A full and varied schedule highlights Pope Francis’s first apostolic visit to the United States. If you are reading this prior to his September 2015 visit, plan to follow along with the pope on his journey through appropriate mention and study in your theology classes. If the trip has already occurred, some of these suggestions can also work well in review or in conjunction with another trip the…
In the News
@Pontifex Lesson Plan on the Pope
In 2012 Pope Benedict XVI officially joined Twitter as @pontifex in 2012. Teachers and catechists constantly ask me how to make lessons interesting to the students, well here is a great opportunity to be relevant with lesson plan on the Pope! The Pope joining Twitter is an excellent opportunity to make real world connections to…
News Article on “Reinventing Catholic Schools”
An article was released on Wednesday by http://www.uscatholic.org/ on the various efforts to breathe life into financially troubled Catholic Schools. Click here to read Sarah Karp’s article titled “Final Exam: Can we reinvent Catholic schools?” Also for a more detailed explanation of the topics, read the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s publication by Scott Hamilton titled,…
Catholic Schools K12 Virtual
[UPDATE: Please see the comments at the bottom of this post to correct some errors that were made in this overview of CSK12.] St. Andrew Catholic School/Parish in Coral Springs, Florida has developed an online education program focused on the Catholic Schools market. The program is called Catholic Schools K12 Virtual and it can be…
Two Big Changes for the Diocese of Green Bay Catholic Schools
Catholic schools are at a crossroads in the United States today. It is time for innovation or closure. Many dioceses have turned to innovative models to improve the quality of the education they offer in their schools as well as work toward sustainability. The Diocese of Green Bay recently reorganized 10 Catholic schools under the…
New Papal Encyclical: Caritas in Veritate
Pope Benedict XVI’s newest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), was released this week on the eve of the G-8 Summit in Italy. The encyclical offers a great opportunity for theology teachers and catechists who teach classes on social justice particularly in the areas of global poverty. The Holy Father chose the global economy…
LA Catholic schools offer summer school substitute
Due to the current economic climate, some public school districts have canceled summer school sessions this year. In Los Angeles Cardinal Mahony announced that students in the Los Angeles Unified School District were welcome to attend Catholic school summer sessions. For students in desperate need for additional instruction, this should be seen as a great…
Merger: OSV and Harcourt Religion Publishers
The economy seems to be hitting religion publishers as much as anyone else. On Wednesday, Our Sunday Visitor announced the acquisition of Harcourt Religion Publishers from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. OSV plans to keep Harcourt’s management team, support staff, and field reps as well as its product line. Archbishop Donald Wuerl, the chairman of…
Skipping Religion Class? Go ahead – it’s the law!
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta passed a bill yesterday that would allow children to leave the classroom during instruction that includes “subject matter that deals explicitly with religion, sexuality or sexual orientation.” Since Catholic schools are publicly funded in Canada, this poses a significant problem. The Catholic Church has consistently taught that education is primarily…
Pledging Catholic Identity
Bishop Robert W. Finn has proposed a new way to implement Catholic identity in the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph. According to the diocese’s blog The Catholic Key, “teachers would pledge to teach and embody what the Catholic Church holds and school parents would pledge to support their child’s faith development, among other…
