Christ in the Classroom & Fall Data Collection

Greetings!

I look forward to gathering with our school leaders this week for our annual retreat.

In addition to preparing for our retreat, we have also launched our fall data collection. Schools should use enrollment based on your student count on Friday, September 18, 2026.

The Fall Data Collection is similar to last year, except a few minor changes:

NCEA is requesting enrollment by gender.
NCEA is interested in understanding, to the best of your knowledge, of the teachers not returning this year, how many are remaining in Catholic education.

We previously sent out the Spring Data Collection, and there are still some schools who have yet to complete it. We hope that those schools who have not completed the Spring Data Collection will complete it in conjunction with the Fall Data Collection. It can be found here: 2026 Spring Data Collection

This essential data is used for our required annual report to NCEA. We are asking that you complete these two online tasks by Wednesday, October 7, 2026. This task is not optional; if you are delegating this task to someone else, please forward this to them immediately.

As a best practice, we suggest you first complete the Excel spreadsheet Fall Data Collection Spreadsheet – Elementary and/or Secondary. The NCEA enrollment data must be equal in two different ways. For example, the total sum of enrollment by grade must be the same as the total sum of students by race. These Total calculations are made for you in the attached spreadsheet. Once all the data is correctly entered, you can go online and enter it efficiently.

The online Spring Data Collection is still available at: 2026 Spring Data Collection

The online Fall Data Collection is currently available at: 2026 Fall Data Collection

If you have questions or problems related to OCS data collection, please contact Synthiea Kaldi (synthiea.kaldi@seattlearch.org). We appreciate your work on this essential annual task.

With gratitude,

NICHOLAS FORD | Superintendent

Office for Catholic Schools | Archdiocese of Seattle

OPERATIONS CALENDAR & MONTHLY TASK LIST

Click here & log into mycatholicschool.org

Principal Weekly Meetings

10/01/2026 - Unpacking the Christ in the Classroom Toolkit with Connor Geraghty

Upcoming Events

September 23-25, 2026

Christ in the Classroom Retreat

Seabeck Conference Center

October 6, 2026

GRACE Fall Meeting

Camp Don Bosco

October 7, 2026

OCS Presents: Responding to Challenging Classroom Behaviors

Zoom

October 6-9, 2026

Recruitment Events

SPU on 10/6, UW on 10/7, and Saint Martin's on 10/8

October 9, 2026

APCN Meeting

Online

October 13, 2026

Curriculum Committee #1

St. Mary on the Lake

View Chancery to Parish Communications (C2P)

MISSION & CATHOLIC IDENTITY

Annual Catholic Identity Reflection

As a reminder, your annual Catholic identity reflection is due on October 1. Principals received their individualized school workbooks last spring and should contact Connor Geraghty if they have any questions.

Symbolon Catechetical Certification

Through the generosity of the St. Joseph Foundation, Symbolon catechetical certification registrations are available at no cost to our schools for this coming school year. Availability is limited, so please email Connor Geraghty with your total number of requested licenses ASAP.

Sacred Heart Devotion Curriculum

Curriculum has been developed to help our schools activate the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in three grade levels: K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. Please share this curriculum with your teachers along with this introductory video. Archbishop Etienne recently published his Pastoral Letter on the Sacred Heart, which provides more context for perpetuating the devotion. You can find his letter, the curriculum and more here.

FAQs and Guidance on ICE

Please click here to review our guidance and most common questions regarding immigration enforcement. For questions or other resources, please contact Chris Koehler at 206-274-3194 or chris.koehler@seattlearch.org.

SafeTALK

The Catholic Lifesaver Corp is opening the upcoming SafeTALK suicide prevention workshop to all interested school staff members. It will be held from 9am-1pm on October 20th at the Archbishop Brunett Retreat Center. To register, please contact Joe Cotton at joe.cotton@seattlearch.org.

Gonzaga University Workshops

Gonzaga University's Center for Lifelong Learning and School of Education invite educators to participate in three interactive online workshops designed to strengthen inclusive practices and support diverse student learning, behavioral, and social-emotional needs. These workshops are offered at no cost to our educators through our university partnership with Gonzaga and the generosity of the Fulcrum Foundation. Please share this flier with your educators, which includes the registration links.

GOVERNANCE & LEADERSHIP

Personnel & Policy Notes for the Week of 09/21/26

New policy revisions; Hiring PACE/CSTC teachers; repeating last week's information - link wasn't working! Click here to read more.

Leadership Academy Registration

The Office for Catholic Schools offers a year-long BLC cohort for aspiring administrators with a mixture of in-person and virtual meetings. Framed in the 4 domains of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools (NSBECS). For questions, please contact Kelly Surapaneni at kelly.surapaneni@seattlearch.org. Click here to learn more!

University Partners

University Partner Programs in all of the 4 Domains. Some program applications begin next month - (Villanova's) and most other in December. Click here!

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Register GRACE Teacher Leaders for 2026-27

GRACE 2026-27 Description

Check out our website with information, schedule, and teacher registration, contract, and other resources!

Plan for NWEA MAP Testing in 2026-27

The testing schedule is listed on our website. We will also be hosting several meetings throughout the school year (both online and in person) for Data Analysts.

Curriculum Committees for 2026-27

We are meeting in person quarterly to look at Content Times and Homework; we are also resuming the AI committee. Learn more here!

OCS Presents Recording

Click here for the recording and materials from our 1st OCS Presents; Calm Classrooms.

OCS Presents Northshore PD #2

Join us on 10/07 from 3:30-4:30pm to learn more from Northshore Consulting entitled: Responding to Challenging Classroom Behaviors. Click here to register!

Early Learning Weekly Newsletter

Important Resources and Reminders for Early Learning Programs. Click here to learn more.

OSPI Virtual PD on SEL - FREE

OSPI is partnering with Generation Wellness to train teachers in SEL standards - up to 9 free clock hours. Click here for more information!

NWEA MAP Analyst FREE Training

NWEA is coming back to the Archdiocese of Seattle for continued in-person trainings on reports and how to use data from each season of MAP testing. Click here for more information.

Wired for Reading CCDEI Clock Hours

If you have a reading/writing teacher who needs CCDEI clock hours, Wired for Reading PD provides those through Seattle University - Click here to learn more!

OPERATIONAL VITALITY

School Monthly Financial Statements

Please respond to John Sullivan on the three linked requests regarding School financial reports.

Sub Pool - New Rate?

If you are changing the rate you pay your substitute teachers. Please email that to Synthiea.

2026-2027 School Budget Updates

If your 2026/2027 School budget has been updated since you shared it with John Sullivan, please send this update to him.

Fulcrum

Fulcrum Futures Happy Hour 10/08

Register for Fulcrum Futures Happy Hour - The event is designed to be a casual and welcoming opportunity to network, meet other young supporters of Catholic education, and learn more about Fulcrum's work. The event is designed to be a casual and welcoming opportunity to network, meet other young supporters of Catholic education, and learn more about Fulcrum's work. As an added bonus, attendees will be entered into a drawing for 4 Seahawks tickets thanks to the generosity of a Fulcrum donor. Click here for more information.

News & Resources

No News this Week!

If you would like something featured in this section, please contact Ellie Bailey (eleanor.bailey@seattlearch.org).

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