Montana Catholic Schools Weekly
November 9, 2014
Asking the Right Questions
Contained within the great book “The Smartest Kids in the World” (Amanda Ripley, 2013) is a list of questions to ask a principal. Ripley wrote a book about the experiences of American foreign exchange students in South Korea, Poland, and Finland, comparing their experiences to each other and to their own American experiences. With her insights, she developed the questions to ascertain a school's effectiveness. But they are equally important to those of us who are marketing ourselves to prospective parents.
- How do you choose your teachers?
- How do you make your teachers better?
- How do you measure your success?
- How do you make sure the work is rigorous enough?
Notice that her questions cut right to the core of consistent Catholic school conflicts: How much should we pay our teachers? Since we often can’t pay market rates, how much can we expect of them? What role does data and testing have in the Catholic school? How do we know that we're doing well?
I have heard “wrong” answers to each one of the questions. Schools sometimes focus on who they can afford, for example, as the focus of their teacher searches. Schools rarely have a comprehensive professional development plan and often don't want to burden their underpaid teachers. Schools tend to use anecdotal evidence to support their success (“our graduates are very successful”) instead of showing data. Usually the amount of homework is the measure of rigor.
These questions should improve your articulation of your mission and the communication of your school vision. You should be able to communicate who you hire, how you develop the staff, how you can measure the success, and how you know students are learning and growing. And when you do, this should inspire parents to enroll.
Dr. Tim Uhl
Rev. Joseph Retzel, SJ Fr. Joseph has served at St. Paul Mission in Hays for many, many years. | St. Paul Mission Church The mission was originally founded in 1885. This church is the "new" church built in the 1920's | Sisters' Cemetery Outside of the "old" convent (now being used to house the Jesuit volunteers) is a grotto and final resting place for six Franciscan sisters who served the school faithfully |
St. Paul Mission Church
Coming Up
Tuesday: office (Helena)
Wednesday: Butte Central High & Elementary
Thursday: Study Commission (Great Falls)
Friday: office (Helena)
Saturday: state volleyball (Bozeman)
This week: 595 miles
Last week: 1128 miles
This year: 12932
On the Horizon: Principal Regional Meetings November 18 (Missoula), 19 (Great Falls), and 20 (Billings).
Montana Catholic Schools
Sr. Christine Ferrar, OP Sr. Chris came to St. Paul's Mission in 1981 and taught for the first 12 years at the public high school. | Sr. Helen Durso, OP The heart and soul of St. Paul's Mission Grade School, she has been principal since 1981 and is the leader of this group of 3 Sparkhill (New York) Dominicans who have served the school since 1980. | Sr. Nora McCarthy, OP Sr. Nora's "semi-retirement" involves teaching and tutoring all day. |
Sr. Christine Ferrar, OP
Sr. Helen Durso, OP
Congratulations
Pope Francis and his values
http://americamagazine.org/issue/kasper-pope-francis-doesnt-want-self-pitying-church
Billings Central!
Jesuit Volunteers
News About Catholic Schools
The Archdiocese of Baltimore celebrated its 225th anniversary: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-archdiocese-225-anniversary-20141102-story.html
Vouchers are working to increase enrollment in Wisconsin Catholic schools: http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/story/news/education/2014/11/01/voucher-enrollment-increases-central-wisconsin-schools/18338371/
In the Archdiocese of New York, they first reorganized schools. Now, it's time for the parishes: http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/ny-roman-catholic-archdiocese-shakeup-to-form-55-parishes-1.9576373