A Catholic Higher Education Collaborative: Focusing on New Ways of Supporting Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools

This article discusses highlights from the Catholic Higher Education Collaborative conference (CHEC) held at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in January 2009. The conference, a result of a 2007 dialogue on Catholic schooling hosted by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, was the first of six to be held at Catholic colleges and universities throughout the country. The purpose of the conference was to seek new and creative ways for Catholic higher education to partner with the nation’s K-12 Catholic schools. The theme of the LMU conference was “Catholic Schools and The Immigrant Church: Lessons from the Past and a Bridge to the Future.” This article includes information about the development of CHEC, a brief review of the history of immigrants and Catholic schools, an overview of conference keynote talks, and concludes with future initiatives developed from the conference in support of Catholic schools

Supporting Catholic Education through Effective School/University Partnerships: Two Models from the 2012 Catholic Higher Education Collaborative Conference

The following article contains two essays based on presentations to the 2012 CHEC conference on Catholic school governance held at Marquette University in October 2012. The essays outline two models of deep collaboration between Catholic institutions of higher education and Catholic K-12 schools designed to support and foster improvements in Catholic education. The first essay, “Higher Education Working Together to Help Catholic Schools: The Greater Milwaukee Catholic Education Consortium,” written by William A. Henk and Jennifer A. Maney, provides an overview of the Greater Milwaukee Catholic Education Consortium (GMCEC), an ongoing collaborative effort between the archdiocese of Milwaukee and the region’s five Catholic colleges and universities. Building a strong partnership among multiple institutions has allowed the GMCEC to leverage the individual strengths of each member institution to provide a variety of supports to Catholic schools within the diocese. The essay outlines the early history of the collaboration, the key areas of engagement, and some emerging outcomes and ongoing challenges associated with efforts to scaffold supports for diocesan schools. Following this essay are excerpts from a panel discussion among the five presidents of the institutions of higher education that are part of the consortium

A Catholic Higher Education Collaborative: Focusing on New Ways of Supporting Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools

This article discusses highlights from the Catholic Higher Education Collaborative conference (CHEC) held at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in January 2009. The conference, a result of a 2007 dialogue on Catholic schooling hosted by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, was the first of six to be held at Catholic colleges and universities throughout the country. The purpose of the conference was to seek new and creative ways for Catholic higher education to partner with the nation’s K-12 Catholic schools. The theme of the LMU conference was “Catholic Schools and The Immigrant Church: Lessons from the Past and a Bridge to the Future.” This article includes information about the development of CHEC, a brief review of the history of immigrants and Catholic schools, an overview of conference keynote talks, and concludes with future initiatives developed from the conference in support of Catholic schools

Assessing the Sustainability and Possibility for Transformation of the Catholic School: A Case Study of St. Leo School

The topic of Catholic school viability is the backdrop of this study, which examined issues associated with Catholic school sustainability and the possibilty for transformation. The focus was a case study of a single Catholic elementary school in a historically magrinalized community. The experiences and reflections of 10 heterogeneous members of the school community were examined in light of the school\u27s attempt to transform and ultimately sustain itself. The study took a holistic look at the school\u27s organizational processes in order to identify sustainability measures and characteristics. Methods included observation, interview, document review, and an application of the principles associated with appreciative inquiry, a tool used in organizational development and reform. The study\u27s findings, viewed through the lens of chaos theory, are framed as tensions. Tensions here refer to the push/ pull elements in the shcool\u27s struggle to find balance between new additions to the school program and what already exists (Pascale, Millemann, & Gioja, 2000). The findings are grouped as a primary tension, which is general in nature, and secondary tensions, which are specific to St. Leo School. The primary tension illustrates how a school undergoing change is marked by circumstance, unpredictability, co-creation, and resistance to environmental control. The secondary tensions detail the struggles over internal/external organizational control, Catholic school/market organizational principles, and staff and stakeholder retention/turnover. Additionally, it was found that the core characteristics of community, spirtuality, and justice act as binding elements that complement salary perks or tuition scholarships for teachers and students, respectively. Questions about the role of benefactors, school boards, and other external influences on the life of the school were also raised and examined. Overall, the findings supported the notion that Catholic schools in historically marginalized communities must seek innovative measures yet be able to adapt to a constantly shifting environmental landscape in order to survive