As the new school year commences, families new to Catholic schools and veteran families alike will find updates to curriculum and plans for continued improvement.
Early Childhood Education
The Catholic Schools Office partnered with early childhood educators in Catholic preschool programs to provide support and curriculum standards for infants and pre-kindergarten students.
“We know that education starts way before they reach our (grade) schools,” said Mary Parola, school improvement and professional learning specialist for the archdiocese. The partnership, she said, is aimed at helping young children “develop the skills they need to be successful adults.”
The effort has generated a curriculum document with a new set of standards aligned with Kentucky state standards, but also unique to the archdiocese.
The curriculum is centered on “four Cs:” creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication, said Christine Kelly, who serves as the curriculum, instruction and assessment specialist for the Office of Catholic Schools.
With the help of the resources provided in the document, early childhood educators will prioritize growth for their students in these four areas, she said.
Parola explained that the document will “make sure our students across the diocese have equal learning communities,” said Parola. So far, she said, “We’ve seen them (the early childhood educators) grow into a professional learning community and be so supportive of each other.”
Social Studies Curriculum
Grade-school students archdiocesan-wide will see new social studies curriculum this year, developed with the help of local Catholic schools and their teachers. While content will remain largely the same, educators will receive new resources to improve instruction, said Kelly.
The curriculum is meant to equip teachers to better engage students, Kelly noted.
Among the new resources is a reading list, ranging from picture books to novels, for students in kindergarten to fourth grade, and strategies to help teachers with fifth- to eighth-grade instruction. Social studies teachers also received professional development this summer that provided them the opportunity to network with one another and share resources.
The Catholic Schools Office will spend the next academic year evaluating religion standards across the archdiocese and plans to include parish faith formation offices and personnel in its evaluation.
School Improvement Plans
Each school within the archdiocese will continue to update its school improvement plans this year.
Many schools have been focusing on improving the student experience by strengthening the skills of their teachers. Through professional learning opportunities, teachers learn from one another or attend conferences that help the schools meet their improvement goals, said Parola.
Each school has different objectives and goals under its school improvement plan. For example, Mercy Academy has worked with the Catholic Schools Office to enhance its arts program, purchasing new musical instruments and pottery equipment. Assumption and St. Martha School created professional learning communities where teachers can collaborate and share resources. Presentation Academy is increasing its AP course offerings. St. John Paul II Academy is developing a broadcasting lab.
According to Parola, every objective of the Catholic Schools Office aims to aid Catholic leaders and educators in “helping their students have an excellent Catholic academic education.”
District Improvement Plan
The Catholic Schools Office is also prioritizing the professional development of Catholic school leaders, especially school administrators and principals, through an ongoing district improvement plan. Parola described the plan as a “living document” based on national standards and well grounded in Catholic theology.
“We are refining the school leadership process and ways to support principals in their leadership, as well as developing a new professional-goals plan,” said Parola.
She added that the office has been developing a teacher-observation tool to be used by principals. This tool will help principals give feedback to teachers on their goals and build support for teachers to develop their instructional skills. She added that this instrument has been refined by input from teachers and principals within the archdiocese.
The district improvement plan is also focused on providing support to teachers using the Danielson framework for teaching. It focuses on four areas: planning/preparation, the classroom environment, instruction and professional responsibilities. Parola added that the Catholic Schools Office also focuses on a fifth area, Catholic identity.
