This paper reports on a recent survey of principals of Catholic high schools across the country regarding the existence of formal gender identity policies or informal practices with respect to the behavior and treatment of transgender students in their schools. The survey's findings are discussed in the context of recent developments with respect…

This study explored the experience of Catholic school principals in Ohio whose schools have participated in the EdChoice Scholarship program. The researcher employed the lens of principal time usage to examine the experiences of Ohio Catholic school principals with EdChoice, with a focus on the direct experiences of principals participating in the…

The role of a Catholic school leader is complex, dynamic, and changing, especially in states where parental choice legislation has been enacted. This study utilizes Bolman and Deal's (2017) organizational framework to examine the political nature of the role of the Catholic school leader. Specifically, this study explores the ways the Catholic…

In an era of decline and crisis, Catholic school leaders have been encouraged to find innovative ways to enhance a school's operational vitality. Yet to this point, most research on educational change in Catholic schools has focused on the technical tasks school principals can take to "save" individual schools. In this article, we apply…

School counselors are needed now more than ever. Providing Catholic school counselors the specialized formation they need to be effective in the Catholic school context is essential. This study addressed two research questions in this regard: (1) What competencies (e.g., understanding, incorporating) and topics do Catholic school principals and…

The National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools (NSBECS) are a national articulation of defining characteristics and performance benchmarks that guide Catholic schools in assessing, strengthening, and sustaining their operations in four Domains: Mission and Catholic Identity, Governance and Leadership, Academic Excellence, and…

Every four years, the International Office of Catholic Education (OIEC in French) organizes its World Congress as an opportunity for participants -- including school teachers and principals, to share their experiences and achievements, as well as the challenges they face. In June 2019, the Educatio Si Congress took place in New York in partnership…

This qualitative follow up study sought the impressions of students after a two year program. The analysis of this data involved grounded theory qualitative methods. The primary means of data collection for the qualitative portion of this study was through digitally-recording and transcribing of participants' voices in response to individual…

In this article, we examine how a Network of Catholic Bilingual Schools (NCBS) serves Latino populations by examining the leadership's narratives of the school services and outreach. By employing a survey with 16 principals in the NCBS, we argue that the rate of engagement is similar between Latino and non-Latino parents, although the nature of…

Canon law recognizes the pastor as the chief educational officer (CEO) of the parish school. However, recent studies demonstrate that seminaries do not prepare seminarians for work in or leadership of Catholic schools, and recent scholarship also demonstrates that an increasing number of seminarians lack the desire to lead a parish school. Our…

One of the anticipated results of the wider adoption and use of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools (NSBECS) has been the call for different tools aligned to the NSBECS. Multiple (arch)dioceses and schools have endeavored to construct such tools for their own use. In the state of Wisconsin, the Catholic Conference…

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee's system of Catholic schools currently consists of 95 elementary schools and 15 high schools in the 10-county region of southeastern Wisconsin. According to the National Catholic Educational Association's (NCEA's) 2017-2018 "Annual Statistical Report on Schools, Enrollment, and Staffing," Milwaukee ranks 12th…

Henry Fortier began his new role as Superintendent for the Diocese of Orlando Florida in the same school year (2011-2012) as the publication of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools (NSBECS). Fortier gave himself a six-month window to immerse himself in the diocese and learn the culture of…

This article describes the Catholic School Principal Support Program (CSPSP), a mentoring program for first and second-year Catholic school principals in a large urban diocese, and identifies key challenges, impacts and influences on decision-making. Ten school leaders describe their work and provide the lens by which they reflect on their role as…

Pope Francis' call for a missionary transformation of the Church has radical implications for Catholic schools and their educational leaders. The Church expects her elementary school principals to serve not only as instructional leaders and ecclesial ministers, but also as agents of the New Evangelization. Given this focus on the New…