Creating a School of Excellence

Remember when you first dreamed of becoming a Catholic, educational leader? Did you truthfully understand the enormity that someday you would be responsible for so many lives? Each day hundreds and sometimes thousands of parents entrust their most precious asset, their children, to you. And what about the faculty, staff, and community that you influence? Don't they frequently turn to you for leadership, knowledge, guidance, and assistance? As a Catholic school leader you hold the lion's share of accountability for student safety, quality of instruction, and community satisfaction as well as the usual executive oversight for efficient operations, financial stewardship, strategic initiatives, community relations, and organizational culture. Catholic education in the 21st century demands that these items be essential cores to your mission, because we are fortunate to serve humanity by forming the hearts, minds, and souls of tomorrow's leaders. So how can Catholic school leaders build a culture of excellence? I believe that excellence within a Catholic school begins with school leadership. To create an excellent Catholic school, the leaders must be excellent themselves: They must not only believe in but manifest in their actions a passion for the school’s mission, its vision, and its values. Assuming a deep commitment to the school’s mission and alignment with the desired values exists in leadership, the next steps are to Find Faith and Seek Service, Invest in the Best, and Reinforce the Expectation of Excellence. Organization, education, and administrative skills are important too, but excellence depends on deep alignment around these three intangibles.

Find Faith and Seek Service
The primary focus of Catholic schools is to participate in the Church's evangelizing mission of bringing the Gospel to the ends of the earth. More specifically, Catholic schools are places of evangelization for the young. To create a school of excellence, leaders must place