Catholic School Matters
August 22, 2023
Singing as a Choir
Over the summer, the Dicastery for Education and Culture (aka the Vatican’s education office) released a letter of encouragement that includes a powerful metaphor:
Sadly, Catholic schools sometimes operate in the same geographic area not as soloists who let their unique vocal timbre enrich the larger chorus, but rather as divided, isolated and in some cases even dissonant voices that clash with others. It is urgent for the various Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life to sing together as a choir, and for Bishops, parish priests and diocesan pastoral offices to sing in tune with the rich educational charisms present in schools run by Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
The challenge for all of us is to try to harmonize the discordant voices in our communities. And I’m really not sure what is more tiresome–the polarized voices or the people complaining about the polarization! There are different perspectives, many on both sides don’t get along, that’s not a new thing in this country. It’s remarkable that the Vatican has given us a way forward. Our mission is to provide vibrant Catholic schools for our students. Let’s get on with it.
This week I’ll be gathering with pastors & chaplains to explain our new operating principles/bylaws for all of our schools as well as sharing data on our schools and offering new pastoral approaches to difficult situations. This information will also be shared on Thursday at the principal meeting at the UB Newman Center.
At Thursday’s meeting, we’ll begin our system accreditation work. Thus our department’s two main focus areas will be in play–governance and accreditation. We’re going to prioritize those two projects.
Like every year, this year brings change. Our excellent STREAM director, Siobhan Pawelczyk, has taken a new position at Mt. St. Mary High School so our STREAM support will be in flux without a director. Please congratulate Siobhan when you get a chance.
If reading about the changes to STREAM or accreditation or governance cause you concern, take a minute to consider the choir, not just your musical notes. We need to model collaboration to our teachers and parents, after all! See you soon.
Previous blogs can be found here. Want to keep up with the conversations surrounding Catholic education? Set up your own Google Alert, subscribe to this newsletter by clicking "follow," or subscribe to the Catholic School Matters podcast.
Dr. Tim Uhl
Kari Buchinger on Academics
Welcome Back!
I hope you all had a restful summer and are ready to begin a new school year. We are excited to gather together for our first principals’ meeting of the year this Thursday, August 24 at the UB Newman Center. The agenda reflects our priorities for the 2023-2024 school year:
Middle States Accreditation
Core Instructional Practices
Academic progress/STAR Data
Government Services
Governance
To get you started take a look at a few reminders below
New Teacher Orientation is on Tuesday, August 29 from 8:30-3:30. The morning session will focus on building a positive classroom culture, procedures, and what it means to teach in a Catholic School. The afternoon will include VIRTUS training for all new teachers. Sign up for New Teacher Orientation here and VIRTUS training here.
This year we officially kick off Middle States Accreditation! As a reminder, please complete this google doc and return it to me kbuchinger@buffalodiocese.org by August 24. Also, don’t forget to submit your school registration form to Middle States. This document was in your folder from the June principals meeting and needs to be emailed to hmccorkle@msa-cess.org. Please copy me on that email. If it grew legs this summer and ran away let me know and I will email you another form.
STAR: In the next week our STAR accounts will switch to the new school year. Schools that are doing STAR for the first time this year, I will send you your username and password to access the system as well as a few videos to get started with the first test. Our STAR windows are below and all students must be tested during these windows. More information to come!
STAR Windows:
- Fall: September 6-27
- Winter: January 8-29
- Spring: May 20- June 10
Previous "Academic Corner" posts from Kari
Office Updates
Principal Meeting, UB Newman Center, August 24th. Agenda here.
New Teacher Inservice (including VIRTUS), August 29th
8th Grade Mass at the Cathedral, September 19th
12th grade Mass at the Cathedral, September 20th
School Board workshop September 22nd @ Hilbert College
Fall Professional Development day, October 6, 2023 @ St. Mary's HS
Please fill out this short School Contacts Form for the upcoming school year
Sign up by Sep. 20th for the Diocesan Fall Bowling League. See the flyer for details.
- Sign up by Sep. 29th for the 2nd Annual Diocesan Golf Tournament at Grover Cleveland on October 11 at 12pm. See the flyer for details.
- Calendar of Events for 2023-24
Chris Riso on Government Services
- 8/25/23 End of Year Tasks, Gov’t Programs Checklist
- 8/31/23 Sign “Written Affirmation” forms for each District after Consultation
- 8/31/23 PDF/Copy of each Signed “Written Affirmation” form sent to C. Riso
- 9/1/23 Teachers are approved to be alone with students via VIRTUS/Safe Environment
- 9/5/23 New Concussion Management Training & Protocols have been Implemented
Mandated Services Updates: NYSED notified our schools that 6% of the remaining 10% of the 2021-2022 Mandated Services Aid owed to your school has been approved for payment. Due to the time consuming nature of this payment process, they are not certain when those funds will make it to your school and will notify us once those payments begin to flow.
Also now that we are nearing the end of August, please email me if you would like me to send you your 2022-2023 Excel spreadsheet so you can begin clarifying the 2022-23 salaries and benefits and days in the school year for the next claim.
Substantial Equivalency Update: Each of you received an email from NYSED on 8/15/23 that was intended for the Public School Districts about a September 1, 2023 deadline for them to notify NYSED of all nonpublic schools located in their district, with a follow up the same day to explain that you were just being copied for your information. You do not need to report anything to NYSED but need only respond to your Public School District of Location inquiries regarding your Substantial Equivalency status to enable them to complete the survey.
As a follow up to my original post about the new Substantial Equivalency Guidance, I wanted to draw your attention to the “Timeframes” section of the Substantial Equivalency Guidance (page 25). The Public School District of location must notify NYSED which pathway your school has chosen to use by December 1, 2023 so they will be reaching out to you prior to that date to determine which pathway you intend to use to prove Substantial Equivalency. Once the pathway has been selected, the District has until December 1, 2024 to make their substantial equivalency determination for your school – the “Timeframe” section moves further into the future with regard to schools not deemed to be substantially equivalent, should that occur, and the process for “collaborative improvement” being established.
The first step for your school will be to consider which pathway makes the most sense for your school to pursue. All of our Catholic High Schools are Registered so they should choose “Pathway 1, Registered High Schools”. For most of our elementary schools, “Pathway 6 (Assessments)” should be used. Schools that choose Pathway 6 will have to work with the district to ensure approved assessments are administered by the end of the 2023-2024 school year that meet all of the requirements indicated in that section of the Guidance. Some of our Elementary Schools are currently accredited and should choose “Pathway 3, Accreditation”. For those elementary schools not currently accredited, we are beginning the Middle States Accreditation process this summer; once our participating schools complete the accreditation process they will be able to change from “Pathway 6 (Assessments)” to “Pathway 3, Accreditation”.
Should your elementary school be unable to use “Pathway 6 (Assessments)” while working on Accreditation, that only leaves you with the “Pathway 7, Local Reviews” option; this is the least desirable option and should that be where you end up, refer back to the letters I shared previously where we are recommending that such a review not be done by your Public School District, rather it should be done by NYSED or a BOCES in our opinion. If you are forced to follow this pathway, be sure to notify me so I can offer you some Guidance.
Public School Title Consultation - “2023-2024 Written Affirmation of LEA Consultation”: Once you have completed the “2023-2024 Written Affirmation of LEA Consultation with Private School Officials” for each school district, please email (or mail) a signed copy to me. Please do not sign forms until they are complete, with all sections filled in by the districts.
Mandated Services – HR Teachers vs. Students Suggestion: Although there is often little you can do to control this, the number of teachers you have taking morning attendance vs. the number of K-12 students you have can significantly affect your Mandated Services claim amount on Mandate 1 (PAR – Pupil Attendance Reporting) and Mandate 3 (BEDS Reporting). Because of this, I thought I would create some examples of how this might affect your school. If you think you are in a position to make a change in the number of Teachers you have taking Homeroom attendance, even in creative ways, I can provide you with this list of examples to help you decide on the best number of teachers given your enrollment. Let me know if you are interested in exploring this idea.
Asbestos Awareness Training Requirement: The Diocese of Buffalo Department of Insurance Services sent you an email on 8/18/23 to remind you of the O.S.H.A. regulations that require all maintenance and custodial personnel who work in a location containing asbestos materials to attend an asbestos awareness training course annually. They also reminded you that O.S.H.A. mandates annual training for employees whose duties may cause them to come into contact with blood or other bodily fluids during the course of their work day. The Diocese will provide this training at no cost to your school between September 12th and November 1st; interested participants should register by 9/6/23. Should you have any questions, please contact Insurance Services at 716-847-8396. Please see the memo and sign up here: Asbestos Mailing 2023.docx
NCEA Survey Due 9/29/23 based on 9/15/2023 Enrollment: Please look for an email in the next few weeks regarding the NCEA survey due 9/29/23.
Concussion Management Protocols: Please see my previous note on the new Concussion Management protocols and training requirements. Remember, all coaches, physical education teachers, school nurses, and athletic trainers must complete one of the free training sessions linked in this email before the school year begins (or practices begin).
Articles for Your Reflection
Catholic School Matters Podcast
This season's Catholic School Matters podcast season kicked off this week with an interview with Christine Healey. The Healey Foundation has been in incredible partner with the Diocese of Buffalo and Christine describes the new direction for the foundation.
Here is a link to the podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Catholic School Matters
Email: catholicschoolmatters@gmail.com
Website: www.wnycatholic.org
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone: 716-847-5520
Twitter: @WNYCatholicEd
My Last 5 Books
Community: The Structure of Belonging (2018) by Peter Block
The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good (2007) by William Easterly
What is wrong with our schools? The ideology impoverishing education in America (2022) by Daniel Buck.
Playing God: American Catholic Bishops and the Far Right (2023) by Mary Jo McConahay
Nation at Thought (2023 ) by David M. Steiner
Click this link for a full list of my professional reading
Past Issues of Catholic School Matters
A few years ago I set out to write a book which would explore the challenges of Catholic school leadership. My premise that there are no easy answers and that we have to learn from our (and other's) mistakes in order to form a mindset appropriate for orchestrating conflict proved prescient as we all faced completely new and unexpected challenges in 2020. The book,Orchestrating Conflict: Case Studies in Catholic Leadership is now available on Amazon or on the Barnes & Noble site in print or e-book formats. The book explores issues in Catholic school leadership and the tensions between building community and following Church policies and introduces deliberate practice as a method for leadership formation. Most recently, I have completed a new book proposal so book #2 is underway!