Catholic School Matters
September 12, 2023
Building a Collaborative Culture
Culture eats strategy for breakfast (Peter Drucker)
Whenever I think about wanting to bring about change, I tend to think of strategies to accomplish that. But culture (“how we do things around here”) tends to overwhelm those strategies. So I think it’s perhaps best to be more explicit about our culture in our Catholic schools and my strategies for changing it.
Most of our schools are siloed and view themselves as independent and self-reliant. We are competitive with each other and distrustful of the Diocese. Certainly the sex abuse crisis has exacerbated these dispositions. However, we cannot succeed moving forward going it alone. We need each other. We need to change our independent culture and become more collaborative. Together we can share expertise and rise to the challenges of this age.
Over the next month, we have a number of events that promote collaboration. While you might believe your 8th graders don’t need to attend Mass with other 8th graders at the Cathedral or your board members don’t need to learn anything from the Board Workshop or you don’t see any value in anything below, the value comes from participating in a collaborative community. We need each other. The events:
Next Monday, our regional schools will meet with Bishop Fisher and diocesan representatives (called the Board of Members) for their annual meetings.
Tuesday the 19th, our 8th graders will gather at the Cathedral for a 10 am Mass with Bishop Fisher.
Wednesday the 20th, our 12th graders will gather at the Cathedral for a 10 am Mass with Bishop Fisher.
Friday, September 22nd, all board members, principals, pastors, and chaplains will gather at Hilbert College.
Friday, October 6th, all elementary school principals and teachers will gather at St. Mary’s HS for our Professional Development day.
We need these events to build a better collaborative culture.
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Dr. Tim Uhl
Kari Buchinger on Academics
STAR Windows:
- Fall: September 6-27
- Winter: January 8-29
- Spring: May 20- June 10
TIME TO STAR TEST!
The fall window for STAR is officially open! Our testing window will close on September 27th. All students must complete the first STAR assessment within this window. Products have been assigned to all schools that have been in communication with me. If you are struggling to assign products please reach out to me ASAP.
Here is the link all administrators, teachers, and students must use to log into the STAR platform.
Teachers can find their students' usernames and passwords by clicking on their name in the top right corner, clicking on manage apps & users, click users, and then password report.
Our monitoring password is “admin”
Each test should take approximately 20 minutes
I will be available on an open zoom from 9:30-11:30 on Thursday, September 14. If you have any STAR questions or need assistance please use this link to join me.
STAR PD on October 6
October 6th will be the first day of our STAR Champions Academy. This PD is designed for the STAR leader in your building. This person will bring back their knowledge to your faculty and staff. The training is $274 per person if we have 30 participants. Those signed up for this training will not participate in the other sessions offered during the Diocese of Buffalo professional development day. Please sign up here by Wednesday, September 20.
STREAM Grant- Due September 15th
The 2023 UTR Grant Application is due September 15th. The grant total this year is $3000.
Check out this link for UTR Grant Tips
Thank you!
Today will be my last post in Catholic School matters as I prepare to relocate to Philadelphia and take on a new role within the school district. Working with all the principals, teachers, and staff across the Diocese of Buffalo has been a true joy. Thank you all for welcoming me into your schools and inviting me to walk this road with you as you all put your hearts into this vital work. Your leadership and instruction in schools and classrooms across the Diocese are inspiring and will continue to move our schools from surviving to thriving.
I'll leave you today with one final story and a note of encouragement. Hanging in my office is a sign that says "Ancora Imparo," accompanied by the following message. "At age 25, Michaelangelo carved The Pieta. At 37, he completed the Sistine Chapel ceiling. At 74, he designed St. Peter's Basilica. At 87, after a lifetime of relentless work and unparalleled achievement, he insisted, Ancora Imparo. Still, I learn."
I pray that you all can embody the same spirit that Michaelangelo did and continue to grow in your craft and your faith. Keep an open mind, remain curious, and never stop learning!
Previous "Academic Corner" posts from Kari
Office Updates
Weekly Principal Meetings on Microsoft Teams resume Wed. Sep. 13th at 8:30 am
RSVP HERE for the 8th Grade Mass at the Cathedral, Sept 19th, 10:00 am
RSVP HERE for the 12th grade Mass at the Cathedral, Sept 20th, 10:00 am
RSVP HERE for the School Board workshop September 22nd @ Hilbert College
RSVP HERE for the Fall Professional Development day, October 6 @ St. Mary's HS
Calendar for the Department of Catholic Schools 2023-2024
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 Golf Course on October 11 at 12pm. See the flyer for details.
Sign up by Oct. 5th for the 1st Annual Speech Tournament at Cardinal O’Hara on Oct. 21st. More details coming out soon.
Sign up NO LATER than Nov. 5th for the 2nd Annual Math Tournament at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. See here for details.
Chris Riso on Government Services
ASAP PDF/Copy of each Signed “Written Affirmation” form sent to C. Riso
9/15/23 NCEA Enrollment Anchor Date – Count All Staff & Students
9/15/23 Buffalo Public Schools Resident Listing Due (for Textbook Funding)
9/29/23 NCEA Form Due via Online Google Sheet
10/4/23 BEDS Enrollment Anchor Date – Count All Staff & Students
Government Services Quarterly Updates via Zoom: This school year I will host a quarterly Government Services Update for board chairs, principals, business managers, chaplains, and pastors. These will be Zoom meetings on 10/12/23, 1/18/24, 3/5/24, and 6/13/24 at 3:15pm. I will send out an invitation and Zoom link for the Fall meeting soon.
NCEA Anchor Date 9/15/23: Remember that Friday, 9/15/2023 is the anchor date for the NCEA report; this means that you should print out all necessary student reports on that date to help you prepare your Google Sheet (enrollment counts, race, Catholicity, parish membership, transportation, etc.). Thank you in advance for completing your report online using the Google Sheet shared with you by the 9/29/2023 deadline. You can find my introductory letter here and the NCEA Form Instructions here. If you did not receive your NCEA Google Sheet from Laurie Wojtaszczyk, please email her.
Training Resource for Mandated School Safety Plan Training for Staff: Project SAVE requires that all staff receive annual training on the emergency response plan and that the school safety training include components on violence prevention and mental health. To assist with meeting this requirement, the Office of Student Support Services has developed a training resource to supplement existing district training on school violence prevention. This recorded slide deck provides an overview of student mental health, violence prevention, and prompts to guide your school through an overview of your District-Wide School Safety Plan and Building-Level Emergency Response Plan. The training includes several opportunities for administrators and/or safety team members to lead participants through discussions and review of district and school protocols and safety plans. Additional information and a link to the recorded training module are available on the Student Support Services SAVE web page, under News. Questions should be directed to 518-486-6090 or SafetyPlans@nysed.gov.
Fire Drill Requirements: While the warm weather is still with us, I wanted to remind you of the NYS fire drill requirements. NYS Educational Law requires emergency evacuation drills to include the following:
- The statute requires twelve drills be conducted each school year, four of which must be lock-down drills, the remaining eight are required to be evacuation drills
- Eight of the required twelve drills must be completed before December 31st.
Based on this law, it is recommended that all Diocese of Buffalo Catholic schools conduct six Evacuation (Fire) Drills and two Lock-Down Drills prior to December 31 of each school year. Once the first eight drills are completed as recommended, two Fire Drills and two Lock-down Drills will remain to be conducted from January 1 through June 14th. See the attached letter for more information and a sample tracking form.
The updated 11/12/2020 “Nonpublic Fire Safety Report” and related info can be found at: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/nonpub/fire_safety_report.html
Please Share “2023-2024 Written Affirmation of LEA Consultation” Forms: Now that you have finished consultation on and signed each page of completed “2023-2024 Written Affirmation of LEA Consultation with Private School Officials” for each school district (for Title Ia, IIa, IIIa, IVa for your district of location; Title Ia only for all other districts), please email (or mail) me a copy of the signed forms. Thank you.
Flu Posting Requirement: Soon you will receive a memo from NYS about New York State Public Health Law Section 613 that requires schools to post flu educational material in plain view in their facilities. You should post the memo and the “Parents Fight Flu” poster in your school facility where it can be easily seen by parents/guardians Information about this requirement, the recommended poster, and additional resources can be found at Flu (Influenza) Information for Child-Care Providers and Schools (ny.gov).
Annual Asbestos Notice (AHERA): The federal Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) requires all public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools to ensure that all school employees and building occupants, or their legal guardians, are informed at least once each school year about all asbestos inspections, response actions, and post-response action activities, including triennial reinspection and visual surveillance activities that are either planned or in progress. See this website for more information on this requirement.
The Buffalo Public Schools Textbook Residency List is due by 9/15/23. If you have any Buffalo students, be sure to complete this form and return it to bpsbudget@buffaloschools.org by this Friday’s deadline.
Articles for Your Reflection
Catholic School Matters Podcast
This season's Catholic School Matters podcast season is underway. This week, 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. Previous episodes:
- 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.
Click this link for a full list of my professional reading
Past Issues of Catholic School Matters
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!