Last Friday, I had the privilege to attend a 5/14 remembrance event at the campus of Roswell Park. I was inspired by the role Roswell Park played in organizing and supporting this significant event. After all, they’re a cancer research institute not a community center. But they felt called to play a role in this important event recognizing the horrific massacre one year ago which took the lives of 10 Buffaloans and terrorized the East Side.

One of the panelists was Episocpal Bishop Michael Curry, perhaps best known for celebrating the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Bishop Curry is a Buffalo native and spoke about how white supremacy was present then and now in Buffalo and in the Church. We shouldn’t ignore it because the murderer wasn’t from Buffalo or the adherents of replacement theory aren’t our own friends.

Other panelists spoke about racism, guns, and the divisions in our world. I couldn’t help but think that there is a growing number of people who look like me who believe God has given them a right to own, carry, and use a gun whenever and wherever they’d like. We’re not calling enough attention to the problem in Christianity today because many adherents are celebrating gun use at any cost. We’re quick to paint all Muslims as Jihadists but fail to take responsibility for the growing danger emanating from Christians.

Dr. Ibram Kendi did not disappoint with his message of hope. Perhaps most memorable was his description of how often he is threatened on-line and in person. It was so discouraging to hear that an American can be threatened for speaking out against racism and violence.

I was thankful for Roswell Park for its hospitality and convening this important event. The cancer institute already does such great work supporting Western New Yorkers in treatment and many other ways such as research on the harmful impacts of teenage vaping. If you’d like to support their great work, please consider sponsoring me on the June 24th “Ride for Roswell” when I’ll ride 100 miles along with so many others to support their great work.

Previous blogs can be found here. Want to keep up with the conversations surrounding Catholic education? Set up your own Google Alert, subscribe to this newsletter by clicking "follow," or subscribe to the Catholic School Matters podcast.

Dr. Tim Uhl

2023 P-3 Summer Institute

The NYSED Office of Early Learning and the NYS Council on Children and Families will host a P-3 Summer Institute in Albany on August 17th. This conference will focus on designing programs for students in grades P-3. Sessions will include supporting multilingual learners, student behavior and social emotional learning, Office of Cultural Education resources, and the P-3 continuum. Plus it's free! If you are interested sign up here asap. Tickets are limited!

Character Education Celebration

Please use this link to sign up the number of people from your school that plan to attend the Character Education Celebration on May 30 at St. Stephen’s Church on Grand Island. Registration will be closed on Tuesday, May 23.

Robotics

Last week we were still waiting on official robotics results from X-STREAM Games this year. Congratulations to the following teams!

• 1st Place DeSales and St. Peter School

• 2nd Place DeSales and St. Mary’s Elementary School

• 3rd Place Saint Andrews Country Day School and DeSales

• Best Design St. Andrew’s Country Day School

Previous "Academic Corner" posts from Kari

• Link to register for the Security Workshop

Here's the link to the Office Blog

• 5/20/23 Last Day to Register for Free UB Summer Graduate Classes
• 5/23/23 NYS Teacher Certification Workshop for Non-Public Teachers: Register Here
• 6/1/23 Last day for Parents to Request Special Education Services from Districts
• 6/9/23 Complete 2023-24 Professional Development Plan (Recommended)
• 6/16/23 Complete 12 Required Drills; Four must be Lockdown Drills
• 7/1/23 First day 2023-2024 Textbook Orders are allowed
• 8/1/23 NYSED MST/STEM Grant Submission Deadline

Title IIa Funds – Complete a Written 2023-2024 PD Plan by 6/9/2023: I just wanted to remind you that you will need to make a decision in the next few months as to how you would like the public school district to spend Title IIa funds for your Professional Development needs. In order to make this decision, you really should take the time now to work with your staff and complete a written Professional Development Plan. Now is the time you should be finalizing your written Professional Development plan for the 2023-2024 school year. Make sure you decide on your school’s PD focus and ensure your budget of both Title IIa funds and school-based funds allows you to successfully implement your plan. For those interested, I have prepared an updated PD Plan template recommended by our Department, one that asks you to identify the biggest concerns in your school, decide on the PD you would like to attempt as a way to remediate that concern, and establish a way to measure whether your PD has led to any improvements in the classroom related to that concern. Please continue your consultation with the public school district in which you are located regarding your Title IIa dollars and make a decision as to where those funds will “reside” for the 2023-2024 school year so you can complete and sign the “2023-2024 Written Affirmation of LEA Consultation with Private School Officials” form by the end of August. Call me if you wish to discuss your Title IIa options once you have established your PD plan.

NYS Immunization Requirements for 2023-2024: Click Here for the 2023-2024 Chart.

Previous posts from Mr. Riso

• Information regarding the Diocesan tennis tournament for junior players is found on the blog. form to sign up to be filled out by athletic directors
• Please see the athletics/activities blog for the most up to date information
• Brian Ferris is our new Diocesan athletics director. He can be reached at bferris@buffalodiocese.org.

1. Weekly principal Zooms at 9:00 am on Wednesdays.
2. School safety & security presentation, May 23rd. The program can be found here. Details: 7-9 pm at St. Andrew Country Day School, registration link here.
3. Celebration (Awards Ceremony) May 30, St. Stephen's
4. June Principal Meeting, June 27th, St. Andrew's
5. New Teacher Inservice (including VIRTUS), August 29th
6. School Board workshop September 22nd
7. Fall Professional Development day, October 6, 2023 @ St. Mary's HS.

1. This spring's proposed new Operating Principles for parish schools.
2. School Visit Form, spring 2023.
3. Devotional Calendar 2022-23.
   
4. The Fall 2022 Diocesan Health Scorecard; The spring 2022 Diocesan Health Scorecard.
5. School Pastor's Administrative Guide
6. "Principal Task List." This is organized as a living Google Doc by month.
7. New Policy Manual for all Catholic schools in the Diocese of Buffalo.
8. New Operations Manual for Diocesan Catholic schools.
9. Administrator Goal Sheet and the new Administrator evaluation form

This season's Catholic School Matters podcast season wrapped up with a conversation with Dr. Gerald Cattaro of Fordham. Jerry is a legend in Catholic education circles! is Previous episodes:

• Elizabeth Goettl joins the podcast to discuss her retirement from Cristo Rey schools and lessons learned
  
• Dr. Tony Galla, Buffalo native and most recently a Regional Superintendent in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, joins the podcast to discuss his decision to return to school leadership at his alma mater, Bishop Alemany High School
  
• This week's episode is a conversation with Marc Martinez of Houston, the founding principal of St. Peter's Catholic Career & Technical High School in Houston.
  
• conversation with Dr. Antonio Felix of Los Angeles. Antonio directs the PLACE Corps, an LMU-sponsored teaching program for teacher volunteers.
  
• a conversation with Greg Dhuyvetter, the Executive Director of WCEA (Western Catholic Education Association).

Here is a link to the podcast on Apple Podcasts.

A weekly newsletter of resources to spur enrollment and excellence in our Catholic schools.

Email: catholicschoolmatters@gmail.com
Website: www.wnycatholic.org
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone: 716-847-5520
Twitter: @WNYCatholicEd

1. Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War (2022) by Howard W. French
   

2. Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It (2022) by Richard Reeves

3. The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness (2023) by Robert Waldinger & Marc Schulz

4. Hope Against Darkness: The Transforming Vision of Saint Francis in an Age of Anxiety (2001) by Richard Rohr

5. A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life & Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland (2022) by Troy Senik

Click this link for a full list of my professional reading

May 9, 2023 "Security Workshop"

May 2, 2023 "Strategic Planning"

April 25, 2023 "Clarity"

April 18, 2023 "School Security"

March 28, 2023 "News & Notes"

For previous newsletters, click this link

A few years ago I set out to write a book which would explore the challenges of Catholic school leadership. My premise that there are no easy answers and that we have to learn from our (and other's) mistakes in order to form a mindset appropriate for orchestrating conflict proved prescient as we all faced completely new and unexpected challenges in 2020. The book,Orchestrating Conflict: Case Studies in Catholic Leadership is now available on Amazon or on the Barnes & Noble site in print or e-book formats. The book explores issues in Catholic school leadership and the tensions between building community and following Church policies and introduces deliberate practice as a method for leadership formation. Most recently, I have completed a new book proposal so book #2 is underway!