Catholic School Matters
September 19, 2023
Goal Setting
It’s time to talk about principal goals. Why just the principal? We know that the school leader’s focus becomes the school’s focus. Therefore, it’s best to be explicit about your priorities in order to spearhead school improvement.
There seems to be an active debate on goals. On one side you’ll find people who say you MUST have goals in order to accomplish anything–speak them out loud, tell everyone, keep your attention on them, and you’ll accomplish what you never thought possible. This is my usual tack and the current one I’m using as I train for my next marathon. For this race, you can create your own custom bib. Most people will choose to dedicate to a loved one or for a worthy cause like curing cancer. Me? Mine says “3:59:59 or BUST.” Now, I’ve just done it again. That’s my goal and on Oct 15th in Detroit I hope to do it (again, after 20+ years).
On the other hand, you’ll find people who will say if you never set goals, you’ll never be disappointed! AKA the “set your goals low, you’ll always be successful” folks. Think Spicoli in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”
And then there’s a third group, articulated by James Clear, that believes you should focus less on goals than on the system. Less on how much weight you want to lose, for example, than on how you’ll cut calories or increase your exercise.
I’m encouraging principals to use this goal setting sheet to align your own time and priorities with what your school needs. This alignment should capture what the board wants, too, and should give you momentum for school improvement. These goals are aligned with the principal evaluation instrument, which uses the National Standards and Benchmarks as its foundation.
Here’s how this could work. Say your board has identified serving all learners as one of its goals–for enrollment purposes or perhaps to meet its mission to serve all of God’s students. You have an interest in learning more how to make this happen. You’re also aware that version 2.0 of the National Standards explicitly mentions serving all learners in Standard 7 and benchmark 7.6 specifically: "Classroom instruction is designed to engage and motivate all students, addressing the diverse needs and capabilities of each student, and accommodating students with special needs as fully as possible." So you, the principal, make this your goal in the Academics section and then you’ll have a chance to move your school forward and to be evaluated on your (and your school’s) progress at the end of the year.
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
Farewell to Kari
Last Friday on a beautiful Buffalo fall day, we celebrated Kari Buchinger, our beloved Deputy Superintendent. It was a bittersweet goodbye because we are grateful for all of her remarkable contributions over the past two years but we wish her the best in her new adventure.
Office Updates
Weekly Principal Meetings on Microsoft Teams resume Wed. Sep. 13th at 8:30 am
RSVP for the Fall Professional Development day, October 6 @ St. Mary's HS. Here is the AGENDA.
STAR Windows: All schools should be working on their Fall STAR testing. You must be completed by September 27th. If you have any questions please reach out to Laurie Wojtaszczyk at lwojtaszczyk@buffalodiocese.org.
Don’t forget you must use this link to test! Welcome (renaissance-go.com)
Fall STAR window: September 6-27
Did your office see the new monthly newsletter for Office Secretaries? Check it out HERE.
The Character Virtue for September is Welcoming.
Chris Riso on Government Services
- ASAP PDF/Copy of each Signed “Written Affirmation” form sent to C. Riso
- 9/29/23 NCEA Form Due via Online Google Sheet
- 10/4/23 BEDS Enrollment Anchor Date – Count All Staff & Students
NCEA Survey Due 9/29/23 based on 9/15/23 Enrollment: Again, thank you for completing your online NCEA report in Google Sheets by the 9/29/2023 deadline. Once we review your submission over the next few weeks we may email you asking for clarification on some of the information in your report. Once your NCEA report is completed, you can turn your attention to the upcoming NYS BEDS report. We will send you information by 10/4/23 to help you prepare for this report based on student attendance from Wednesday, 10/4/23. The actual online BEDS report is not due to NYSED until November 17th.
RISE and CSAANYS Conferences: Registration has begun for the annual Religious and Independent Schools Educators (RISE) conference taking place in-person at the Albany Marriott Hotel (189 Wolf Road, Albany, NY 12205) from 8:00am on November 15th to Noon on November 16th. There is a $185 cost to attend this conference but two free nights at the hotel for 11/14 & 11/15 are included for each participant if reservation is made before 10/25; the conference costs (registration, travel, meals) are Title IIa eligible. This is an excellent professional development opportunity for you and your teachers. Here are the link for more information: RISE Conference | nyscirs. To register, go to the RISE 2023 Conference Registration Form. For assistance with registration, email nyscirsevents@gmail.com.
CSAANYS Gathering in Syracuse 10/18: Also, the annual CSAANYS Gathering for Catholic School Administrators will take place at Barbagallo’s in East Syracuse from 9:00am to 2:30pm on October 18th. This is also a Title IIa eligible event. Attendees are welcome to book a room at the Sleep Inn the evening before the Gathering; this hotel is in the same location as the Gathering. For more information email Amy at CSAANYSOFFICE@twc.com or call 518-290-9807.
Voter Registration Ends 10/28/2023; Encourage Staff and Families to Register and Vote: As Election Day (11/7/2023) approaches, I just wanted to remind you to encourage the adults in your school community to register to vote by the 10/28/23 deadline and then vote in the coming election. Elected officials can tell if a person has voted in an election so by doing so you add additional weight to any emails you might send to them with your opinions on Catholic School concerns. Information on voter registration can be found here, https://www.elections.ny.gov/VotingRegister.html, and at your county Board of Elections (https://www.elections.ny.gov/CountyBoards.html).
NYSED Pesticide Notification: Please be sure to follow the NYS “School pesticide neighbor notification” law found here. A portion of the law is:
“(b) Notification procedures. Schools shall establish written pesticide notification procedures to provide information on pesticide applications at relevant facilities according to the following provisions.
(1) The school shall provide written notification to all staff and persons in parental relation at the beginning of each school year or summer school session. If a child enrolls after the beginning of the school year or summer school session, written notification shall be provided to the person in parental relation within one week of such enrollment. Such written notification shall include at a minimum the following information:
(i) a statement that pesticide products may be used periodically throughout the school year or summer school session;
(ii) a statement that schools are required to maintain a list of staff and persons in parental relation who wish to receive 48-hour prior written notification of pesticide applications at relevant facilities, and instructions on how to register with the school to be on such list for prior notification; and
(iii) the name and phone number of a school pesticide representative who may be contacted to obtain further information.”
Articles for Your Reflection
Catholic School Matters Podcast
This season's Catholic School Matters podcast season is underway. This week, I spoke with Fr. Jack Podsiadlo, SJ, the author of the recent book "The Nativity Phenomenon." In the book, he tells the story of how the Nativity schools began and their incredible growth. Now semi-retired back home at McQuaid, this was a face-to-face conversation. Previous episodes:
- I brought David Palmieri back on the podcast to discuss diocesan policies about human sexuality. Palmieri has done the homework to discover origins of different policies and find out how they are related to each other. We discuss the different types of policies, their origins, and their implications
- I spoke with Rob Birdsell of Amerigo Education & Catholic Virtual. It's a wide-ranging discussion about Catholic education and innovation
- I spoke with William Daily, the longtime principal of St. Mary Magdalene School in San Antonio which has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past decade.
- Conversation 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
Playing God: American Catholic Bishops and the Far Right (2023) by Mary Jo McConahay
Nation at Thought (2023 ) by David M. Steiner
The 272: The Families who were enslaved and sold to build the American Catholic church (2023) by Rachel Swarms
The Nativity Phenomenon: A Model that Works (2023) by Jack Podsiadlo, SJ.
Distributed Leadership (2006) by James Spillane.
Born to Win: Find Your Success (2017) by Zig Ziglar.
Click this link for a full list of my professional reading
Past Issues of Catholic School Matters
September 12, 2023 "Building a Collaborative Culture"
September 5, 2023 "The Board Workshop"
August 29, 2023 "Take the Stairs"
August 22, 2023 "Singing as a Choir"
For previous newsletters, click this link
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!