As the new school year begins, more and more students will benefit from teachers recruited and prepared by the St. Thomas More Teaching Fellowship.
We welcomed the latest, and largest, cohort of the St. Thomas More Teaching Fellows this summer. Doubling our last-year numbers, 50 Fellows arrived in Boston in June to begin their preparation for teaching in Boston and across the country. These fellows represented over 24 colleges and came to attend the Fellowship's New Teacher Academy, complete with community living (in dormitories), attending classes, and worshiping and socializing together for five weeks.
More than half of the Fellows we trained will be teaching in the Archdiocese of Boston, but the others will be teaching in the dioceses of San Francisco, Denver, Kansas City and Arlington VA. We were very excited to partner with the Denver Cabrini Fellows program, helping train their new fellows.
It was truly a joy to be in an environment with so many young people who were passionate about sharing their faith as witnesses in Catholic schools.
For five weeks, more than 65 new and current teachers participated in the Fellowship's New Teacher Academy. For all those at training, this was a unique opportunity to collaborate and learn from one another in the shared mission of renewing Catholic education.
Prayer and the sacraments are core pillars of summer training. Daily mass, morning and evening prayer, adoration, and the opportunity for confessions were all daily reminders of our central mission: living first as disciples, through a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is only through a real sacramental life with Christ that our fellows can live out the mission of evangelizing in their schools.
The first week of the New Teacher Academy was a deep dive into the philosophy of Catholic Education. Before learning the practicalities of teaching, participants contemplated the goal of Catholic education: to educate students in knowledge and virtue, and to guide them in their journey of attaining eternal life.
Week 1 featured leaders from the Portsmouth Institute, who walked small groups of fellows through a collection of selected readings - these included excerpts from Josef Pieper, C.S. Lewis, and St. Thomas More. Fellows engaged in thought-provoking dialogue centered around questions like “What is a Christian student?" and "What does it mean to be a Christian teacher?”
We were also fortunate to hear from Sr. Mary Amata, O.P., a Dominican sister and principal of St. Pius V School in Providence, Rhode Island.
Concluding the week, we heard from alumni Fellows Alex Rider and Myranda Stawowczyk. It was a wonderful opportunity for new and current Fellows to hear directly about the challenges, lessons learned, and graces gained from two years teaching in Boston.
Fellows spent the next week learning how to teach, with topics ranging from classroom management to curriculum mapping. In order to teach well, they needed to receive the practical tools of building out lessons and forming relationships with students. It was a privilege for them to work with instructors from Northridge Preparatory School, a Chicago-based school serving young men in grades 6-12.
The Fellows were given mini-lectures on a variety of topics, ranging from how to plan a course, to the Teacher's Toolbox, to maximizing student thinking and engagement. In turn, Fellows were able to apply what they learned through small-group micro-teaching activities throughout the week. For many of the returning Fellows who had already completed their first year of teaching, this was an invaluable week to continue honing their craft.
This week was centered around a comprehensive overview of the vision for a Catholic school. Fellows received formation on mentoring and building relationships with their students, on effective classroom management, and on how to cooperate with parents, who are the primary educators of their children. We collaborated with the Heights Forum for this week, a group of educators from the legendary Heights School in Potomac, Maryland known for its comprehensive relationship with parents and dedication to forming young boys into virtuous men. Instruction in virtue, forming students in freedom, and partnerships with parents were among the highlights of the many rich conversations and workshops this week.
The last two weeks of training are aimed at forming new teachers in deeply practical ways. With a firm intellectual and spiritual understanding of their mission, Fellows are now ready to dive into preparing their own lessons and classroom expectations. Veteran teachers, including one of our St. Thomas More Teaching Fellowship mentors, Jennie Richer, led Fellows in workshops on curriculum mapping and classroom management, tailored to the grade levels they will be teaching.
Please continue to keep our Fellows in your prayers as they spend these last few weeks preparing to welcome their students. St. Thomas More, pray for us!
One of the greatest highlights of the program is the community. Fellows spend a lot of time together sharing meals, playing sports and experiencing many of Boston's great attractions. Fellows attended a Red Sox game, explored the North End and enjoyed cannolis, shared in community dinners, went to karaoke nights, and attended Sunday Masses together. It was wonderful to see them all get along so well, and was a beautiful reminder of the early Christians who lived in community and shared all things in faith.
First-Year Teacher in the Archdiocese of Boston. Grade 4 at Saint John's School, North End of Boston, MA. Graduate of Berklee School of Music in Boston.
"The St. Thomas More New Teacher Academy is a thoughtfully designed, well executed crash-course in the philosophy and practice of Catholic education. The instruction, fellowship, and faith formation come together to call you to greatness as an educator, but also as a disciple. It is a fulfilling and genuinely fun experience. I left the training feeling well equipped, not only with practical tools for the classroom, but also with inspiration and motivation to get through the first year of teaching."
First-Year Teacher in the Archdiocese of Boston, Latin Teacher at St. Paul's Choir School in Cambridge, MA. Graduate of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan.
"Summer training was an amazing spiritual experience; daily Mass, Divine Office, and holy hours all built into your life is such a blessing. I truly feel that He put me here to strengthen me as I go into my first year of teaching. I know now that no matter how hard things get this year, I am right where God wants me."
First-Year Teacher in the Archdiocese of Boston. Middle School/High School Theology Teacher at St. Mary Jr./Sr. High in Lynn, MA. Graduate of Wyoming Catholic College.
"Training this summer was incredible. I experienced a community that shares deep intellectual conversations, a mission for God and his children, and a love for each other! The instructors poured out not only their wisdom but also their passion, and I could not be more excited to start this adventure of teaching!"
First-Year Teacher in the Archdiocese of Boston. Middle School Teacher at Saint Mary of the Annunciation, Melrose, MA. Graduate of Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts.
"At the New Teacher Academy, I was given the opportunity to grow spiritually, intellectually, and in fellowship. These gifts have helped me approach teaching with greater confidence in Christ in me. Those five weeks were more invigorating than the education courses I took at a renowned pedagogical school."
First-Year Teacher in Archdiocese of San Francisco. 5th Grade Teacher at St. Veronica School. Graduate of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.
"Accepting a 5th grade teaching position 1,600 miles away from home with no education degrees or experience was nerve-racking, but the New Teacher Academy gave us Fellows all the practical skills and formation we needed to begin with confidence. The training reshaped my entire view of education. The richness of our Catholic faith cannot be confined to a 30-minute Religion class but must infuse every lesson, visual, and relationship. I'm deeply grateful for the joy and preparation Boston Summer Training gave me as I step into this vocation."
As we look to the future, the Catholic Talent Project remains committed to strengthening Catholic education by recruiting and equipping dedicated leaders and educators who are deeply committed to their faith.
I am inspired by these smart, talented, humble, faithful and courageous young people willing to serve as witnesses in Catholic schools to save souls and help children become saints.
If you're interested in becoming a fellow, please contact Austin Satrio at asatrio@saintthomasmorefellows.org.
With the growing support of our donors, partners, and Fellows, we are making tangible progress in building a pipeline of talented individuals who will lead and transform Catholic schools across the nation.
I am especially grateful to Peter Nguyen, a former FOCUS Missionary and Team Leader at Harvard, for leading the St. Thomas More Fellowship, and to Austin Satrio, who is our Director of Talent and leads our effort to recruit more and more teaching fellows every year. We have assembled an amazing board, led by Martha Reichert of Golden, CO.
We have been able to launch Catholic Talent Project only because of donors across the nation who are willing to invest their time and treasure in helping us save the souls of children they may never meet. We are blessed to have their backing.
Visit catholictalentproject.org to learn more about our work and how you can help us address the urgent need for faithful leadership in Catholic education.
Thank you for your friendship, prayers and support for this important work as we shape the future of the Church and ensure that Catholic schools remain a beacon of faith, knowledge, and virtue.
In Christ,
Tom
Thomas W. Carroll
Founder & President
Catholic Talent Project