Sustaining Catholic Education in and for the Black Community
By Lois J. Carson, Sr. Roberta Fulton, S.S.M.N., Dorothy Gupton, Veronica Morgan-Lee, Freida D. McCray, Mary Crowley McDonald, Kathleen A. Merritt, Sr. Jamie T. Phelps, O.P., Ph.D., Brother Gary Sawyer, ECSA, Deacon Marvin Threatt, PhD.
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The Notre Dame Study team concluded its work with the question, “Without Catholic schools, how would the Church provide avenues of educational opportunity for the poor, especially those in our cities?” The Education Commission is concerned about this proposed question, as well as a second question: “Do we Black Catholics, the Black community, educators, parents, and the larger community have the will to re-write the present state of Catholic schools in urban communities?” It is our hope that those attending the National Black Catholic Congress, teachers, pastors, and the community will intentionally establish partnerships with universities, businesses, and others to utilize the Appreciative Inquiry processes to reflect on historical and present experiences of Catholic schools in the Black community and the value of the schools to families and youth as beacons of hope and opportunity.
The Commission on Catholic Education stresses the importance of recognizing diversity in Catholic Schools. The following Diversity and Sensitivity Training Approach is comprehensive and can be tailored to meet the needs of all dioceses. Diversity is discussed again in Chapter Three, which focuses on preparing students for a globally diverse world.
Diversity and Sensitivity Training Approach Assessing the Diversity Climate
Twenty–nine schools in the Diocese of Charleston embarked on an extensive diversity sensitivity and awareness program. The goal of the initiative was to provide training to promote diversity sensitivity among administrators, faculty, and staff in diocesan Catholic schools. Bishop Robert J. Baker appointed Kathleen Merritt, the director of the Office of Ethnic Ministries, to lead this initiative. George Jones, Psy.D., assisted as a consultant.
Dr. Jones designed a Diversity Climate Assessment tool to determine specific focal areas in which training would produce favorable changes. All school administrators, faculty, and staff of the Charleston diocese were sent a survey to assess the diversity climate, and approximately 88 percent responded.
The data collected through this project indicated that the Diocese of Charleston tends to have a positive climate for diversity. Results indicated that to improve the schools' current climate, training initiatives should focus on ways of creating a work environment in which faculty and staff members value and respect differing views, seek and enjoy interaction with a wide variety of individuals, and continue to work productively in those relationships.
To address these goals, initial training projects focused on increasing the percentage of ethnic minority representation in the schools. Training on retaining and recruiting ethnic minority administrators, teachers, and staff will enhance the diocese's ability to welcome and embrace diversity. Celebrating diversity as a gift to the Church is a priority for the Diocese of Charleston.
The following list contains suggested steps for retaining and recruiting Black educators and employees for Catholic schools. Retaining and Recruiting Black Administrators, Teachers, and Staff for Catholic Schools
- Develop a plan to attract retirees from public schools.
- Ask your local Bishop and Office of Catholic Schools to invite religious communities of men and women to be partners by assisting with administration, teaching, and staffing.
- Advertise job vacancies in television and radio stations, newspapers, periodicals, and magazines that target the Black community as primary consumers.
- Advertise employment opportunities in church bulletins and by word of mouth in Black parishes and churches, both Catholic and non-Catholic.
- Develop creative incentives to supplement salaries, such as free continued learning opportunities for those who maintain teacher certification.
- Develop a relationship with a local college or university to provide internship opportunities for Black student teachers and other administrators.
- Offer competitive salaries. By focusing on providing educational excellence, this initial investment will produce an increase in income in the future.
- Appoint school board members who have experience in recruiting employees, and assign those board members to the task of developing a plan to retain and recruit Black administrators, teachers, and staff for the school.
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