I am an English teacher and always will be. I know that words are powerful. What we name and call things has meaning.

I am currently serving in my fifth high school and each one has had a different name for its professional staff. I find that fascinating. Is an educational group a community, a family, a team, or even a business? 

Calling ourselves a community emphasizes our interconnectedness and shared responsibility. In a community, each member plays a vital role, and there is a collective commitment to the well-being and success of every individual. This term resonates deeply with the Catholic school ethos, where we aim to create an inclusive, supportive, and nurturing environment. The word “community” emphasizes mutual support and aligns well with the Ignatian principle of cura personalis, caring for the whole person, but it might not fully capture the professional and organizational aspects of our work.

Referring to our group as a family highlights the deep bonds and care we have for one another. In a family, there is trust and a sense of belonging. This term can foster a warm and welcoming atmosphere. “Family” conveys warmth, trust, and deep personal connections but understanding ourselves as such can sometimes blur professional boundaries and may not adequately reflect the professional nature of our roles.

Describing ourselves as a team underscores our collaboration and shared goals. In a team, each member contributes their unique skills and strengths towards a common objective. This term can inspire a sense of unity, cooperation, and collective effort. The word “team” highlights collaboration but is it personal enough to encompass the spiritual dimensions of our relationships?

Utilizing the term “business” emphasizes the professional and operational aspects of our work. It highlights the importance of efficiency and can remind us of the need to be strategic and goal-oriented in our efforts. It evokes professionalism and accountability but may feel too impersonal and not adequately reflect the relational and spiritual dimensions of our mission.

Ultimately, the best term for our group of educational professionals may be one that integrates elements from all these concepts. We are a community in our shared values and mutual support, a family in our deep bonds and care for one another, a team in our collaboration and shared goals, and a business in our professionalism and strategic efforts.

I suspect this is why I typically default to “educational community” in trying to reflect the interconnectedness, support, and collaboration that define our work, while also acknowledging the professionalism necessary to achieve our goals.

What we call ourselves matters because it shapes our identity and influences our interactions. Words have power. An educational community has power, too and, hopefully, it is a place where everyone feels valued, supported, and inspired to achieve their best.

Let us consider this post a spiritual successor to my Halloween “Horror of Education” post. Let us also note that, over the past couple weeks, I completed a regular ritual which involves watching Thanksgiving episodes of The West Wing. I am reacting to my late October post with, perhaps, a bit more hope.

This does not change the fact that the current educational landscape calls for a bold reevaluation. We need a complete overhaul of our education system if we are to meet the challenges of the 21st century and stay true to our mission as educators and, in my particular case, Catholic educators.

In the West Wing episode “Shibboleth” President Josiah Bartlet, upon confronting a high school student who believes the President has the power to pardon a turkey declares, “If we don’t and I mean completely overhaul education in this country…”. He is cut off from completing the thought, but the audience gets the direction he was heading. Bartlet’s sentiment remains strikingly relevant today.

For me, the heart of this overhaul must begin with a recommitment to the Ignatian principles that form the cornerstone of Jesuit education. These principles: cura personalis (care for the whole person), Magis (the more), and finding God in all things, guide us in creating an environment where students can thrive academically, spiritually, and emotionally. 

• Cura Personalis

In an age where mental health challenges are increasingly prevalent among students, we must prioritize their overall well-being. This means integrating social-emotional learning into the curriculum, providing robust support services, and fostering a community where each student feels valued and understood. We can no longer simply pay lip-service to this critical need. It is, I believe, our highest priority in reframing education.

• Magis

The pursuit of excellence should not be confined to academics alone. Encouraging students to strive for the “more” in all aspects of their lives, whether in service to others – artistic expression, or athletic endeavors – ensures they develop into well-rounded individuals who can make a meaningful impact in the world.

• Finding God in All Things

Our educational approach should help students recognize the divine in every subject and experience. This involves not only teaching religious studies but also integrating faith into all disciplines, encouraging students to see their learning as part of a larger spiritual journey. We are all on a camino and that journey should inform our educational practice.

Please allow me to take my love of Ignatian Education one step further to suggest that the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP) can serve as a framework for this overhaul. The IPP emphasizes five key elements: context, experience, reflection, action, and evaluation.

• Context

Understanding the unique circumstances and backgrounds of each student allows us to tailor our teaching methods to their needs so that no student is left behind and that each has the opportunity to succeed.

• Experience

Active learning experiences, such as project-based learning and community service, engage students and make education more relevant and impactful.

• Reflection

Encouraging students to reflect on their learning experiences deepens their understanding and fosters critical thinking to help students see the broader implications of their knowledge.

• Action

Education should inspire students to take action to make a positive difference in the world.

• Evaluation

Continuous assessment and feedback are crucial for both students and educators. Period. 

“If we don’t and I mean completely overhaul education,” we risk failing our students and our mission. An overhaul of education is not an easy task, but it is a necessary one. As Catholic educators, we have a unique opportunity and responsibility to lead this charge. By embracing Ignatian principles and the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, we can create a transformative educational experience that prepares our students to navigate an increasingly complex world with faith, compassion, and resilience.

As Meister Eckhart says: “If the only prayer you ever say is ‘thank you,’ it will be enough.”

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I find myself reflecting on something I have thought about and written about many times before: the countless efforts it takes to keep a school alive. The sheer amount of people power required to open the doors, illuminate the classrooms, power up the technology, learn each student’s name, support the faculty, teach the classes, and coach the teams is nothing short of awe-inspiring. I am constantly reminded of the extraordinary dedication that permeates our schools. 

It is a wonder that everything runs as smoothly and effectively as it does, day in and day out.

In the often crazy pace of school life, it is so easy to overlook the importance of expressing gratitude. Yet, as educational leaders, taking the time to acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of those around us is essential. 

So I am once again asking you to make it a priority to set aside time each week to do something profoundly important: share thanks, liberally.

Imagine dedicating even a small portion of our week to thank those who contribute to our schools. While a full day might be ideal and still insufficient to acknowledge everyone adequately, starting with small, meaningful gestures can have a significant impact.

Think about all the individuals who make our work possible: the maintenance staff who ensure our environments are clean and safe, the administrative staff who keep everything running smoothly, the teachers who inspire and educate, the parents who volunteer their time, the coaches and counselors who spend so much time with our students, and the students themselves who bring our schools to life.

Then, take action. Choose a few people each week to thank. Praise them in meetings, send them an email, write a heartfelt note, or offer a small token of appreciation. A simple card or word of thanks to a custodian, a volunteer parent, a new teacher, or a long-term substitute can transform someone’s day and outlook.

The power of an unexpected thank you cannot be underestimated. Think back to a time when you received a note of gratitude out of the blue. Remember how it made you feel valued and appreciated. Your gratitude can have that same effect on others.

As we approach Thanksgiving, let us commit to making gratitude a higher priority in our schools. This is a perfect time to start this practice. Our awareness of being thankful is very high in late November!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Having spent three decades in the trenches of Catholic education, both as a teacher and an administrator, I have witnessed educational paradigms and approaches shift multiple times. My journey began in the days when assessments were straightforward – a test, a grade, a report card. Today, the landscape is a fairly overwhelming labyrinth of standards, rubrics, formative and summative assessments, and ever-evolving digital approaches. Throw in some overly cute and complex jargon (one of my least favorite things about education) and you have a cloudy picture, indeed.

Yet the fundamental purpose of assessments remains unchanged: to gauge student learning and to inform our teaching. The question should be pretty damn simple: are our assessments truly effective?

In my early years, assessments were often dreaded both by students and teachers. They were seen as necessary evils, a means to an end. I remember handing back graded tests, knowing that for some students, these marks represented not just academic performance but self-worth. This weight of assessment was, and remains, one of my own, personal horrors of education (check out my Halloween Week post).

As with any horror, there is hope. 

Over the years, I have seen movement towards more nuanced and humane approaches to assessment. This evolution is not merely a trend but a profound shift in understanding. Educational professionals have come to realize that assessments are not just about measuring knowledge but about fostering growth. The rise of formative assessments – those that inform instruction and provide feedback during the learning process – has been so very important. These assessments are less about judgment and more about guidance, less about ranking and more about growth.

In Catholic education, our mission adds another layer to the assessment conundrum. Our schools are not just academic institutions. They are communities of faith and character development. This mission must permeate every aspect of our pedagogy, including assessments. We are called to educate the whole person – mind, body, and spirit.

This holistic approach means that our assessments must go beyond traditional academic metrics. We must consider how we assess character, faith, and service. These elements are harder to quantify but are essential to our mission. I have seen schools implement reflective journals, service portfolios, and peer assessments to capture these dimensions. While these methods may lack the neatness of a numerical grade, they provide a richer, more comprehensive picture of our students’ development.

The challenges of modern assessments are vast. Standardized tests still loom large (they are making a comeback in college admissions, kids), driven by external pressures and policies. These tests often fail to capture the full spectrum of student abilities and they are certainly not equitable. Technology, while offering innovative assessment tools, also presents challenges in terms of access and equity. And then there is the ever-present issue of teacher workload: crafting, administering, and grading assessments is no small feat.

There is light. Technology, used thoughtfully, can provide adaptive assessments that meet students where they are. Collaborative assessments can foster a sense of community and shared purpose. And, importantly, ongoing professional development can empower teachers to design assessments that are both rigorous and compassionate.

Hope that keeps us going. It is the hope that our assessments, when aligned with our mission and thoughtfully designed, can help our students not just learn but flourish. It is the hope that we, as educators, can continue to grow and adapt, finding new ways to meet the needs of our students. And it is the hope that, despite the challenges, we can make a difference – one assessment, one student, one day at a time.

One of the things I adore most about living the life of an educational leader is August. I love the start of the year rituals. I love opening faculty meetings. I love registration days. I love orientations. And, the more I do them, I love speaking with the parents of incoming students.

The process of speaking with these parents often begins almost a year before orientation, when students and their families start the process of discerning which high school to choose. Tours, open houses, and interviews all influence that decision, they are important for the school to get right, and I have enjoyed taking part in them.

I have engaged in more interviews, open houses, and welcome speeches than I care to number. What I share with families and students has become repetitive, though not disingenuous. It has become rote, though not heartless. It has simply become practiced.

What has surprised me in recent years is that one of the themes I repeat in these contexts has become a truth in how I proceed as a principal: parents are the best partners a school has.

This is a significant shift from early in my teaching career when I dreaded a parent phone call (my career pre-dates email) and early in my administrative career when an email or a phone call would cause me no small amount of stress. 

Upon receiving a contact from a parent, I typically felt that there was something wrong, that I had done it, and that I was being called out for it. This reaction must be adjacent to Imposter Syndrome. It is as powerful and as destructive as that disorder.

Perhaps it was becoming a parent myself that leavened these dark feelings. Perhaps it was transitioning into administration where the contacts were more frequent that improved my take on them. Perhaps it was growing as a person and as a professional.

Regardless, I have come to embrace what is obviously true: the adults our students live with are our best partners in the work we do. They can be our best supporters if we are proceeding in transparent and clear directions. They can be our advocates with their students when they understand our approaches. 

What I realize now is that schools cannot miss out on creating positive contacts with parents. These relationships must be as strongly constructed as possible before they are tested, and they sometimes are. As educational professionals, we must own the fact that parents and guardians trust us with their most valuable and loved companions – their children – and we are required to act accordingly.

This means listening. This means talking. This means communicating.

This means that what we do must always be done in the context of knowing that our students’ parents are a critical part of their lives, more critical than we, and are a critical part of our “audience.” What happens in school should never stay in school. That is not what schools are designed for. Schools are designed to shape and educate and mold students in preparation to face an increasingly complex world. 

Parents are our best partners in this work. As educators, we should embrace that truth.