Denver Catholic

19 DENVER CATHOLIC | AUGUST 13-26, 2016 Growth, innovation and leadership in our Catholic schools T his is an exciting time for Den- ver's Catholic schools! We are looking forward to welcoming back thousands of children for the start of the new school year Aug. 22. Our pas- tors, prin- cipals, and teachers have been working diligently to prepare for another successful school year. In addition, the O¯ce of Catholic Schools has been actively working on a variety of initiatives over the summer that will strengthen the bright future of our schools. These initiatives are part of "Worthy of the Name," Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila's vision for the future of our schools that was released earlier this year (denvercatholicschools.com). While there are many things to share about implementing the arch- bishop's vision over the coming school year, I would like to briefly share three of these initiatives as they pertain to growing our schools, fostering innova- tion and providing leadership. GROWTH Catholic high school feasibility study At present, the six Catholic high schools present in the archdiocese are currently at or are near capacity. As we continue to plan for the future growth of our schools, it is becoming clear that additional Catholic high schools may be needed to sat- isfy demand in the near future. As part of our long- term planning e"orts, we commenced a feasibility study this summer to examine the possible construction of up to three new Catho- lic high schools in vari- ous parts of the archdiocese. Findings should be finalized by our o¯ce in mid-2017, with next steps shared with the faithful of the archdiocese later in the year. INNOVATION Boards of Specified Jurisdiction St. Joseph Catholic School in Fort Collins will begin this school year with a di"erent and unique model of school governance. Using a Board of Specified Jurisdiction, the pastor will share overall gov- ernance of the school with a group of com- mitted lay people and pastors from the local area. This summer, the governing statutes for the board were finalized and a highly e"ective workshop to train board members took place. Similar models employed by Catholic schools throughout the east coast have produced promising results. Of the schools employing this governing model, 70% have been able to increase enrollment and 100% have been able to increase fundraising. Should the model at St. Joseph prove to be successful, we plan to invite other schools to adopt this form of governance in the future. LEADERSHIP Ongoing formation for Catholic educators to teach, lead, and serve our children We are excited to gather 1,150 Catholic educators from all of our schools Sept. 30 to pray together and learn from one another. Using Mat- thew Kelly's Teach, Lead, Serve book and its framework, our educators will begin to engage in a yearlong criti- cal reflection and renewal of what it means to be a highly e"ective educa- tor in a Catholic school. Principals will continue to lead these ongoing reflections and discussions with their teachers throughout this school year. Archbishop Aquila and I wish to thank all of you for your continued support of Catholic schools. Our schools are individually excellent, but they are certainly better together as we continue to implement the arch- bishop's vision to make them among the finest in the country. But I am not the Boss of Every- body, and a representative republic like ours doesn't work this way. Self-government means just that. It works when we all participate. But participating doesn't just mean pulling a lever. It means study- ing the issues, and understanding the bigger picture of how government works and how various candidates and proposals will impact the way it works in the future. I see many indications that this isn't happening. For instance, I see college stu- dents—and others who should be old enough to know better—suddenly enamored of this brand new, com- pletely untried idea called "social- ism." Because, you know . . . free stu"! Free college! Free healthcare! Why didn't we think of this before? It turns out that we have an unlim- ited, heretofore undiscovered and untapped source of money in the co"ers of certain individuals known as "rich people." Thanks to them and their largess, we can eradicate poverty while enjoying lots and lots of free stu"! What could possibly go wrong? Plenty. Those of us who study history—and current world events— know exactly what happens when we run out of "other people's money." And it isn't pretty. Worse yet, a government power- ful enough to give you everything you want can also take everything away. And that includes not just your money but your liberty—particularly your religious liberty. The current socialism "fad" is but one example of the damage voters can do when they are ill-informed about the consequences of their elec- toral choices. Voters on the left and the right seem to have forgotten—or never learned—why the United States was founded in the first place, the rights it was founded to protect, the proper role of government, and indeed what freedom really is. And we threaten our future by making ill-in- formed voting decisions based on our own interests (or ignorance) instead of respect for the God-given rights of every human person—rights this nation was founded to protect. As I write this, religious colleges in California are fighting legislation that would subject them to "anti-discrim- ination" laws and lawsuits over tradi- tional Christian morality—threatening their very existence as religious insti- tutions. Other battles are emerging seemingly daily. And of course, for the past 40 plus years, the federal govern- ment has forbidden the states from protecting our most defenseless citi- zens—the unborn. The aged, the infirm are likewise threatened by impending euthanasia legislation, wherein they fear that the "right to die" will quickly become the "duty to die." And the list goes on and on. As government grows bigger, the rights of the individual grow smaller. And so, I am asking you to please, for the love of God and everybody else, educate yourself about what is at stake in this election. Study American his- tory with your family, especially the story of our founding. (Hillsdale Col- lege o"ers excellent free online courses at www.hillsdale.edu). Study world history—and current world events— and see how various systems of gov- ernment have worked out in other countries. Read and share the "Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics" at www. catholic.com. Pray for guidance. And then vote. Your duty to vote doesn't begin and end in the voting booth. It begins with educating yourself, reading, becom- ing informed. Voting should be the culmination of a long process of study and reflection. Your vote is a precious gift. Use it wisely. Guest Column Kevin Kijewski is the Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Denver KEVIN KIJEWSKI

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