My Catholic School Leadership Skills

The process of leadership requires self-identification of behaviors and reflection on one’s attitude (Bell, 2010). Among the thousands of leadership books in print today, this book is one that takes a different approach to examining leadership from a Christian perspective as well as relating to the process of leadership along with many

Leadership was one of the pillars I struggled with most. To me, there were few opportunities to stand up and take charge, but with the help of close friends and a great organization, I was able to find ways to lead. A large part of the last two years of my life has been devoted to the Most Sacred Heart Youth Group

It has been almost a month since I have last documented. After we left Independence Rock we were off to the South Pass. It was the harshest part of the trip so far, and we all learned how important water is and how we should not take it for granted. All the way to South Pass it was all sand and no shade. It was scorching hot and, on some days, got to or went over 100 degrees. After about a week and a half we got to South Pass, and then started our journey up the Rocky Mountains.

I am a committed Catholic whose faith has been fostered by my upbringing and education. As a result of completing four sacraments as well as attending Australian Catholic University, my relationship towards God has strengthened throughout my life. After completing my Religious Education Accreditation, I believe I demonstrate the skills to competently teach the values of the Catholic faith with the hope of fostering students’ appreciation and understanding of the Church. I am an active member at St Columba’s Parish, where I have gained a deeper understanding of scripture, liturgy and my own faith development. I am committed to embarking on a life long journey where Catholic values are embedded throughout my personality and actions.

I have demonstrated leadership in a several different ways. During middle school, I was a member of the National Junior Honor Society. In fact, I gave up a majority of my study halls to help out the advisor. I am currently a captain of my fall sport. Because I hold this position, I help the underclassmen during games, encourage them, and resolve conflicts. In addition to that, I used to be a teacher’s assistant to a second grade religious education class. Next year, I plan to join student government and maintain leadership positions.

The final example of leadership is being a counselor in training over the summer at camp. My duties’ for being counselor in training was to watch and take care of a group of kids during arts and crafts, and I also needed to feed the children breakfast and lunch. Another part of working as a counselor in training at summer camp taught me how to be a leader. I had always just followed what others did until I started taking the lead. I had to step out of my comfort zone and teach the little kids I was assigned to, there was no one really telling me what to do.

According to the author in the introduction of the book, this work was basically intended to serve as a guide for developing moral leadership in schools geared toward superintendents, supervisors, principals, and any other persons at the upper levels of school management. The author's design was to provoke thoughts and raise questions in the minds of these people to help them analyze the leadership processes in their schools and help them make adjustments to the leadership process that will in the end reduce the need for "direct" leadership in favor of "moral" leadership. He

There have been several times where I have shown leadership here at Saint Viator. I have been a part of Service and Song every summer, where I have lead 6th through 8th graders who are interested in helping others, and dedicated in bettering our community. Every year I have been a group leader, leading them through our service trips, leading them through group discussions, and leading icebreakers. When doing this I made sure to get everyone involved and make everyone feel comfortable with each other. I also had the honor of really getting to know the kids who will one day be walking through our halls. For me being, a leader means always doing the right thing and inspiring others. Another time I have shown leadership is when I didn’t have a

My desire to work in the Catholic School system stems primarily from the ability to share my faith openly in such an environment, however, the Catholic School’s focus on the growth of the whole person, spiritual and academic and its commitment to service in the community and the world are also very important to me.

Pope Francis once said, “An education in the fullness of humanity should be the defining feature of Catholic schools.” To me, this sentiment sums up why a Catholic education is so important for many reasons. I have attended many different types of schools: public, private, Catholic and homeschool as a result of my father’s career in the military. However, only my experiences at Catholic schools provide me with a truly well-rounded education because, at Catholic schools, I receive the opportunity to learn about the amazing gift of God’s love every day during school hours. I love studying Scripture and seeing ways in which God is present in our lives. It is such a special experience to be able to do that in a school environment where you can really learn the fundamentals of our faith, as well as experiencing many different aspects of our Catholic faith, from prayer to Mass as a part of

The identity of a Catholic school is the key variable that sets that school apart from all others, and without a commitment to fostering the Catholic identity, a Catholic school becomes just a school. The Congregation for Catholic Education (1988) cited in Earl (2008) noted that if the Catholic identity "is not present, then there is little left which can make the school Catholic" (p. 197). Integral in developing and maintaining the Catholic identity of a school is the faith formation of both the adults who work in the building, as well as the students who attend. Nourishing the spirituality of these groups is the responsibility of the administration and those who lead the school. However, the faith formation needs of each group are unique, but nonetheless dependent on each other, to form the Catholic identity of the school.

In class we defined leadership as using relationships to influence others. Before I came to the Academy I believed that a person could only lead their peers or subordinates. I did not believe that a subordinate could lead their superior. In high school I had many opportunities to develop my leadership with peers and subordinates. I was an officer of National Honor Society, and using that influence and my prior knowledge of NHS activities from the year before I was able to practice my leadership with my peers. I learned how to communicate in a manner to convince them to take action quickly, but not in a way that would seem overbearing or condescending. Furthermore, I was able to be a small group leader for a number of middle school retreats at my parish. In working with sixth grade boys I learned how to deal with insubordination and chaos, and with both of these groups of people I began to understand what was needed in a relationship between a leader and a follower. Our relationship had to be characterized by sincerity and respect. In both of these activities, those that I was leading could have easily stepped back and not paid attention to anything I was asking them to do. I had to convince them that I was absolutely dedicated to what I was trying to do, and that I had their best interest in mind. When leading middle school retreats I had to be a role model and show I valued my relationship with

I have been a Head of School at three different independent schools and each has required that I adapt my leadership style to ensure that the mission of the schools was successful. The first school where I was the HOS was a new school in Hawaii and very grounded in the progressive educational pedagogy. The second school was a traditional education school with an ageing faculty in South Carolina. My

Over the years, I have worn many educator hats such as a Director of Resource, classroom teacher, Head Start teacher, special’s teacher, and as a teacher’s aide. My leadership experiences have not been ones in an administrative role, but I have had leadership experiences both informal and formal in nature. My years as a professional educator with a Virginia Collegiate Professional license has allowed me to teach in public settings as well as Catholic schools, at many different grade levels and for me, all of those experiences have influenced my leadership skills.

Effective leadership approaches from a biblical perspective consist of God’s nature in his manifested character. Christian leaders are willing to pay the price to lead in Christ’s affliction. Paul said there is a price to pay in order to lead and Jesus reminded us, “Remember what I told you: 'A servant is not greater than his master. ' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” (John 15:20, New International Version). Christian leaders need core attributes of God’s styles and approaches, support and linkage from scriptures, and knowledge of his leadership models of truth for effective leadership. However, these perspectives will gave me a better appreciation and insight of who God is and who I can be with his guidance.