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As Catholic schools around the country begin their first weeks of the new school year, the Roche Center continues to hold the Annunciation Catholic School community in prayer. We commit to accompanying Catholic school educators and leaders and to intentionally offer programming that builds up the Body of Christ, serving as a home to find light, love, and community to withstand the darkness. "Whenever one part of the Body of Christ is wounded, we feel the pain as if it were our very own children. Let us all beg the Lord for the protection and healing of
the entire Annunciation family.”
Archbishop William Lori, Vice-President of
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
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"Finding God in All Things" served as the guiding theme of our work for the 2024-25 school year at the Roche Center for Catholic Education. Rooted in Ignatian spirituality, this theme invites us to open our eyes and hearts to the presence of God — not only in moments of triumph or clarity, but in the ordinary rhythms, the challenges, and the quiet collaborations that define our shared mission.
As we look back on this past year, we are reminded that Finding God in All Things is not merely a reflection, but a call — to see with greater clarity, to listen with greater care, and to respond with greater love. It is this call that sustains our work and deepens our impact in Catholic schools across the country and around the world.
| | New Initiative Announced: Leadership Formation - Boston College Ireland | | | | |
Recognizing the vital role of Catholic schools in Ireland's educational landscape, Boston College's Roche Center for Catholic Education announced a significant new project in June 2025 dedicated to fostering a new generation of confident and mission-driven leaders for Catholic primary and post-primary schools across Ireland.
The initiative, generously funded by Kristine Trustey and Sean McGraw on behalf of the Trustey Family Foundation, in partnership with Boston College Ireland, will address the urgent need for robust leadership development in a rapidly evolving societal and educational context.
| | G.R.A.C.E. June 2026 Colloquium to be hosted by Boston College | | |
We are proud to announce that Boston College will host the third international G.R.A.C.E. Colloquium in June 2026.
Hosted from Sunday, 28 June to Tuesday, 30 June 2026 on the campus of Boston College, the G.R.A.C.E. Colloquium theme is: "Cultivating Hearts & Minds: Formative Education in Catholic Schools."
The Roche Center for Catholic Education at Boston College has created a G.R.A.C.E. 2026 webpage with all information for the G.R.A.C.E. Colloquium. The Call for Proposals and Registration are now open! See the webpage for all details, to submit a proposal, and to register. Proposals are due on December 1, 2025.
Also consider joining us on September 17th, 12pm (EST) for our virtual G.R.A.C.E. lecture series. Our first lecture of the school year, Leading Change: Heart, Head, Hands, will be offered by Dr. Santiago Rincón-Gallardo, where he will explore the crossroads we face in education. Click here for more information and zoom link.
| | | Join us for our October "Forming the Formators" Event! | | | | Register here for a two-day event at Boston College on Wednesday, October 15 and Thursday, October 16 as we exchange innovative ideas and evidence-based practices to support the holistic development of adult educators in our Catholic schools. Bringing experts together to discuss this topic, this convening will explore adult formation in four domain areas: Mission Orientation, Adult Wellbeing, Adult Capacity, and Adult Relationships. See the Whole-Child Education research project webpage for more details and to register. | | There's Still Time! Research Studies on Catholic Education | | | | |
The Roche Center is conducting two studies to help advance knowledge and practice in critically important areas of Catholic education.
Our first study, in partnership with Australian Catholic University, is examining the formation, mental health, and wellbeing of Catholic school leaders in the United States.
Our second study, in partnership with Dr. Hosffman Ospino of the Clough School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College, seeks to examine the ways in which Catholic schools engage Hispanic parents and families.
We are currently seeking participating leaders and school communities for both studies — compensation is available for participants that meet the eligibility criteria!
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Calling all aspiring, emerging, and sitting Catholic school leaders to apply to the Catholic Leadership Cohort (CLC) Master's in Educational Leadership and Policy degree. The CLC offers holistic formation in the spiritual, instructional, and operational elements of transformational leadership.
See the CLC webpage to learn more, to submit an inquiry, and to submit your application to join our next cohort!
| | | Summer Highlights: Programming & PD | | Each summer, the Roche Center leads in-person programming and professional development (PD). We are grateful for the opportunity to build community and facilitate learning with so many Catholic school leaders and educators. Thank you to our current participants for your partnership. And if you are an alum of one of our programs or offerings, we hope to see you again soon! | |
TWIN-CS Summer Academy
We took our Two-Way Immersion Network for Catholic Schools (TWIN-CS) Summer Academy on the road this year to Sacramento, CA!
Over 80 educators and leaders from 22 dual language Catholic schools in TWIN-CS gathered for professional learning, community-building, and spiritual growth. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Boston College next summer!
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Catholic Leadership Cohort (CLC)
Our Catholic Leadership Cohort (CLC) had a pause from their M.Ed. in Educational Leadership coursework to gather together for their summer retreat, which included a visit to Boston College. We were thrilled to welcome this group of Catholic school leaders to campus for Mass, dinner, and fellowship. The CLC holistically forms Catholic school leaders, attending to the spiritual and communal development of participants, in addition to the intellectual work of the Master's degree.
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Executive Leadership Academy (ELA)
Our new Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) cohort got underway with more than 30 Catholic school leaders and executive coaches convening at Boston College from across the country and Canada!
Our new executive leaders spent two days diving into the virtues and core components of executive leadership, while also coming together for prayer, community building, and in-depth sessions on leadership, management, boards, and teams
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Empowering Educators Teacher Leadership Academies
We welcomed two cohorts of teacher-leaders to campus for our Empowering Educators program, one cohort in partnership with the Big Shoulders Fund based in Chicago, IL and the other in partnership with the national Cristo Rey Network.
With learning sessions exploring teacher leadership competencies, community-building experiences, and opportunities to share in prayer and reflection, the Summer Institutes kick off an exciting year of leadership work and development for these Catholic school teacher-leaders from across the country.
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Summer Book Club
Our Summer Book Club professional development offering for Catholic school educators and leaders continued this past summer. The Playbook for Whole-Child Education in U.S. Catholic Schools, authored by Roche Center team members and partners and published by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), was this year's book. The Summer Book Club brought nearly 200 Catholic educators nationwide together in an online community to engage in discussion to consider practical applications of the Playbook in their Catholic schools. Those who were unable to participate this summer can still click to register to access book club podcasts and view recordings of conversations!
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Drawing God Idea Kit: Be Not Afraid
As we pray alongside the Annunciation Catholic School community in Minneapolis for God's miraculous grace, The Church in the 21st Century (C21) Center at Boston College has developed Drawing God resources for the children in your lives. The C21 Center offers the Drawing God Idea Kit: Be Not Afraid as a gentle catalyst for prayer and conversation, to help children express their feelings, to find hope in God's love, and to know that they are not alone in difficult times.
| | | CHAMPS Program: Bringing Inspiring Athletes into Classrooms | | |
As the new school year kicks off, St. Matthew's School, a Roche Center TWIN-CS School in Phoenix, AZ participated in CHAMPS, a nationwide program powered by Athletes for Hope, which brings professional, Olympic, Paralympic, and collegiate athletes into classrooms to inspire students through the power of sports. The program runs from October to April and aims to boost mental health, leadership, and physical activity in youth through sports-centered lessons and athlete visits.
Learn more about the CHAMPS program or register your Catholic school by submitting this form.
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