How do we know we are developing 21st Century Skills in our HCS students

We are bombarded daily with the clear reality that the demands of modern students and parents are shifting.  The value of what people want for the money they spend has exponentially increased in recent years.  If people are going to spend money, they want to know exactly what they are getting out of it.

For some, paying for their children to attend school where the Catholic faith is woven throughout the day is good enough.  Clearly, based on what we have seen across the country, the number of people willing to do that is shrinking.  So what more can we offer?

Safe environment?  Certainly one would think that is a cornerstone of our Catholic schools, yet we know that kids are kids and that no school is immune to the developmental phases kids move through and the trouble that can arise out of growing up. 

Quality and personal communication?  One would think that because our schools are smaller than our public counterparts and our larger private counterparts that this would be one of our greatest assets.  It seems to be so, but are parents going to pay money simply to really know how they're child is doing in a more efficient and personalized manner?  The fact is that public schools are being held to a high standard for communication and it costs nothing but tax dollars.  It seems to me that people choosing to pay for school expect a higher level of communication from their child's school and, quite frankly, they deserve it.

So where does academics fall into this list of high expectations?  Sometimes I feel that because a student shows up at our school we assume they are somehow different than other kids and will automatically work hard and engage.  That just because the parents want the child to attend a quality institution, the child will automatically follow suit.  Now, that probably is the case with most students, but, why then, are we losing students - across the country - as Catholic institutions?  Why are some of our schools flourishing and others struggling?  Why does our student population contain a growing number of non-Catholics?

All of this is meant as a discussion initiator.  We are, as Father Thompson put it at the beginning of the school year, at a point of change in our system of education - both as Catholic institutions and in the broad spectrum of education.  We must change how we are engaging students and reach out to our communities to let them know that we hear their voices.  We must raise the bar for our instructional practices and do everything in our power to support our teachers through this transitional period while providing an education parents are willing to spend money for.

Professional development has never been so important, in my mind, as it is now. By investing time and resources into the professional growth opportunities of our teachers and school leaders, we can better meet the needs of our changing population of students and their families and the changing landscape of education.

Please post your thoughts and comments online!  Constructive criticism and the facilitation of healthy dialogue are the intentions of this blog.  Sharing our thoughts and ideas in a professional forum can generate the effective questions that will propel us forward as we strive to provide the highest quality education for students here in Hawaii!

A good time to stop and reflect

Just wondering who else is feeling that sense of wonder when glancing at the calendar at seeing that we are into November already?  Where did the time go?  Didn't we just start school?

Thanksgiving and Christmas are on top of us and we still have so much to accomplish!  If anyone else is feeling like this, please respond in the blog and share how you are coping.  All of us can benefit from each others' experiences!

We are entering this season of thanks and gratitude.  As we do, continual reminders of the challenges facing our Hawaii Catholic Schools network, become even more visible as the pressure mounts during the competitive Hawaii private school recruiting season.  Open houses are beginning to pop-up and we want to make sure we highlight all the best points that a Catholic education in Hawaii has to offer.  Each of us in our network of Hawaii Catholic Schools can reflect and identify how we are going to contribute to recruiting more students and families to our Catholic ohana of schools.  Whether it is through actively speaking with people in the community or raising the instructional bar in our school/classroom/system, there are myriad of ways that we each may contribute.  Perhaps if we view our recruitment opportunities as ongoing for the year then maybe we can stem the tide begin attracting students back to the product we offer: Quality instruction, respectful and safe learning environment, extracurricular activities such as foreign language, athletics, computer instruction, etc, and of course, Catholic faith doctrine. 

Please know that I am not saying this is an easy challenge we face!  Everyone I have met in our network of schools is working hard.  Making sure we are actively involved in changing up the pattern, either individually or collectively, as part of the network of Hawaii Catholic Schools,  is all that anyone can ask.  To look in the mirror at the end of the day and know we did our best for the kids and their families and that we did something to spread the word - not only of God, but of the positive changes we are making in our schools - should make us feel proud of our efforts.

We have resources at our disposal to help promote our work - CCA and their Facebook page, Edmodo and the connections it offers to our parents, PD360 and the connections it offers among our teachers and administrators - private, parochial and diocesan, and of course our own personal conversations with our students, their parents and the parishioners who come and visit our schools.  Mass is another opportunity for us to reach out and connect.  The more we accept our role as active spreaders of the good word, the more we will attract  people to our schools.

Please share the work you or your school is doing to actively bring students and families to our schools! Be proud of what you have accomplished and willing to share the changes we are making to meet the needs of our 21st Century students and the rapidly changing world we live in.   Upload a video, publish some writing pieces, highlight the community outreach that some many of our schools and students are participating in across Hawaii.  This is a forum to do that and I welcome all of you join in the conversation!

Hawaii Catholic Schools are AWESOME!!!