What is the Northeast County Deanery’s Excellence in Education Initiative? The Northeast County Deanery Excellence in Education Initiative is a collaborative effort of the deanery’s eleven pastors, nine principals and the Lay Deanery Pastoral Council to take an in depth look at how best to insure the continuing excellence, availability, and affordability of Catholic elementary education for all the children of our Deanery. As part of the Initiative, lay leaders from all parishes in the deanery, together with the Pastors and Principals have decided to hold a “Summit” on February 6th and 7th, 2009 to engage all of the stakeholders involved in Catholic elementary education in a series of conversations designed to develop a shared vision for the future – a vision built upon the best of who we are and what we aspire to become. The Initiative is based upon the premise that if the parishes of the deanery work together to create a shared vision of the future, all will benefit. What is a “Summit?” A Summit is a gathering of a large number of people who, through the process of Appreciative Inquiry, will discover, dream and design a shared destiny for the future of Catholic elementary education in our deanery. The theme for our Summit is “Giving Voice-Uniting Vision: Continuing Excellence in Catholic Education”. It will be held on February 6th and 7th at Trinity Catholic High School, 1720 Redman Road, in Florissant, MO. What is “Appreciative Inquiry?” To appreciate means to value—affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials. To inquire means to study, to ask questions, to search. Appreciative Inquiry is a collaborative search to identify and understand the organization’s strengths, its potentials, the greatest opportunities, and people’s hopes for the future. It is an approach that focuses on the positive, the good, the best -- in ourselves, each other and in the organization we seek to improve, as opposed to traditional approaches to organizational improvement that focuses on the organizations problems and weaknesses. Appreciative Inquiry is based upon the premise that people work on what they share a passion about, what they most care about and believe will make the difference. Real change begins with the simple act of people taking action on what they care about in the context of a shared vision that matters. Who will do the work of the Summit? The Summit will be facilitated by two consultants who were hired by the pastors upon the recommendation of the Education Subcommittee of the Lay Deanery Pastoral Council. Our consultants are Dr. Bea Mah Holland, who received her doctorate in psychology from Harvard University and Dr. Mary Jo Greil, who is a colleague of Dr. Holland’s and has facilitated Appreciative Inquiry Summits for the Diocese and individual parishes in Memphis, Tennessee. Bea and Mary Jo will facilitate a group of approximately 250 people, made up of 20 people from each of our eleven parishes, including pastors, principals, school parents, parishioners and others who value the mission of Catholic education, as well as representatives from the Archdiocesan Catholic School Office and community leaders. What Happens at the Summit? The Summit participants discover from the high points of their past experiences what they value most about Catholic education and envision what an excellent Catholic elementary school of the future would look like. They accomplish this: * Through personal reflection on the best of our experiences with Catholic education. * Through personal stories and discussion in small and large groups. * By volunteering to work with other Summit participants to find ways to put into action every idea developed during the Summit. Already over 500 Discovery Interviews have taken place in the 11 parishes of our deanery in search of these same experiences and stories. These interviews will be included in the work of the Summit and be used in developing ideas for action. What Happens After the Summit? After the Summit, groups of Summit participants, called “Summit Engagement Teams” will volunteer to work on the various aspects of our shared vision for the future. Each Summit Engagement Team, supported by teams of experts called “Project Area Groups” will work through the summer to develop a recommendation for inclusion in a set of proposed recommendations (from the other Summit Engagement Teams) to be delivered to the Bishop (or Archbishop if one has been appointed by then) in October of this year. Once approved by the Bishop or Archbishop, as the case may be, the recommendations will be implemented. Does the Education Initiative End When the Report is Finished? The deanery’s Education Initiative does not end when the proposed recommendations are delivered to the Bishop or Archbishop. It is intended that all of those involved will continue to examine and evaluate the recommendations as they are implemented and consider whether further improvements are necessary to achieve the goals established in the course of the Summit. We cannot afford to sit back and watch what happens. We must stay engaged in the process of building on our strengths to achieve the excellence in Catholic elementary education we strive for. |
