A Global Partnership Initiative of the Jesuit Schools Network
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JSN LAUNCHES IGNATIAN GLOBAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM
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"The program is rooted in the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm and uses the Ignatian Global Citizenship definition as a lens through which students view the experiences of their current courses and co-curriculars to reflect on where the Holy Spirit is calling them to action. Context comes in the form of classwork and language acquisition; experience through intercultural engagement; and co-curriculars and action through service or a project. Reflection is an integral part of the IGS Program, intentionally framed in the context of the Universal Apostolic Preferences. The committee has worked hard to provide schools with all the tools needed to be successful in implementing the IGS Program. This includes providing templates to track student progress, FAQ sheets, a one-page administrator document and opportunities to network with other pilot schools."
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IGNATIAN INQUIRY VIRTUAL SESSION: A SPIRITUALITY OF SELF-CARE FOR TROUBLED TIMES
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On March 8, Fr. Robert McChesney, SJ, led our latest Ignatian Inquiry Virtual Session on “A Spirituality of Self-Care for Troubled Times.” This session was designed to be a supportive and informative conversation with Ignatian colleagues in education about how we are coping with the troubled period through which we are presently living: the pandemic’s disruption of life, health care and childcare; acrimonious battles within the community or even families over masking policy; worries about in-person education and if our students are falling behind; wars, rumors of wars and toxic racial politics; and the breakdown of civility — all with no end in sight.
Fr. McChesney described the phenomenon of “acute secondary traumatic stress,” which can be defined as the destabilization of one’s own personality or peace of soul because of contact with and attention to the severe psychological and physical trauma experienced by others. “Secondary” is also known as “vicarious,” such that watching news of various frightening depictions of violence and cruelty on TV or social media can traumatize us, as well as those directly involved.
The extraordinarily troubled times in which we live expose educators to heightened risks of these stressors. This imposes unique professional responsibilities to develop a self-care protocol, educate ourselves about dynamics which could undermine our own or our institutions’ health and well-being, and commit ourselves to nurturing our inner psychic and spiritual selves.
The session’s content and subsequent conversation offers leaders across the JSN guidance and support for themselves and their learning communities.
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SAINT IGNATIUS COLLEGE PREP HOSTS INAUGURAL LISTENING CONFERENCE
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The Lead Listening Society chapter at Saint Ignatius College Prep hosted an innovative gathering of nationally known listening professionals on April 22-23 entitled, “Guanacaste 2022: The Transformational Listening Conference.” Guanacaste is Spanish for "listening tree." Dr. John G. Igwebuike, Director of School Culture—Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Saint Ignatius, is the staff moderator for the Lead Listening Society that coordinated the event.
Why a Listening Conference? The practice of authentic listening is at the core of our Catholic faith and Ignatian charisms. While we may not be able to speak, read or write another language, listening is a universal language and gift we can give to all of God’s children as it bridges differences in country, custom or culture. We are taught to read and write, but effective listening is the greatest skill almost never taught.
During the pre-conference, student members of the Lead Listening Society presented awards to the people who had the biggest impact on their listening lives at the Treemendous Listening Awards Ceremony. The conference keynote presentation was given by Dr. Graham Bodie, an internationally recognized listening expert. The conference then featured informative workshops and panels on effective listening in the contexts of improved health care, interpersonal bridge building, improved conversations across differences and commonalities, better parent-child relationships, and more positive social justice outcomes.
High school and college students in the Chicago area, as well as parents, faculty, staff, clergy and community members, were invited. For more information, please email Dr. Igwebuike.
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JSN POP-UP SURVEY SPRING 2022: IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON EDUCATORS
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Many thanks to all the educators across the Network who contributed to our recent “Educator Burn-Out” survey. The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate was commissioned by the Jesuit Schools Network to conduct a COVID-19 Pandemic Pop-Up Survey, seeking to gather basic information on how the pandemic has affected teachers and staff across the Network. The survey was completed by 1,376 educators in 64 schools across four U.S. provinces and Canada. For your consideration and conversation, we encourage you to read the Executive Summary.
In many ways, the complexity of our work lives these past few years is represented fully in the data gleaned, and it’s our great hope that the sharing of these results may mark the beginning of the “end” of the disruptions we have lived through since March 2020. Perhaps this may serve as a useful tool in reflecting on the past as we seek to put it behind us, and we encourage everyone to consider: How may we use this learning to propel us forward as a Network better and stronger than ever? May we all look forward with hope and energy to what comes next.
The JSN seeks to be a supportive resource to our schools, and we aim to have this brief “Pop-Up Survey” be the first of many over the years ahead that gauge temperature checks on timely issues of the day that are relevant to our member schools. Thank you to so many who took the time to contribute to this inaugural effort, and please stay tuned for the next Pop-Up Survey in the fall.
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WHY CURA PERSONALIS MEANS CARING FOR MENTAL HEALTH
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In this video, Alejandro Calderón, director of Fe y Alegría y El Salvador, reflects on how caring for the mental health of his colleagues spills over into caring for the mental health of communities in El Salvador.
What I take away from Alejandro’s reflections is that the Ignatian practice of cura personalis — the care of the whole person — sometimes pops up in places we least expect.
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GESU SCHOOL AND LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL OF LOS ANGELES COLLABORATE THROUGH POETRY AND DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
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Historically, Words Matter was Loyola High School’s attempt to collaborate with neighboring schools on ways to train students in cultural conscientiousness. This recent iteration of Words Matter, which morphed into a collaboration between Gesu School in Philadelphia and Loyola High School of Los Angeles, has fueled connection and innovation. |
The idea of a partnership spawned at the Jesuit Conference on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with a meeting between Gesu President and CEO, Bryan Carter, and Loyola High School’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and English/social studies instructor, Douglas Brown. Their discussion of connecting each school’s anti-racist curriculum within the context of the Jesuit mission then shifted into practice. To build on Gesu School’s Advanced Writing Program and create a bicoastal learning experience, the collaboration centered on a monthlong exploration of African American poetry.
High school students from Brown’s African American Poetry course developed lesson plans to share their learning with Gesu's 6th–8th graders. Activities fused video, music and creative writing. Aileen Moore, an advanced writing teacher at Gesu, tailored lessons to each grade level, enhancing the curriculum on topics such as the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement.
Both at Loyola and Gesu, the potential to push standard expectations of students' growth in their grad at grad experience existed. However, by strengthening intellectual competence, expanding their openness to new ideas and people, and tackling themes of justice through African American poetry, the Words Matter program yielded an array of student learning outcomes that promoted discussion on racial justice.
A highlight of the collaboration included a virtual celebration of National Poetry Month, featuring a reading by Gesu alumna and Philadelphia’s 2020-21 Youth Poet Laureate, Andre’a Rhoads ’18, who was introduced and recognized by three other adult Poet Laureates from around the country. Gesu students read their original poetry on topics of racial justice and identity.
The Words Matter program amplifies the shared mission of the Jesuit Schools Network, while celebrating students’ unique lived experiences. Future Gesu-Loyola collaborations await.
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AMANDA MONTEZ OF JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL HONORED BY ISN WITH NATIONAL SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD
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I was first introduced to the Jesuits at 14 years old, when I developed a passion for social justice at Xavier College Preparatory High School in Palm Desert, California. After high school, I attended Loyola Marymount University where I spent many afternoons at Dolores Mission and Homeboy Industries, before graduating with a degree in elementary education and Spanish. In the past, I worked at Sacred Heart Nativity School in San Jose teaching courses in Spanish and culture and identity, as well as running the school’s parent engagement programming. I also worked at my alma mater, Xavier College Preparatory, as an immersion coordinator, social justice teacher and swim coach.
Last spring, I received my Master of Arts degree in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco. Centering on alumni of Nativity schools, my research focuses on how these alumni transition to predominantly white high schools and its impact on their understanding of their racial and ethnic identity.
As a biracial educator, I hope to create the classroom environment I wish I could have had as a student. In my current role as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, I work to create systems of equity for my students at Jesuit High School and for all students across the Jesuit Schools Network. I'm the co-author of the Jesuit West Province’s Community Organizing for Racial Equity (CORE) and co-creator of Ignite, Jesuit West’s gathering of high school students to teach them community organizing skills.
I am beyond honored to receive the Moira Erin O’Donnell Emerging Leaders for Justice Award. The privilege to be gathered with folks like Fr. Bryan Massingale and Marie Dennis is not lost on me. I’ve followed the work of the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) since the gatherings at Fort Benning when I was in high school. I’ve reflected alongside students as they take their personal stories to Capitol Hill after the Teach-In to advocate for immigration reform. I've led DEI+A educator conversations with Jesuit educators on how to hold tough conversations in classrooms following the Capitol uprising. ISN has been a huge part of my career, and my Jesuit education continues to have lasting impacts on the way I see the work of racial justice.
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SEMINARS IN IGNATIAN LEADERSHIP INSPIRES EDUCATOR TO WRITE AND RECORD FIRST ALBUM
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Between the Manresa and Paris sessions of the Seminars in Ignatian Leadership, we were encouraged to become students, taking up a new pursuit apart from our regular work in Jesuit education. For me, this invitation coincided with my recent renewed interest in songwriting and recording. This spring, I released my first album, “It Takes All Kinds,” a collaboration with my brother-in-law Brendan Smith (who, like me, is a graduate of St. Louis University High School, where I teach and direct DEI efforts).
We released the album under the name Rolltop Sweetgum, a name chosen for its uniqueness as well as its connections to the film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and the tree in my childhood front yard that I loved to climb. The process of recording the album was a joyful one that provided a break from my work at school while simultaneously renewing my spirit as I continue to work for the mission of our apostolate.
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ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION & THE MAGIS: MCQUAID JESUIT HOSTS XAVIER WEEK SOCIAL JUSTICE SUMMIT
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Throughout the 2021-2022 school year, McQuaid Jesuit carried out a justice theme of "Care for our Common Home," inspired by Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' and culminating in an April social justice summit, known as Xavier Week.
Theology sections went through a whole class lesson on composting and recycling with Impact Earth. In addition, they received a lesson on environmental stewardship, covering a Top 10 list of ways to help be better stewards of our common home.
Since the Xavier Week speakers in April had active roles in the United Nations, all high school students also covered the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals in their theology classes and Laudato Si'.
Xavier Week featured AY Young and Cynthia Yue, who both spoke about finding a purpose to ignite our passion and be outlets of change for environmental justice. At the same time, middle school students read "A Long Walk to Water” – the true story of a Sudanese refugee searching for water and landing in Rochester, New York – hearing from the book's original illustrator, Jim Averbeck. After, students helped organize a fundraiser walk for the Water for Sudan Project, a local, non-profit organization dedicated to delivering sustainable quality-of-life service, including access to safe and clean water, to and with the people of South Sudan.
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REGISTRATION FOR THE SECOND WEBINAR: OUR MISSION OF LOVE FOR ALL CREATION IS NOW OPEN! |
Please join our webinar on Global Identifier #4: Jesuit Schools are committed to the Care of all Creation, hosted by the Secretariat for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education. Learn more and register.
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NEW PAINTING SERIES ON OUR COMMON HOME
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Fr. Roy M. Thottam, SJ, a Jesuit in Kerala Province, India, recently shared a new set of beautiful paintings and reflections. This is a new series called "12 Reflections on Paintings for Our Common Home," which relates to “Caring for Our Common Home.” We invite all teachers in the Educate Magis global community to use these paintings as a set of resources. Click here to see Painting #1 – “Song of the Leaves.”
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PRINCETON UNIVERSITY'S REFUGEE ORAL HISTORY CURRICULUM PROJECT
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The Religion & Forced Migration Initiative (RFMI), a program within Princeton University’s Office of Religious Life, aims to better understand and respond to the role religion plays in the lives of refugees as they resettle and integrate into the United States. A large component of RFMI is our oral history archive of more than 170 refugees living in the U.S., from Holocaust survivors and Vietnamese boat people to Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders. To activate this archive, we're developing an oral history-based curriculum that showcases the experiences of resettled refugees in the U.S. in their own words. We're partnering with secondary school educators across the U.S. to customize and co-create the curriculum for classes, including history, religion, politics and English. If you would like to partner with us, please email Katherine Clifton. We hope to hear from you!
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Tag your social media posts with #jesuitschools and share your global journeys in and out of the classroom.
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Programs, Events and Initiatives |
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2022 IGNATIAN FAMILY TEACH-IN FOR JUSTICE
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Join the Ignatian Solidarity Network at the 2022 Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice from October 22 to 24 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. You'll hear from dynamic speakers, including keynotes Olga Segura, Maka Black Elk and Fr. James Martin, SJ, plus a performance from this year’s featured musical act, The Peace Poets! Learn more and register at ignatiansolidarity.net/iftj.
NOTE! Applications are now open for student speakers, including Ignatian Network Speakers (mainstage) and breakout presenters. The deadline to apply is June 1, 2022, via igsol.net/iftj-speak.
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A NEW SERENITY PRAYER
As we head into our summer breaks, we leave you with “A New Serenity Prayer” by Fr. James Martin, SJ, for the days when we need to remember to accept the things we cannot change.
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The Jesuit Schools Network promotes the educational ministry of the Society of Jesus in service to the Catholic Church by strengthening Jesuit schools for the mission of Jesus Christ. |
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