Schools must meet new standards
Catholic elementary and secondary schools will be required to meet new and more detailed standards showing they are educating students in the Catholic faith and tradition, as well as nurturing the faith of the total school community.
The standards, written by Catholic bishops in nine states and Guam in 2008, took effect this year. Schools must adhere to them in order to be accredited by the Western Catholic Education Association.
This is the first time specific standards to measure Catholic identity will be part of the accreditation process for Catholic schools.
“The Catholic schools will only survive if we stick true to the mission of our faith,” said Christian Brother William Carriere, WCEA executive director and former schools superintendent for the Diocese of Orange.
“I think this will go a long way toward getting Catholicism taught across the curriculum and not just relegated to theology classes,” Marin Catholic High School theology chair Joe Tassone said.
WCEA accredits Catholic schools in 26 dioceses in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Hawaii, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and the Territory of Guam, encompassing about 308,000 students in 1,000 grade schools and high schools.
A concern that some Catholic schools were losing sight of their Catholic identity motivated the bishops of the 26 dioceses that comprise the WCEA to formulate the eight standards in 2008, Brother Carriere said. The seven-member board of directors of WCEA has approved the final version for elementary schools and began working on a final version for high schools this year. Brother Carriere said he expects the final document for high schools to take about two years to complete.
Maintaining Catholic identity of high schools is more challenging than at elementary schools because some high school teachers tend to think of themselves as “mini-college professors” in terms of academic freedom, losing sight of their obligation to teach the Catholic faith, Brother Carriere said.
“We have to stick to what we believe …our Catholic teachings, and our Catholic values and Catholic perspectives, otherwise there’s no point in having Catholic schools,” Brother Carriere said. “We don’t want to be just an academic center. That has happened to some places.”
The new norms for accreditation include a “Catholic Identity Factor” stating that the school is Catholic and approved by the local bishop. The school also must provide authentic Catholic teaching, opportunities for community worship and participation in the sacraments, and promote evangelization and service to the community.
“It is very good that Catholic schools should be accountable for their Catholic content,” said Jesuit Father John J. Piderit, president of the Catholic Education Institute, headquartered in New York. The Institute focuses on helping schools practically enhance Catholic faith and intellectual tradition.
“Most Catholic high schools do a good job on campus ministry and involvement in social justice. The more challenging area is Catholic intellectual content beyond the area of religious studies,” Father Piderit said. “You’re not a Catholic high school unless you are teaching the Catholic faith in religion classes. A good Catholic high school addresses religious issues in English literature, history, science and social studies. So this is a welcome challenge to Catholic high schools to show the extent of Catholic culture prevalent in their institution.”
The new WCEA accreditation standards will focus on teaching the faith across the curriculum, Brother Carrier said. Schools will include evidence of Catholic identity in the self study document they prepare in advance of the accrediting committee’s three-day visit and the committee will look for evidence of Catholic identity in interviews with parents, teachers, students, and administrators at the school, Brother Carriere said.
In the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Notre Dame-Belmont and Convent of the Sacred Heart are scheduled for accreditation in 2011, with Immaculate Conception Academy and Woodside Priory to follow in 2012. Each high school and elementary school in the Archdiocese is accredited every six years.
The accreditation of a school assures parents and higher institutions of learning that the school meets certain academic and other standards. For Catholic schools in California, the WCEA is the accrediting organization and it falls under the authority of the California Catholic Conference, the association of California Catholic bishops and the bishops of other participating states.
“We’ve always had a Catholic identity piece in the process,” said Brother Carriere. “This formalizes it more and better. It will be measurable. We didn’t actually measure Catholic identity the way we will be able to with these standards.”
“CATHOLIC IDENTITY FACTORS:” NEW NORMS FOR SCHOOL ACCREDITATION
• A mission statement and a philosophy statement which indicate the integration of the Roman Catholic Faith into all aspects of school life.
• Provision of regular opportunities for the school community to experience prayer and the Sacraments.
• A religion curriculum and instruction that is faithful to Roman Catholic Church teachings and meets the requirements set forth by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
• The local bishop approves those who teach the Catholic faith (Canon 805,) and their formation for catechetical and instructional competence is ongoing.
• Maintenance of an active partnership with parents whose fundamental concern is the spiritual and academic education of their children.
• A service-oriented outreach to Church and the civic community after the example of Jesus Christ who said, “I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.” (John 13:15)
• The use of signs, sacramentals, traditions, and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church.
• All school personnel are actively engaged in bringing the Good News of Jesus into the total educational experience.
By Valerie Schmalz
From July 30, 2010 issue of Catholic San Francisco.
