Catholic schools welcome new school year embracing change

HOUSTON — School is back in session for the 12 Catholic high schools and 45 Catholic primary schools in the Archdiocese. As the start of the school year brings new beginnings, this school year is the twilight year for Superintendent of Catholic Schools Dr. Debra Haney.

“My leaving is certainly bittersweet,” Haney said. “In my final year in the Catholic Schools Office (CSO), I hope to get some projects completed that have been ongoing for a little while. There are too many to articulate, but I will certainly leave the CSO in great shape with an excellent team in place and with things in good order for the next superintendent.”

While Haney is not retiring, she and her family are moving to Iola in the College Station area to “enjoy a slower pace in life and enjoy God’s creation in the country.”
“We are looking forward to enjoying the nature preserve in our neighborhood, the lakes, and the stars at night,” she said.

Professionally, Haney said she is open to whatever God has planned for her life.

“He has always guided me, and when I have followed His plan, things have turned out way better than any plans I could have made,” she said. “I am praying for discernment and wisdom as I seek my next professional role.”

During the week of Aug. 14, more than 18,000 Catholic school students will start back on differing dates. The school year also welcomes eight new principals to the Archdiocese.
Haney said the theme for this school year is “This is Jesus” based on sacred Scripture from Mt 26:26. The Eucharistic Revival inspired the theme, something Haney says they will focus on throughout the year.

“We have two Eucharistic preachers speaking to our groups this year, Father Victor Perez, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church, and Father Miguel Solorzano, St. Bartholomew the Apostle Catholic Church in Katy,” she said. “We have asked each school to increase opportunities for the entire Catholic school community to worship the Lord in the Eucharist.”

This year, 17 schools have been chosen to start a new initiative called “Smart Families Shaping Souls.” The initiative encourages parents to pledge to wait until after eighth grade to give their children a smartphone.

Partnering with The Kuzma Foundation, whose mission is to honor the dignity of the human person, the organization feels that keeping kids off of a smartphone keeps children away from the evils of the Internet and having inappropriate content available to them 24/7.

Daniel J. Courtney, principal at Christ the Redeemer Catholic School, said he came to know of the program this summer through a presentation by Dr. Crystal Collier, a therapist, educator and award-winning author of “The NeuroWhereAbouts Guide: A Neurodevelopmental Guide for Parents and Families Who Want to Prevent Youth High-Risk Behavior.”

“The focus of her presentation was on the reality of smartphone usage on brain development in adolescents. To put it mildly, it was eye-opening,” he said.
Courtney said getting involved in the program was a “no-brainer.”

“We have seen the effects of cellphone usage on our students’ attention spans and behaviors in school,” he said. “Through their financial support, they help us deliver research-based content to our families, provide guest speakers, and empower parent leaders to truly make this a community initiative; the program seems like it will make a true impact.”

The initiative believes delaying cellphones is the right choice for families today for many reasons, including:

1. Smartphones, apps, and social media are designed to be addictive, which doesn’t respect our God-given human dignity.
2. Neurologically, children at this age are still developing the ability to empathize with others; this is why cyberbullying is such a huge problem with middle schoolers.
3. The surgeon general recently issued an advisory warning of the dangers of social media, especially among teenage girls, who are at a greater risk of depression.
4. There are many dangers with sexual predators on social media.
5. Dangerous risk-taking trends on social media have caused suicide and self-harm amongst individuals.
6. FOMO — fear of missing out. Being overly connected to social media has increased anxiety and poor mental health.
7. Use it or lose it. At a time when children are supposed to be developing neurological connections for executive functions, such as self-regulation, task initiation, and emotional regulation, they are instead developing those connections using the smartphone. So, they don’t grow in leadership skills, social, and communication skills.

Other Catholic schools implementing this program in the Archdiocese include: Corpus Christi, Epiphany of The Lord in Katy, Holy Family in Galveston, Holy Ghost, Holy Rosary in Rosenberg, Our Lady of Fatima in Galena Park, Sacred Heart in Crosby, St. Anne in Tomball, St. Cecilia, St. Clare, St. Edward in Spring, St. Francis de Sales, St. John Paul II, St. Mary Magdalene in Humble, St. Theresa in Sugar Land and St. Thomas More.

Anne Quatrini, principal at St. Francis de Sales Catholic School, said the school has “a lot of great things happening” in addition to the new initiative. Recently, the school broke ground on a new open-air pavilion. A project the late Diane Wooten initiated, the new space on campus will be used for outdoor church and school gatherings. The school also got new desks and chairs from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade, new cafeteria tables and a new Spanish curriculum.

“Some of the most important things that we’ve done for the school are safety-related,” she said. “We put in new keyless access, controlled gates and a new PA system. We also have new internet infrastructure.”

Other schools are in the process of upgrading or acquiring new equipment. Haney said all eight CROSS Academies have updates or are in the process of updating their PA systems, and Holy Family Catholic School in Galveston is adding a campus studio for video announcements.

Jeanna Porter, principal at Holy Family Catholic School, said the video lab will have cameras, lights, a green screen, a teleprompter, and tablets and laptops loaded with software so that students can control the equipment and edit the videos. Students will also use their writing skills to write scripts for the videos.

“They will use their knowledge from classes such as science and social studies to create documentaries to share what they have learned,” she said. “Creativity will be encouraged as students create videos in innovative ways as they also hone their collaborative skills.”

Porter said the new learning environment will form their students into better digital citizens and help them to use technology to “increase their productivity as we prepare them for jobs that have not even been invented yet.”

“This new lab will set us apart from other schools and give our students a technological and creative edge,” she said.

For information on enrolling or teaching in a Catholic school, visit ChooseCatholicSchools.org.