Catholic School Matters

May 19, 2019

The Best Of Issue

This is my favorite edition of the newsletter of the year. Below you’ll find in chronological order the most clicked on links from each of the 21 editions of the newsletter this year. It’s a great smorgasbord of articles showing what was most interesting to the readers. Enjoy!


At the same time, I’m aware that many educators are looking for great books to read for the summer. Over this academic year, I was able to read 61 books (you can find my professional reading list here) and so I worked to identify the six books which impacted my practice the most this year:


1. Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World (2002) by Henri Nouwen


2. Rethinking Leadership: A Collection of Articles (2007) by Thomas J. Sergiovanni


3. Making Disciples: A Handbook of Christian Moral Formation (1998) by Timothy E. O'Connell


4. Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise (2016) by Anders Ericsson & Robert Pool


5. Leadership Can Be Taught (2005) by Sharon Daloz Parks


6. Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well (2015) by Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen


This is it for this school year! Enjoy your summer!


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Dr. Tim Uhl

Big picture

Catholic Schools Opening & Closing

  1. Brooklyn all-girls high school to close
  2. Former NFL player Matt Birk to open new Catholic high school in the Twin Cities
  3. New STEM Catholic high school set to open in Los Angeles this fall.

Most Popular Links from 2018-19

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYafOEtvLnI

Leadership Scenario

An influential donor takes you to lunch. While there, you begin talking about

the potential for a capital campaign. He seems interested in making a lead gift and even chairing the endeavor. However, he is concerned that you might be forcing out the boys basketball coach. The coach has not had a winning season for a few years and there have been calls to replace him with a younger, more energetic coach and current parents are displeased. His annual reviews have been abysmal although you know his previous success has given him loyal fans.

What I'm Up To

This week is going to find me all over Montana as I'm involved in a few graduation ceremonies, a couple of board meetings, and a few final principal evaluation meetings. In my spare time, I'm working on my University of Dayton presentation for the Catholic Education Summit on June 21st and my ICSL workshop on Moral Leadership (July 14-17 in Indianapolis).


Wednesday's Catholic School Matters Radio Hour podcast features four great guests from the NCEA Convention last month. Timothy O'Malley from the McGrath Institute at Notre Dame talks to me about liturgy in our Catholic schools. Two assistant superintendents (Jill Anable from the Diocese of Grand Rapids and Julie Cantillon from the Diocese of San Diego) discuss their professional development efforts. Finally, my old friend Bernard Dumond from Louisiana discusses his efforts supporting Catholic schools across the country.


Here is the link to the podcast. Here are videos showing you how to download and subscribe to a podcast on iTunes and how to download and subscribe a podcast on Android.


  • Sunday: Missoula senior breakfast
  • Monday: St. Labre Board meeting (Ashland)
  • Tuesday: Great Falls Catholic Board meeting
  • Wednesday: Missoula Catholic School Board meeting
  • Thursday: St. Jude (Havre) principal evaluation & 8th grade graduation
  • Friday: Mission Grade School (Hays) principal evaluation



Miles next week: 1,746 driving miles

Miles travelled in 2018-19: 30,581 road miles; 73,636 air miles

Last 5 Books

  1. The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral LIfe (2019) by David Brooks
  2. The Art of Coaching Teams: Building Resilient Communities That Transform Schools (2016) by Elena Aguilar
  3. All Learning is Social and Emotional (2019) by Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Dominique Smith
  4. The Courage to Teach Guide for Reflection & Renewal (2017 ) by Parker Palmer
  5. Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life ( 2011) by Richard Rohr

Click this link for a full list of my professional reading

For Montana Administrators & Teachers

  • The slide show from the May 14th Virtual Admin meeting
  • Our next administrator meeting is in person June 12th in Helena
  • We are currently looking for a principal for St. Matthew's Catholic School in Kalispell.

Past Issues of Catholic School Matters

May 12, 2019 "Social Emotional Leadership"

April 28, 2019 "Book Recommendations"

April 14, 2019 "Brother Placid"

April 7, 2019 "Fighting Clericalism"

March 24, 2019 "Cristo Rey"

March 10, 2019 "Prayer and Leadership"

February 24, 2019 "Culture and Relationships"

February 10, 2019 "Leadership"

February 3, 2019 "NCEA Convention Preview"

January 27, 2019 "Catholic Schools Week"

January 20, 2019 "School Choice"

January 13, 2019 "What's Your Story?"

January 6, 2018 "Happy New Year"

December 2, 2018 "Building Community"

November 18, 2018 "Reframing Enrollment"

November 4, 2018 "Looking at Disaffiliation"

October 21, 2018 "Getting out of the Ditch"

October 7, 2018 "Truth, Mercy, and the Synod"

September 23, 2018 "Native American Experience"

September 16, 2018 "How Are We Forming our Leaders?"

September 9, 2018 "Where is Your Attention?"