The new school year is underway now across the Diocese of Columbus. These first days of the year are exciting, full of anticipation and eagerness about the months ahead. Everything is new right now – new teachers, new classrooms, new books, and more. Together, the 50 Catholic schools in the diocese welcomed just shy of 500 new students, bringing our total enrollment up to nearly 18,000, the highest count in years.
While the newness will wear off as the rhythm of the academic year resumes and routines are established, what will remain constant throughout this year is the focus of each school on living our Catholic faith. Many schools select an annual theme that frames the goals planned for the year ahead. In recent years, the Office of Catholic Schools adopted this practice and has chosen a verse from the Gospel of John as our theme for the year: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”
In his keynote talk with our school administrators at our Administrator Opening Meetings in early August, Father Paul Keller, O.P., reflected on this verse and the rest of the passage, explaining that Jesus’ description draws its imagery from a vineyard, that only the fruit growing on branches connected to the vine will flourish into beautiful grapes, ready to be made into wine. The branches that become separated from the vine never develop fruit and are fit only for burning. Father Keller explained that as Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, it is only through our union and connection with Him that we will bear much fruit for the benefit of our students, their families, and our Church. He reminded our administrators that they “are crucial to Catholic education.”
Indeed, our administrators and our teachers are crucial to Catholic education, and through staying close to Jesus, they lead our students to know, love and serve the Lord. In Catholic education, this focus on remaining in and with Jesus creates a culture that is authentically and unapologetically Catholic. It allows us to lead with faith, to teach our students to see the world through the eyes of faith.
When I spoke with the 140 wonderful new teachers who have come into the Diocese of Columbus to serve in our schools this year, I quoted Pope St. John Paul II’s statement about the purpose of Catholic schools. The great saint said, “Catholic education aims not only to communicate facts but also to transmit a coherent, comprehensive vision of life, in the conviction that the truths contained in that vision liberate students in the most profound meaning of human freedom.”
Through Catholic education, we show our students the fullness of creation, inseparable from the love of God. Last year, our administrators began a study of Catholic Academic Integration – incorporating our faith and a Catholic perspective into all coursework and aspects of school life. We were guided in this by an excellent book titled Educating for Eternity: Making Every Class Catholic by the Canadian theologian Brett Salkeld, who visited us in Columbus last year. Dr. Salkeld makes the point in his book that every educator must choose an anthropology – how do we make the world make sense? What is our underlying framework? The schools of the Diocese of Columbus have chosen an anthropology grounded in the Way, the Truth, and the Life, bringing a Catholic worldview into every aspect of our schools.
Meghan Kuehnle, our new associate director for teaching and learning, recently shared exactly what this means. She said, “If we understand God as having created the world, and as one who illuminates our ability to understand and comprehend the world, we might understand (that a) Catholic educator serves as a lens (or even a stained glass window) through which the brilliance of God’s work is made apparent to students. As teachers, (their) job is to embed our faith across content areas to make clear God’s work in our world so that students might do the same. (A teacher’s) curriculum shines through (them), and in doing so, it should be imbued with our faith.”
This framework is evident in our approach to develop new curricula, which is being revised to incorporate this Catholic viewpoint, in the culture we are shaping through Theology of the Body, in the renewed focus on Adoration and reverence in Masses.
These are exciting times in our diocese. More and more families, students, and teachers are coming to our schools attracted by culture. I have heard from many of the new teachers who attended our New Teacher Orientation in early August that the way that our schools live the faith drew them to teach here. They joyfully accepted this call to evangelize and to lead students to the vine. I ended my time with the new teachers by sharing an image of a sign on the wall in the lobby of Bishop Hartley High School that reads, “It will be difficult. It will be fun. It will take time. It will go by quickly. It will require sacrifice. It will be worth it.”
Great things will happen this year. Milestones will be reached, challenges overcome, and our students will grow in their faith and in their knowledge. Our Catholic schools have never been more sought out, never been more necessary for the formation of our students, and have never existed in a more supportive economic environment. We remain committed to our belief that Catholic education changes lives and that a life centered on the great truths of our faith leads us to Heaven.
This essential work, while always challenging, is more than worth it. By remaining in Jesus, who is the vine to our branches, we will share the joy of the Gospel with our students and families and share in the adventure of life with Jesus Christ. Please pray for our educators, our students and their families as we begin the new school year.
