We are pleased to introduce Julie Gajewski (or re-introduce!) to our readers as the new Assistant Superintendent for Academics. Julie comes to us after a successful tenure as principal of St. Gregory the Great and previous stints in curriculum & assessment positions in the public schools. With three children in our Catholic schools, Julie and her husband are invested and embedded in our schools’ success.

Julie will be able to immediately begin to support our school’s efforts to utilize the STAR assessment and conduct their self-studies. She will play a role in curriculum, assessment, and accreditation efforts. As she grows more comfortable, we plan to engage her in the faith formation efforts of our faculty, staff, and principals.

As a recent principal, we believe that Julie will be able to relate and to support our principals. You can begin getting to know her today as she has resurrected the “Academic Corner” blog in the newsletter.

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

• We are working on a Diocesan Dance for May 3rd. More details will come out as soon as possible.

• Our Science Fair is just around the corner! March 9th at St. Andrew’s Country Day School. Register here, find information here or a parent letter here.

• It’s time to start thinking about Spring Bowling which begins March 5th. Sign up here before Feb. 27th. Here is a flyer for more information.

• The Character Virtue for February is Inclusion. Please submit your names here by March 2nd.

• Please sign up for the March Principal’s Meeting. It is on March 7 at St. John Vianney.

• X-Stream games are happening at St. Joseph’s Collegiate on May 4th. More details will come out shortly.

• Lent begins tomorrow, Feb. 14th with Ash Wednesday. How are you preparing?

Here's the link to the Office Blog

I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to serve the Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Buffalo as the Assistant Superintendent of Academics. When recently asked about my motivation, I responded without hesitation: my faith. I am a proud product of Catholic education, having attended St. Andrew’s Country Day School, Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart, John Carroll University, and Canisius University. With over 20 years of experience in educational administration and teaching, I am enthusiastic about supporting our school leaders as we collaborate to nurture students who embody the values of Christ, excel academically, demonstrate self-discipline, uphold gospel principles, and serve others.

My first objective is to help cultivate a culture within our schools that embraces data through the utilization of STAR assessments.

In pursuit of this goal, my initial focus will be on three key areas related to STAR Assessments:

1. Understanding STAR: What is STAR? Why do we utilize STAR? How can STAR drive instructional practices?

2. Efficient STAR test administration

3. Effective analysis of STAR data

I am eager to collaborate with each building principal to ensure the successful implementation of STAR assessments. This week, I will be initiating communication via email to arrange personalized 1-on-1 appointments for reviewing STAR data and implementation strategies.

Should you have any inquiries, please do not hesitate to reach out to me:

Julie Gajewski

jgajewski@buffalodiocese.org

(716) 847-5517

Thank you for your dedication to our students and our shared mission within the Catholic education community. Together, we will continue to foster environments where students flourish both academically and spiritually.

2/27/24 HS Scholarships for Academic Excellence (SAE) Nominations Due

3/1/24 Complete New Textbook Adoption Survey - Survey Link Here

3/9/24 CIDEL “Call to Leadership” Event: Free - Register by 3/1

3/11-12 Mandated Services Data Entry Sessions (Optional)

3/15/24 Last Day to Submit Erie 1 BOCES Textbook Requisitions

3/18/24 Save Mandated Services Claim online for C. Riso Review

3/31/24 NYSED Nonpublic Safety Equipment (NPSE) Claims Due

3/31/24 NYSED Elementary School AIS Claims Due

4/1/24 Online 2021-22 Mandated Services Claim Due to NYSED

NYSED Mandated Services Update: Many schools have begun to enter their claims online and this often will lead to an “Upload Request” from NYSED which immediately sends an email to the Principal or CFO. Please do not respond to those Upload Requests until after I look over your claim; many times they result from a typo and can be cleared up without needing to submit additional information.

NYSED Safety Equipment and AIS Funds: We are still waiting for updated NonPublic Safety Equipment (NPSE) grant allocations and Year 10 forms to be released by NYSED. When this information is released it will be found on their website here. I also wanted to remind you that March 31, 2024 is the deadline for purchasing supplies or paying for and completing projects under the NPSE program for reimbursement this school year. If you plan to apply for 2023-2024 reimbursement, please make sure all work has been completed and paid for by March 31st. Failure to pay for and complete projects by the deadline means that you will not be able to submit for reimbursement until next year’s 2024-2025 forms are made available by NYSED closer to December 2024 for reimbursement after 3/31/2025. I hope to send out an email this week with more information and rough estimates of your available NPSE funds (along with available Year 7 AIS funds for the elementary schools) but please email me if you have any questions.

NYS Catholic Conference Catholic Education Testimony: Jim Cultrara presented testimony before the NYS Legislature on behalf of all Catholic Schools on 2/1/24. This testimony explains our position on the funding for many of the programs which our students benefit from, from Instructional Materials funding to AIS, Mandated Services, NonPublic SafetyEquipment (NPSE), and MST Salary Reimbursement. The testimony also asks for a fix the the June 1 Special Education request deadline, expansion of the 15 mile transportation range, and inclusion of our schools in new programs meant to support student mental health needs. If you are interested, please see the full testimony here:

2/1/24 NYSCCSS Elementary & Secondary Education Testimony

Renaissance STAR Comparison Data: The Winter 2024 issue of NCEA’s Momentum magazine had a summary of 2022-2023 US Catholic School Data (click here). This summary included 2021-2022 Renaissance STAR testing data, comparing public schools to private schools. Although our schools did not start testing as a group until the 2022-2023 school year, you may find some benefit from comparing your school’s results to the national data and may want to publicize this information.

Textbook Adoption Survey: Thank you for completing the Textbook/Curriculum survey due a few weeks ago. The Executive Principals asked me to create another survey, this time asking if your school plans to adopt a new textbook series for the 2024-2025 school year. Please click here for this survey. Please complete this brief survey by 3/1/24.

Previous posts from Mr. Riso

This season's Catholic School Matters podcast season is on hiatus. I"m currently recording some great episodes which will drop later this spring. Previous episodes:

• "Top 10 Lessons Learned as a Catholic High School President."
  
• Lauren May and Ron Matus from Step Up For Students
  
• Kelby Woodard
• The fifth and final installment of the Leadership Series on controversial issues.
  
• The fourth podcast
  
• The third podcast
  
• The second in the series includes a conversation with Greg Richmond
  
• The first podcast includes a conversation with Dr. Daniel McMahon
• John Kennedy of St. Joseph High School
  
• Fr. Jack Podsiadlo, SJ
  
• David Palmieri

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.wnycatholicschools.org
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
Phone: 716-847-5520
Twitter: @WNYCatholicEd

1. People Get Ready: Ritual, Solidarity, and Lived Ecclesiology in Catholic Roxbury (2023) by Susan Bigelow Reynolds
   

2. No Guilty Bystander: The Extraordinary Life of Bishop Thomas Gumbleton (2023) by Frank Fromherz & Suzanne Sattler, IHM.

3. Richard Rohr on Transformation: Collected Talks (1998) by Richard Rohr
   

4. The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future (2022) by Orly Lobel.

5. More than a Dream: How One School's Vision is Changing the World (2008) By G. R. Kearney.

Click this link for a full list of my professional reading

Feb 6, 2024 "Catholic Schools Week"

January 30, 2024 "Catholic School Week Surveys"

January 23, 2024 "St. Benedict & Intentional Community"

January 16, 2024 "Leadership & Anxiety"

January 9, 2024 "Diocesan Scorecard"

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!