Armed with a renewed focus and a long list of ideas, the priests returned from the conference better prepared to serve their parochial schools.
Before attending the Institute Father Miguel Ceja, pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Riverside, admitted he had mixed feelings about Catholic schools, saying that a childhood negative experience had stayed with him. For Fr. Ceja, participating in the institute was transformative.
“It was an eye opening experience and a heart changing experience,” he said. “Seeing what Catholic education can do…I wish that every child would go to a Catholic school. My mission is to make Catholic education accessible to anyone who wishes to attend.”
The six priests represented Holy Rosary Academy, San Bernardino; Our Lady of the Assumption School, San Bernardino; Our Lady of Lourdes School, Montclair; Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Riverside; Resurrection Academy, Fontana and Sacred Heart Academy, Redlands.
The School Pastors’ Institute is a leadership formation conference for pastors of a Catholic school. Developed at the request of bishops and archbishops around the country, the Institute is designed to respond to the unique and increasingly complex challenges and opportunities related to serving as a pastor of a parish school.
“To build a common understanding of the role of Catholic Schools, it would be beneficial to have this training come to others who have schools and even those who don’t have schools,” Father Arnel Macabio, M.S., pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes parish.
The four-day conference featured a series of workshops focusing on topics related to transformative school leadership, including Catholic culture and identity, financial management and advancement, formation of personnel, welcoming of Latino children and families, and the pastor-principal relationship.
“Each topic was interesting and useful. It opened my eyes to the possibilities and my responsibilities,” said Father Cletus Imo, administrator at St. John XXIII, Fontana/Rialto.
Participants left the conference with a renewed sense of mission in strengthening relations between the school and larger parish community. Aside from learning how to build relationships between the school and parish, the priests were also given tools and advice on how to reach out to the surrounding community, how to find sources of funding and how to increase enrollment.
“One of the points is to have personal invitation,” said Father Henry Sseriiso, I.M.C., pastor at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, San Bernardino. “I’ve never done it, but I thought when I come back, I’m going to try that.”