Last week at the State of the School, I communicated how St. Raphael is leading the way in Catholic Education in the 21st Century. This leadership came through the hard work of everyone at the school. If you missed the meeting please watch the presentation on our website.

The changes that we have made in the last few years are what propelled us to the front. As educators we researched and implemented new teaching methods, purchased new teaching and learning tools, and have worked to include the 21st Century skills by embedding them in the core subjects. Throughout this process we have expanded our focus on the spiritual development of our students.

At the middle school level we have added laptops. One goal for this addition was to improve the students writing abilities. Now the students are able to spend more time editing and improving their writing skills and less time simply recopying their rough draft. This has resulted in an increase in the understanding of and application of the English language. The laptops also allow our students to communicate their learning through a variety of methods. These skills are required in the 21st Century.

We recently added a document camera in each classroom. These cameras allow an image to be enlarged onto a screen. The image can be either 2-D or 3-D or a live demonstration. We are already seeing results in the form of improved understanding because all the students can see and hear the instructions, the students are able to display their work for class critiquing, and classroom management is improved because the students can stay in their desks to see the demonstration instead of huddling around the teacher.

Our most recent focus has been to expand on teaching the 21st Century skills to the students. We realize that it will take many hours of planning to incorporate these skills into all lessons. This work is exciting for us as we see the value in our continued improvement.

I am excited that our leadership is being recognized. In April I will be presenting at the National Catholic Education Association Convention in Anaheim. My presentation will focus on how the leadership in Catholic schools can transform schools to successfully educate students for the 21st Century.

It is an exciting time to be at St. Raphael’s Catholic School and I am proud of the work my staff has done to bring about these important changes.