The Catholic Education Playbook and Mission Outcomes document is the framework for understanding how the school can animate the Church’s mission ever more deeply for this age the Lord has placed us in. Specifically, the Playbook and Mission Outcomes give details on what Archbishop Sample means by “Mission Passionate Catholic Education” in the Archdiocese of Portland.

As I further reflect upon our role within Catholic Education, I get to experience and see our strongest witnesses--our teachers--who model our deep devotion to Jesus Christ. As a result of their continual transformation of faith, their witness to Christ becomes stronger.

Combined with the story of humanity, the numbers that represent quantitative data about our world tell a complex and compelling saga; one that invites us to lean in, learn more, and ask great questions. Math can be great fun when told as a story!

Prayer is a language; it is the language we use to speak to God and to converse with others about and to God, whether in a grand cathedral or a simple living room. Prayer, however, is no ordinary language or conversation: it is elevated speech. Prayer is a place where our humble words, uttered from the world, break out and enter the eternal realm.

Every decision made in our schools should be made through the lens of our mission. Does this choice align with our mission and does it move our mission forward?

If you want to teach about the sanctity of human life, you can easily do this through a science lesson. Life is defined as, “any system capable of performing functions such as eating, metabolizing, excreting, breathing, moving, growing…” (Britannica). These aspects of life agree with a Catholic understanding of the human person...

Worldly economics is concerned with the production, consumption and transfer of wealth. Catholic parents teaching home economics is not about an inheritance, trust fund, or passing on the family home, all of which have the potential to make a person spiritually impoverished. It is, however, really about the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth, only the wealth in a family is not counted in dollars and cents, but in love.

As institutions commissioned by the Church to minister the salvation of Jesus Christ, Catholic schools have the sacred duty to give a counter-cultural witness of the Gospel in a world that has lost a sense of the sacred. We do so by instilling in our young people a sense of wonder for human life, the type of wonder that allows life to be seen as a gift, not an obstacle, nor a burden or problem to be solved. This is accomplished when we aid students in their formation to be able to "see reality as it truly is," and "To embrace the mystery, the beauty, the wonder of existence itself."

By fostering strong partnerships with families, creating a culture of faith, supporting professional development for teachers, and promoting a holistic vision of education, the Catholic schools in the diocese of Portland, OR help parents fulfill their role as the primary educators of their children and contribute to the mission of Catholic education in the world.

The Catholic Education Playbook and Mission Outcomes document is the framework for understanding how the school can animate the Church’s mission ever more deeply for this age the Lord has placed us in. Specifically, the Playbook and Mission Outcomes give details on what Archbishop Sample means by “Mission Passionate Catholic Education” in the Archdiocese of Portland.

This column will explore how both educators and parents can help apply principles of TOB to all subjects and areas of student life. Language arts is the focus of this month.

Recognizing the sacredness of the moment is no small task for the family amid a culture that has taken Christian seasons and both de-seasoned and un-Christed them. In such a culture, Easter is only one day, not a season, and it is really about egg laying rabbits (and they accuse Catholics of strange beliefs…).

By including more children with disabilities in our schools...we show the world the good of education for human flourishing. Those of us working to renew Catholic schools, through the inclusion of students with disabilities, show the world the profundity of what teaching is really for — assisting parents in forming students to be holy, first, before considering what else they might become.

Our many events this week, our open houses, and recruitment efforts provide an incredible opportunity for evangelization of both current families and prospective ones. How so, you might be asking?

The Church hands us the privileged task of leading students out of the visible plane with all its material limitations that they might become capable of beholding the Lamb of God, who made us for Himself and made all things to lead us to know Him...This, the Church holds, is the primary indicator of our success.