Growth of the Network In the last few years, parents have

clamored for us to educate their sons as well as their daughters

Irony is: fewer nuns and yet we are opening new schools

1. Houston- Regis School2. San Francisco- Stuart Hall High School3. Princeton– Princeton Academy4. St. Louis- Barat Academy

Getting to Know the GoalsDistribute copies of the Goals and Criteria

Task # 1 For the next few minutes we are going to

spend some time becoming more familiar with the Goals and Criteria.

Form 5 groups of 2, assign a Goal to each group, each person chooses a criterion and shares how they have experienced this criterion being lived at Sacred Heart

Next steps…Your task as a faculty or staff member is both

solemn and joyful to ensure SHS Atherton continue to live the Mission and the vision of St. Madeleine Sophie as articulated in the Goals and Criteria

To assure you of the Society of the Sacred Heart’s desire for collaboration I have a letter from the General Chapter 20008 which was held in Peru- read the letter