Faith-based Education

New Florida Catholic schools superintendent: ‘Our schools will continue to be known as the best schools anywhere’

Lisa Buie September 24, 2020

Lisa Buie

Chicagoan Father John Belmonte comes to his new post with years of experience in Catholic education.

The Catholic Diocese of Venice, Fla., has a new superintendent.

Father John Belmonte, SJ, will oversee the diocese’s Department of Education, which consists of 15 schools and 4,777 students. Additionally, he will be responsible for the Office of Religious Education, which supports 61 parishes within the diocese, and the Institute for Catholic Studies and Formation.

redefinED interviewed Belmonte to learn more about his thoughts on the new school year, his own education and role models, and his vision for Catholic schools in Florida and beyond. Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q. Brick-and-mortar schools reopened in your diocese five weeks ago. How did things go? What was the best thing that happened that day? What has proved most challenging?

A. Our principals and teachers worked very hard to prepare for the reopening of school. Their preparation has really paid off. The reopening was very smooth. Our students and parents have also cooperated with the safety measures put in place. I visited one of our schools on the first day. The best thing that happened was that one of our first-grade girls very proudly showed me her new unicorn backpack, complete with reversible sequins! Beyond unicorn backpacks, the best thing was seeing all the students and teachers very happy to be back in school. The biggest challenge for the teachers has been providing in-person and online learning simultaneously. They are doing outstanding work keeping students engaged in both formats.

Q. What was your own education like as a child? Do you think it adequately prepared you for life and a career?

A. I like to tell the elementary students that I completed the 27th grade. That comment is usually met with gasps as they consider going to school for decades! I went to public schools in suburban Chicago through high school, then Catholic universities and seminaries through doctoral studies. My suburban public-school experience was different from the public-school experience today. Public schools today tend to be more politicized with curricular initiatives and programs that indoctrinate rather than educate. The education and formation that I received as a member of the Society of Jesus has been outstanding. The spiritual and intellectual formation I received from truly brilliant Jesuit priests and professors prepared me not only as a priest but also as a classroom teacher and school administrator. Also, the opportunity to study overseas changed my view of the world and the church.

Q. Other than biblical figures and saints, who has been the biggest influence on you? What did they teach you?

A. I have been inspired, challenged, supported and loved by some of the best and greatest men I have ever known, Jesuits all, and masters of the spiritual life remarkable for their holiness. Professors and teachers in various fields remarkable for their intellectual honesty and brilliance. Administrators remarkable for their prudence and skill. Men of the church remarkable for their devotion and dedication. Superiors remarkable for their patience, courage and steadfast support. Companions remarkable for their friendship and loyalty. Undoubtedly, I consider myself to be a better Catholic, Jesuit, priest, and man because of so many good Jesuits. My parents, of course, top any list. My father, Joseph, instilled in me an appreciation for family, faith and fun. My twin brother, Joe, younger brother, Matt, and I benefited from his love of sports, family activities, a good sense of humor and lots of friends. The influence of my mother, Suzanne, over my vocation to religious life and the priesthood could not be more significant. She is a model for me of someone who faced a lot of adversity with faith, grace and determination.

Q. What is your vision for the future of the schools in your diocese? What changes do you plan to make to help further that vision?

A. The Catholic schools in the Diocese of Venice are places where we have fostered faith, created self-confidence, supported good decisions, promoted enduring values, nurtured good habits, revered virtues, honored self-discipline, safeguarded emotional and physical health and prized academic achievement and hard work. There are, of course, many alternatives to Catholic schools, but there is no substitute. We need Catholic schools now more than ever. I am fortunate to now serve as superintendent in a diocese with excellent Catholic schools. We do plan to improve by growing our enrollment, enhancing the Catholic school culture across the diocese, and developing our curriculum with Catholic curricular standards and innovative programs.

Q. In the wake of the pandemic, all schools – public, private secular and private faith-based – are facing challenges, including some that threaten their existence. The New York Times recently published a story that said 150 Catholic schools nationwide have closed and that a growing number are in danger of shutting down forever. How do you perceive the landscape for Catholic schools in Florida?

A. Different from other parts of the country, Florida is fortunate to have a well-established Tax Credit Scholarship Program that provides significant funding that makes Catholic education available to families that would not otherwise be able to afford it. Even more important to the future of Catholic schools in Florida are the strong Episcopal and Catholic school leaders who provide authentic Catholic school culture and maintain the highest educational standards. The performance of Catholic schools during the pandemic in the spring as well as this school year with our successful reopening is evidence of the great leadership we enjoy in our Florida Catholic schools.

Q. What do you think can be done to make sure Florida Catholic schools are able to survive, both over the short term and long term?

A. When was the last time you heard of the best school in the area having to close due to lack of interest? As long as Catholic schools provide authentic Catholic school culture with a relentless focus on mission, we will have places where children are introduced to the truth, beauty and goodness that is the foundation of our faith and our future. Our schools will not simply survive but thrive. Our schools will continue to be known as the best schools anywhere.

More about Father John Belmonte, SJ

A native Chicagoan, Belmonte earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1985. Upon graduation, he entered the Society of Jesus in St. Paul, Minnesota, and pronounced vows in 1987. Two years of philosophy and humanities studies at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, followed.

In preparation for ordination to the priesthood, he completed his theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, graduating with the baccalaureate in sacred theology in 1995. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1996 in Milwaukee. In 1997, he completed a licentiate in sacred theology with a concentration in sacred scripture at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 2006, Belmonte completed the doctoral program in educational leadership and policy studies at Loyola University Chicago. While working on his doctorate from 1999 to 2003, he served as the director of pastoral ministry at St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago. From 2004 to 2010, he served as principal of the Jesuit college prep high school in Milwaukee, Marquette University High School.

He served as superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Joliet from 2010 to 2020 and in 2013 was elected to the board of the National Catholic Educational Association, where he served until June 2020. From 2011 to 2018, he served as a chaplain at Wrigley Field. If pressed, he does take some credit for the 2016 World Series Championship.

You can follow him on Twitter @Father_Belmonte. You can download, Created in Your Image, the Catholic photo sharing app he created with a marketing team in Chicago to (re)engage young Catholic parents.

September 24, 2020 0 comment

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Influx of new families from out of state a boon to Jewish schools in Florida

Lisa Buie September 17, 2020

Lisa Buie

Hebrew Academy Community School began the 2020-21 school at near maximum capacity thanks to an influx of 60 new families, many from out of state.

At Hebrew Academy Community School in the North Broward County city of Margate, students in early childhood classes are learning about germs by spreading glitter glue on their hands and washing it away. In the upper grades, socially distanced students wearing masks are watching out for each other’s health. Meanwhile, school staff members are welcoming new families with care packages of challah bread and wine for the Sabbath.

A recent post on the academy’s Facebook page to launch the 2020-21 year is evidence of a new excitement at the Early Childhood-Grade 8 Jewish school founded in 1987: “From Los Angeles to Crown Heights and beyond, we are thrilled to have so many fresh faces to greet each day!”

Hebrew Academy has good reason to be thrilled. Originally serving four early childhood youngsters in the living room of a young Jewish couple, the school now boasts a 32,500-square-foot main building and a 5,000-square-foot state-of-the-art gymnasium. More than 375 children are enrolled this year, each one benefiting from school leaders’ belief that all Jewish children should have access to Torah learning.

“We’re pretty much at maximum capacity,” said development director Rabbi Shloime Denburg, who enrolled 60 new students this year. “We’re seeing a lot of families from New York and New Jersey. For the first time, we’re also getting calls from California.”

This influx of interest from Jewish families outside of Florida isn’t limited to Hebrew Academy Community School. Even as enrollment plummets at other private schools across the state, Jewish schools are experiencing massive growth, according to Mimi Jankovits, executive director for Teach Florida, part of the national Teach Coalition advocacy organization for Jewish schools.

Jankovits cites a variety of reasons for the expansion: a lower cost of living, less crowding, a better climate. Not to mention the wide variety of Jewish schools available and the fact many participate in the state’s K-12 scholarship program.

“Whatever your philosophy is, there’s probably a school for you here,” Jankovits said, adding that even if some families don’t need the financial assistance state scholarships offer, it’s reassuring to families to know Florida is friendly to school choice.

“We are excited Florida can offer people moving here these opportunities to get scholarships if they need them,” she said.

Brauser Maimonides Academy in Fort Lauderdale started the school year with about 70 new students.

“That’s the most we’ve ever brought in,” said Eli Hagler, executive director of the Modern Orthodox school. In just five years, Hagler said, school enrollment has increased from 350 to 550 students.

A lot of those families have migrated to South Florida from outside the state.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of people from New York and New Jersey. Companies are going virtual and staying virtual, and so people are looking to get out,” he said.

Like Jankovits, Hagler pointed to lower living costs and scholarship opportunities as magnets drawing Jewish families to Florida. He also praised new legislation that allows more families to qualify and no longer requires them to reapply each year for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, a program administered by Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog.

“We don’t view private Jewish day school as a choice,” Hagler said. “It’s a necessity.”

Annual tuition at Brauser Maimonides ranges from $9,475 for 2-year-old nursery students to $18,780 for middle school students. That’s significantly lower than tuition at a Jewish day school in New York, which can cost $30,000 per year.

Student enrollment also is up at Hebrew Academy in Miami, a surprise for school leaders who had expected to see enrollment drop due to COVID-19. But more than 70 new families replaced those who decided not to re-enroll.

“All of a sudden we had these New York families,” said dean of admission Ami Eskanos. “They started referring their friends. One of our alums transplanted back down here, and she started showing homes to all of these New Yorkers coming down, and they started referring people. They just kept referring one another.”

Although most Jewish families are relocating to South Florida, other parts of the state also are experiencing an influx of new residents from the Northeast eager to find seats for their children in Jewish schools.

“We started 10 years ago with 12 kids and are almost at 110 this year,” said Rabbi Avraham Wachsman, dean at Orlando Torah Academy, a Jewish preschool and day school serving Orlando and Greater Central Florida.

Wachsman recently has received inquiries from families in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“You hear so much about shrinking schools, but we have the opposite,” he said.

Quality of life and lower tuition are among the main factors that are driving relocation, Wachsman said. Along with one additional benefit.

“I’m from Milwaukee,” he said. “I’ve done my 30 years’ time in the snow.”

September 17, 2020 0 comment

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Catholic virtual school offers options to families seeking online faith-based education

Lisa Buie September 10, 2020

Lisa Buie

Archdiocese of Miami Catholic Virtual School curriculum includes core subjects including reading language arts and math, religion and theology, Advanced Placement and dual enrollment courses as well as electives.

When Susana Moro was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia nearly four years ago, a faith-based virtual school in South Florida allowed her daughter to stay home with her mom while keeping up with her schoolwork.

“She felt very comfortable and loved the classes,” said Moro, who underwent a successful bone marrow transplant and is now healthy. Her daughter, who had been a sophomore at Immaculata-LaSalle High School, did so well at Archdiocese of Miami Catholic Virtual School that she opted to stay and graduate, Moro said.

Since then, Moro’s younger daughter enrolled in the Catholic virtual school as an eighth grader to take a high-school level Spanish class.

And now, during the coronavirus pandemic, the school is helping families in Florida and beyond who want an online Catholic education for their children, although school leaders stress their goal is to complement in-person Catholic schools rather than compete with them.

“We expect most of these students to return to their brick and mortar schools,” principal Rebeca Bautista said.

Founded in 2013 when it served only a handful of students, the Catholic virtual school was created to support traditional Catholic schools by allowing high school students to take courses that were not available on campus, get remedial instruction and bank extra credits, as well as serve those whose participation in sports or other activities required frequent travel.

Earlier this year, the school added kindergarten through fifth grade, bringing its enrollment this year to about 800. Most students attend part time.

“Our mission is to ensure that Catholic education is not only on the cutting edge but setting the pace and establishing new educational models to inspire students to maximize their God-given gifts resulting in transformation,” Thomas Wenski, Archbishop of Miami, wrote in an announcement letter to families when the school opened. The letter stressed it was important that “all Catholic schools keep pace with the demands of the 21sth century.”

The Catholic virtual school is fully accredited by the global non-profit accreditation organization Cognia and uses only teachers who are certified to work in Catholic schools. Powered by Florida Virtual School, the state’s 23-year-old online public school, it has infused Florida Virtual School content with Catholic faith and values perspectives, such as prayers before classes and references to God and church teachings. The virtual platform also includes theology courses that school leaders developed from scratch.

“We have ability to edit the content and enrich it,” said Marcey Ayers, director of special programs in the Office of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Miami. “They know that it’s a Catholic course they are taking.”

Like other virtual schools across the country, Archdiocese of Miami Catholic Virtual School has received more attention as families flocked to online education after COVID-19 forced campus shutdowns. Over the summer, the school got 10 to 12 calls a day from families seeking options. As the pandemic continued into August, the Catholic virtual school stepped up for traditional Catholic schools.

It offered them the use of their courses, taught by fully certified Archdiocese of Miami Catholic Virtual School teachers, as an online option for students not ready to return in person. It also offered its online curriculum to traditional schools’ faculty so they could deliver customized online lessons.

“Being able to offer this virtual school was really a blessing to us,” said Todd Orlando, principal of Bishop Kenny Catholic High School in Jacksonville. The school pivoted to distance learning in the spring, but when it became apparent the pandemic would continue into the new school year, leaders decided it would be more efficient to let a virtual school handle the virtual option than to require its faculty to teach both formats simultaneously.

“We are a brick-and-mortar school. We are not a virtual school,” Orlando said. “These people know what they’re doing.”

He added that school leaders also were attracted to the fact that Archdiocese of Miami Catholic Virtual School courses reflect the church’s teachings.

“We wanted a Catholic option for our families,” he said. “We realized their curriculum mirrored ours in each and every way. It’s been a positive and smooth transition for us.”

Of the 1,264 students enrolled this year at Bishop Kenny, 44 chose the virtual option.

Families with students who receive state scholarships including the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship can take classes through the Catholic virtual school during the pandemic as long as they are enrolled in a brick-and-mortar Catholic school, thanks to the waiving of a state rule that had required scholarship recipients to be taught primarily in person.

(Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, is the state’s largest administrator of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship for lower-income students.)

“It’s been an odd year,” Bautista said, explaining that most of the inquires she received over the summer came from families who had children with underlying health conditions or who lived with elderly relatives. Other calls came from international families planning to move to the United States but whose visas got delayed due to the pandemic. Other families wanted the chance to watch how campus re-openings went before committing to sending their children back.

“Some families made it very clear their intention was to only enroll for the first semester,” Bautista said. “They are hoping by January or the end of the first quarter they can go back to campus. Some said they might do a whole year and have a virtual year.”

That’s fine with her. The virtual school operates on a semester system, has a pool of part-time certified teachers, and is used to being nimble. They also see their primary purpose as supporting traditional Catholic schools.

“If a school calls and says, ‘This is an issue that we have, can you help us,’ 99.9 percent of the time, we say, ‘Yes, we can,’” Bautista said. “We don’t have a minimum enrollment. If one student from one school needs Algebra I, we can offer it.”

Virtual school leaders want to ensure continued growth by raising awareness and offering new programs, such as recently launched theology classes for adults. COVID-19 has provided an opportunity for Catholic schools to extend their reach, especially as people become more comfortable learning online, Bautista said.

“We’re expanding our marketing for the school to reach everyone,” said Ayers, the special program director for the archdiocese. “We are going to meet the needs of all students – not just gifted or special needs students, but all students.”

September 10, 2020 0 comment

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Customization Education Choice Faith-based Education Featured Microschools News Private Schools School Choice Technology and Innovation

National micro-school model hoping to make inroads in Florida

Lisa Buie August 25, 2020

Lisa Buie

Piney Grove Academy in Fort Lauderdale, a college-preparatory school for boys from kindergarten through high school, is one of two Florida private schools that had an exploratory conversation with innovative education leader Prenda.

A network of non-traditional schools that has attracted nationwide attention from families seeking safe learning options during the pandemic could be part of Florida’s future.

Arizona-based Prenda, which launched in 2018 and now boasts more than 200 partnerships with private schools, public school districts and individual public charter schools, features online learning programs adaptable to individual students that are aligned with state learning standards. The Prenda learning model has been described as a cross between a school and a scout meeting, with students gathering in homes, community centers, libraries and other public spaces to work on individual lessons and group projects.

Prenda leaders recently held a call with a couple of Florida private school principals to gauge interest in starting partnerships here. No decisions were made, but school director Frances Bolden from Piney Grove Academy in Fort Lauderdale said she was impressed with Prenda’s model.

“When I hear about something new or innovative, I want to learn more about it,” Bolden said.

Faith-based Piney Grove serves boys in kindergarten through high school. Bolden, who started a one-room schoolhouse for a small group of U.S. military children in Bangkok while her husband served in the Air Force, acknowledged that finding a Prenda micro-school host location would be challenging in South Florida, one of the hardest hit places in the nation for COVID-19 cases, where most schools are re-opening online.

A bigger challenge is equity. In Arizona, education scholarship accounts give parents the flexibility to choose Prenda or other private options without having to pay tuition. Prenda founder Kelly Smith said the company is working on a low cost, private pay model for families in states that don’t provide school choice funding as more parents are seeking alternatives to district schools amid the pandemic.

Florida’s model for education choice has been to grant private school scholarships to lower-income families, with education scholarship accounts limited to students with certain special needs. Education choice advocates say that allowing all families to have flexible spending would allow innovation to not only flourish but also create more equity in education.

Jason Bedrick, director of policy at EdChoice, a national nonprofit that advocates for more private options in education, said the average per-pupil spending on education nationwide is $15,000. “If a portion of those funds … were to follow the child into the learning environment of their choice, that would allay a lot of equity concerns and provide more opportunities to lower income students,” Bedrick said.

Despite the challenges, it’s clear that school leaders nationwide are tempted by the model’s practice of pairing groups of eight or 10 students with an adult “guide,” a teacher, parent or another individual who has experience working with young people and has passed a background check. The guide leads students through projects such as building robots, staging theatrical productions, and hosting and judging their own debates. Students also create reports, artwork, videos, computer programs and dance routines. Lessons are self-paced, with students setting their own goals.

The Prenda micro-school model now spans 29 states, with a huge upsurge of interest since COVID-19 struck, as evidenced by website traffic: a whopping 737% increase in June compared to June 2019.

To listen to Step Up For Students’ president Doug Tuthill’s podcast with Prenda CEO Kelly Smith, click here.

August 25, 2020 0 comment

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PodcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews education choice icon Stephen Sugarman: Part 2

redefinED staff August 19, 2020

redefinED staff

Berkeley Law professors John C. Coons, left, and Stephen Sugarman, circa 1978.

On this episode, Tuthill continues his conversation with education choice pioneer Stephen Sugarman of Berkeley Law School. The two discuss Sugarman’s 2017 article in the Journal of Law and Religion in which Sugarman argues that prohibiting faith-based schools from becoming charter schools is unconstitutional under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

Sugarman’s argument that it’s unconstitutional to exclude faith-based organizations from participating once a state has chosen to fund alternative education options was echoed earlier this year in the landmark Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. On the podcast, he reviews the history of two notable U.S. Supreme Court cases, Locke v. Davey and Trinity Lutheran v. Comer, and how their precedents laid the groundwork for the Espinoza decision.

“There should be some room (for education choice funding) between what is forbidden by the Establishment Clause and what is required by the Free Exercise Clause. Funding choice (does) not violate the Establishment Clause.

EPISODE DETAILS:

· Sugarman’s 2017 article on the constitutionality of faith-based charter schools

· Locke v. Davey and Chief Justice Rehnquist’s explanation of the “play-of-the-joints” between the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the Constitution

· How teacher union hostility toward charter schools has caused the public to mistakenly think they’re private rather than public schools

· How a faith-based organization can operate a charter school by state policy while continuing to practice religious observances outside of classroom time

LINKS MENTIONED:

Sugarman: Is it unconstitutional to prohibit faith-based schools from becoming charter schools?

podcastED: SUFS President Doug Tuthill interviews education choice icon Stephen Sugarman – Part 1

You can watch Part 1 of Tuthill’s interview with Sugarman here.

August 19, 2020 0 comment

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Komer saved the best for last

Matthew Ladner July 6, 2020

Matthew Ladner

Dick Komer retired in May after a quarter-century at the Institute for Justice, helping countless families obtain greater choice to meet their educational needs. He is known throughout the educational choice movement as the consummate expert on crafting choice programs that can withstand lawsuits from choice opponents.

Bigots spent an enormous amount of effort in the late 19^th century enshrining their hostility to Catholics and Jews into dozens of state constitutions in the form of Blaine Amendments. They quite nearly amended the federal Constitution as well.

It was never going to be easy to undo, but it has been done.

This Blaine Amendment movement supported by the likes of the Know-Nothing Party and the Ku Klux Klan reeked of illiberal intent. In the 1920s, the Know-Nothings and the Klan managed to make it illegal to send a child to a private school at all, making attendance at a public school with a Klan-approved curriculum mandatory so as to meld people into what the Klan considered “real Americans.”

While the U.S. Supreme Court struck this law down, Blaine Amendments remained in effect. It took multiple careers-worth of sustained effort to chip away at these relics, including that of the great Dick Komer, pictured above, who came out of retirement to argue the Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue case.

Komer has long been one of the treasurers of the education choice movement. To meet him is to love him. Not even his consistent and hilariously expressive swearing can distract you from his warm heart and keen intellect.

Blaine, the Know-Nothings and the Klan met their match once Komer and the many other dedicated attorneys at the Institute for Justice put their mind to it across a string of cases stretching over decades. Komer not only won the big case; he served as an inspiration and example to the choice movement for how to be a happy warrior.

Enjoy your retirement Dick, and thank you for your service.

July 6, 2020 0 comment

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For this Christian school, pandemic is opportunity to shine

Ron Matus June 3, 2020

Ron Matus

Jim McKenzie, headmaster at The Rock School in North Central Florida, communicates with families in a virtual town hall meeting via Zoom.

Last week, the headmaster at The Rock School, a Christian school in Gainesville, Florida, led a Zoom town hall with hundreds of parents. All of them had re-enrolled their children for the fall back in February, before COVID-19 upended everything. But Jim McKenzie told them during the meeting that if they wanted out of their contracts, the school understood. Just let the school know by June 1, he said.

The result? The parents of 26 students, 6 percent of the total, reluctantly opted out, with most of them saying they wanted to homeschool a year.

The impact? With waiting lists for every grade, The Rock School should be at or near capacity in the fall, no matter what the pandemic has in store.

Even in these trying times, McKenzie and his PreK-12 school are holding their own. They’ve found creative ways to relentlessly emphasize all the things, beyond academics, that make The Rock distinctive and desired. Faith. Family. Identity. Community. To date, that has made the difference.

Transitioning to a virtual education reality “wasn’t necessarily easy for parents, but what they appreciated was they stayed connected,” McKenzie said. “Whether we’re on campus or we’re online, we are The Rock. That’s been our motto.”

“No matter the circumstance, you’re still our community,” McKenzie continued. “That community can still exist, even in the middle of COVID-19.”

The hopeful situation at The Rock School may appear to be at odds with dire concerns about private schools across America. It would be tragic to see it that way. Private schools face real challenges in the months ahead. Many are worried about bleeding enrollment. Dozens have already closed. Their plight, the prospect of equitable relief, the negative repercussions for public schools – none of that has received the attention it deserves.

But The Rock School still offers lessons, both to private schools struggling to maintain enrollment and to other audiences who may better see the value that private schools bring to families and communities – and by extension, to all of us.

“A lot of times Christian schools get caught up in what I call me-too branding,” McKenzie said. “Oh, you know, the big public school’s doing this. Oh, me too. Oh, you’re teaching Latin. Oh, me too. Oh, you’re starting a lacrosse program. Oh, me too. Oh, you’re giving every kid an iPad. Oh, me too. We copy in an effort to keep up.”

“The problem is, I don’t have the resources to copy what the large public school systems in our area can do. So instead I have to look for ways to differentiate myself. I have to look for things … that would be hard for my competitors to copy but are a meaningful difference for the people that we serve.”

“There’s a lot of people that can deliver reading and math academic content in an online format, as good or better than I did, right?” McKenzie continued. “So, the piece that differentiates my school … is this idea of community.”

About a third of the 435 K-12 student at The Rock School use state choice scholarships, including 108 who use the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship for lower-income students and 15 who use Gardiner Scholarships for students with special needs. (Both programs are administered by Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog.) Having a high percentage of non-scholarship parents makes the school more vulnerable to economic turbulence. Being in Gainesville, a college town that is more recession-resistant than many places, makes it less so.

An example of a daily schedule to keep students at The Rock School connected with community activities

The Rock School had a good academic reputation long before the pandemic, and in the wake of school closures it quickly built a quality distance learning program. Its “TRS Online” was geared to flexibility with a personal touch. Core academic content was delivered via videos, so students and parents could work them into schedules that were best for them. Teachers could be reached by Zoom daily. Staff checked in with families at least once a week.

But that was just the basics.

What The Rock did beyond the basics endeared it even more to its students and parents. It didn’t shrink its events calendar. It expanded it. It made sure there was something to keep everyone in the school community engaged – and to pique the interest of prospective parents and others who might be on the outside looking in.

McKenzie joked that he felt like “the cruise director of the SS Rock School.”

On a field outside town, the school hosted a dance party for its high school students, complete with DJs and glow sticks to help make the social distancing tolerable. The school broadcast the event on facebook live. Ditto for chapel, book readings, lessons in art class. Ditto for a talent show, where McKenzie sported a red-and-black tux. Ditto for gym, where Coach Jones and Coach Ken became celebrities, with some of their classes getting 1,000 views. The Rock’s pet show reached 7,000 people. Its last-day-of-school parade made news.

An end-of-year parade kept members of The Rock School community connected.

“We felt like there was still a way to provide students this meaningful experience,” McKenzie said. “Where most people’s default was, ‘Well, because of Covid, I guess we’ll have to cancel everything,’ you know, we said, ‘Well, how can we do it differently? How can we translate what we have done to a virtual context that works in the midst of a pandemic?’ ”

McKenzie won’t fit snugly in anybody’s box. He started college as an engineering major, fell in love with teaching, ended up earning a master’s in education from the University of Florida. He’s partial to bow ties. He’s as comfortable quoting marketing gurus as he is as citing Bible scripture. Over the past 10 years, he helped triple The Rock’s enrollment and made it even more racially and economically diverse. (The school is 42 percent non-white.)

In a TEDx talk last year, he pitched a revolution for public education, suggesting lost relevance in an era where millions of current students will work in jobs that don’t yet exist. “Critics will say our education system needs to be reformed. No,” he said. “Our current educational system needs to be re-imagined. We need to stop doing things better. And start doing better things.”

It’s not hard to find folks who predict the pandemic will springboard big change. But in the meantime, thousands of little private schools need to survive it. McKenzie thinks they can better their odds by better telling their own stories, and better highlighting what makes them special. (Get McKenzie’s in-depth take on that subject in this webinar here.)

In that virtual town hall, McKenzie didn’t shy from telling The Rock’s parents about the uncertainty ahead. But he also asked them to compare their pandemic experience with the parents at other schools.

“I think we have proven to be a proven and trusted guide in the midst of a crisis,” McKenzie told them. “And so if the COVID-19 crisis isn’t going away any time soon … isn’t it worth knowing that if things escalate again in our community, that you have a school that you know can manage the crisis again?”

In front of hundreds of screens in the school’s orbit, heads nodded.

June 3, 2020 0 comment

Catholic Schools Coronavirus / COVID-19 Education Choice Faith-based Education Featured Florida Tax Credit Scholarship News School Choice Virtual Education

Catholic schools move gracefully into online learning

Lauren May March 25, 2020

Lauren May

Diocese of St. Augustine superintendent Deacon Scott Conway helps load supplies in the carline at St. Joseph Catholic School as parents and students prepared to transition to an online learning environment from their homes.

Like all Florida public and private schools, Catholic schools, which educate about 1.8 million students nationwide and about 65,000 throughout the state, had mere days to move from in-person teaching to digital platforms once schools closed due to coronavirus.

As word of the closure came, National Catholic Education Association president Thomas Burnford offered encouraging words to Catholic school educators via a video on the NCEA website, acknowledging this would be a difficult time for them. But he also noted it would be an opportunity for Catholic schools to shine by connecting with students in creative ways.

Palmer Catholic Academy in Ponte Vedra Beach, about 22 miles southeast of Jacksonville, quickly rallied to the call. The school serves 449 children from PK4 through eighth grade, 22 of whom participate in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program administered by Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog. Five students participate in the Gardiner Scholarship program for children with unique abilities, also administered by Step Up For Students.

Notified by their superintendent on March 13 that they would be teaching remotely by March 19, administrators worked through the weekend to make sure they would be able to launch training for their teachers. They were ready March 17, two days ahead of schedule.

Each morning since then, teachers have been taking attendance and smoothly rolling into their online lessons. At the end of the day, they collect work online and grade it, entering the data in their gradebooks.

Kindergarteners through fifth-graders are using a platform called Class Dojo, an educational technology communication app and website that connects teachers, students and families and uses features such as a feed for photos and videos from the school day. Sixth- through eighth-graders are using Microsoft Teams, a communication and collaboration platform that combines chat and video meetings and file storage. Students who didn’t have access to an iPad at home were able to borrow one from the school.

“I’ve been brought to tears several times watching the teachers recite prayers while our children follow along, and watching as they virtually walk them through their math sheets,” said parent Kelly Nelson. “The passion these teachers have and their love for their students is just radiating through the computer screen.”

Monica Begeman, marketing, admissions and advancement director, said teachers are doing a great job adjusting to an online learning world.

“The implementation has been a huge team effort. All of our teachers are on board and excited to ensure their students can continue learning,” Begeman said. “Going distance is a huge on-taking for our teachers, it is exhausting. We are so thankful to them.”

While Palmer Catholic Academy was gearing up for online learning, St. Joseph Catholic School in Jacksonville was undergoing a similar process. St. Joseph serves 497 students, 109 of whom participate in the Tax Credit Scholarship program.

St. Joseph’s adventures with online learning began March 16 when parents came to the school in small groups to pick up their children’s books and supplies. Over three hours, school staff assisted 330 families and made arrangements for 15 that were unable to come by. Principal Robin Feccit reports that in a very short time, every family had the supplies it needed to facilitate learning from home.

Students in grades K-2 are completing worksheet packets, while teachers utilize Facebook and YouTube and email parents daily. Students in the higher grades are using Google Classroom, a free web service that allows for paperless lesson creation, distribution and grading. To make sure everyone stays connected, Feccit conducts a morning meeting on Facebook Live.

“Our faculty, staff, students, and families have handled this transition very well,” Feccit said. “The first day was a little challenging as we figured things out, but Day 2 started strong, and we have been doing great since. The teachers are working so hard to keep contact with their students and help support student learning as much as possible.”

Families have been pleased and impressed, writing to the school and posting comments on social media. Parent Joanne Berrios, who has been homeschooling several children over the past few weeks, raved about the one-page worksheet prepared by teacher kindergarten teacher Deanna Kersten.

“It was extremely easy to transition to the new environment,” Berrios said. “I have been so impressed with how much Michael has learned in the past 133 days of school. Now I understand.”

March 25, 2020 0 comment