Schools Proudly Showcase Catholic Identity All Year Round

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The buildings that house Catholic schools should say they’re Catholic without anybody opening their mouth.

That insight, made by Cardinal Dolan on a school visit earlier this academic year, has resonated with Dr. Timothy McNiff, the archdiocesan superintendent of schools.

Are there crucifixes, statues and icons visible in the school lobbies and classrooms that showcase the Catholic faith? Dr. McNiff rhetorically asked in an interview with CNY. “The answer to this,” he said, “is, ‘yes.’ That would be a very practical way to demonstrate the distinction.

“But at the end of the day,” Dr. McNiff said, “it’s really about the adults in the building, and are they wearing their faith on their sleeve to the point kids can witness this?”

Cardinal Dolan has asked for a heightened awareness, essentially a renewal by the schools, of their Catholic identity.

“If what truly makes us different—and it does, is our Catholic identity—from all other schools, then it only makes sense that’s where you spend most of your time, effort and energy,” Dr. McNiff said.

“It’s important for our school system to respond to the cardinal’s initiative,” he continued, by tangibly demonstrating “we’re making this a priority.”

It begins with the teachers. Among other provisions, there is a close alignment with the Sophia Institute for Teachers, providing professional development relative to religious instruction. Solid relationships with religious publishers, namely Sadlier, Dr. McNiff said, which work closely with the archdiocese and its teachers, bolster Catholic identity within the schools.

As part of their annual objectives, principals are asked to identify a spiritual goal for their school to achieve. The regional boards are being encouraged to work more closely with each principal on the success of that goal on an annual basis. As a nod to the universal Church’s celebration of the Year of Mercy, the spiritual and corporal works of mercy are popular objectives.

The subcommittees of the regional boards of the archdiocese feature one that addresses adherence to Catholic identity that helps support the Catholic culture of the schools. A Catholic identity assessment tool, which every school completes and submits to the board, identifies all the school is doing in conjunction with Catholicism.

In addition to that subcommittee, an archdiocesan Catholic identity committee, comprised of pastors representing different parts of the archdiocese, was created in September. The group gathers regularly with Dr. McNiff and Paige Sanchez, the archdiocese’s associate superintendent of schools for mission effectiveness, to strategize on the subject.

“The whole premise of our existence is to, one, understand and develop a relationship with God, believe in His love and His salvation,” Dr. McNiff said. “And that’s what we want to do as Catholic schools—have children have an opportunity to listen, learn and embrace that message.”

“We’re not apologetic or bashful about doing that, and that’s what sets us apart. One of the beauties of Catholic schools is, we’re able to do that on a sustained basis because we have the children for long periods of time.”

The other “ingenious” aspect of Catholic schools, he said, is “to take on this task and infuse it into the child’s larger learning process, and to be able to teach those subject matters in an excellent manner.” He cited as examples mathematics, social studies, history and English Language Arts.

“When you combine all of that, and you develop an atmosphere where it becomes more family-oriented, that’s the novelty of our Catholic identity, and that’s what sets us apart from all of our other colleagues.

“We believe that these schools operate, first and primarily, to serve children in Catholic families—not at the exclusion necessarily of everybody else, but that’s our priority,” Dr. McNiff said.

“And so, with this year’s student recruitment campaign, that is paramount in our minds and in our actions: how do we present this invitation, first and foremost, to Catholic families, and how can our scholarship programs prioritize those families first?”

Dr. McNiff described the visit to New York by Pope Francis in September as “a great shot in the arm” for the Catholic schools and the education system of the archdiocese. The papal trip included a stop at Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem.

When the strategic planning process of recent years for Catholic schools in the archdiocese began, there was a need to fix the sustainability of the schools, Dr. McNiff explained. Considerable effort, time and resources have been put forth. “While we’re not completely out of the woods with our efforts, we’re noticeably improved,” he said.

Assessing the regionalization plan, Dr. McNiff credited the exemplary work of the regional boards comprised of pastors and committed laity.

“One has to be humbled when they look at the amount of time, effort and the talent that they’re providing in working with the archdiocese to make these schools strong,” he said.

“Normally, new boards for a new non-profit organization take many years to mature and to hit their stride,” Dr. McNiff said. “To the credit of these people, they’ve really accelerated that timetable, and we’ve been benefiting from it.”

He conceded there are still financial challenges for the schools. “It’s really because we want to make sure we can capture as many children—particularly disadvantaged children—as possible, and the cost exceeds the tuition charged.”

That said, Dr. McNiff cited the dedicated effort on the part of many people to fill the gap.

An increase in test scores is another positive sign. “Additional resources and the continued dedication of these teachers and principals have made the difference there,” Dr. McNiff said.

And he praised their surroundings. “Our schools continue to be a safe environment for kids, which is paramount to so many of our parents.”

Work continues, however, on how to stop the attrition, or loss of, the number of enrolled students. “That percentage has been lowered, but we need to continue to work to level it off, and then hopefully grow it back at some point in time.”

National Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 31-Feb. 6, is a time to stop, reflect and be thankful for the gift of Catholic schools given to so many, Dr. McNiff said.

It’s also cause to celebrate. “It’s just a wonderful arm of the Church, it’s such a great resource for families.”