Ensuring the future of Catholic education in the Diocese of Cleveland is a priority, according to Archbishop-designate Nelson Perez. As he concludes his tenure as shepherd of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese and prepares for his installation as the archbishop of Philadelphia next month, he remains focused on ensuring that Catholic education, which has a long history here, is positioned to continue serving the faithful.
Below is a letter from Archbishop-designate Perez outlining his vision for Catholic education in the diocese.
This week is designated as Catholic Schools Week, a national celebration of the ministry of Catholic education. Catholic schools are a gift for our Church and our community because they invite students to encounter Jesus personally that they may come to know, love and serve God.
On Jan. 27, the feast of St. Angela Merici -- who founded the Ursulines, the first teaching order of women in the Catholic Church -- we acknowledge the strong foundation of Catholic education in Northeast Ohio, which for more than 172 years has been serving the faithful of our community. The Diocese of Cleveland features the sixth largest enrollment in Catholic schools in the United States, a sign of its importance to the faithful today and its high priority for the future.
From the time I was installed as the 11th bishop of Cleveland in September 2017, I have endeavored to become a part of the diocese, working collaboratively to engage, build, proclaim, and serve. In my first year, I called for the formation of a Think Tank of leaders from within this diocese to advise me on the current state of Catholic education and point a direction toward the future. The Think Tank identified numerous and complex factors that challenge current school sustainability, all of which have contributed to a decades-long trend of enrollment declines and closures or consolidation across the system. Moreover, they identified an inequitable distribution of parish and diocesan resources being used for faith formation of our young people. It also examined many hopeful innovations in Catholic education in this diocese and beyond, advising that multiple solutions will be necessary for the varied contexts of the diocese. Concluding its recommendations in May 2019, the Think Tank recommended the development of a master plan for the future of Catholic education.
In March of 2019 I named Dr. Frank O’Linn to be secretary of education and superintendent of schools, and he has enlisted a new senior leadership team, filling all four assistant and associate superintendent positions as well as the new position of special education coordinator. This new team has been working collaboratively to meet the current needs of schools in the diocese while taking up the direction pointed by the Think Tank.
I have asked him to assemble a task force, whose role will be to lead the reform effort and develop a master plan for the future of Catholic education in the diocese. Since September 2019, a steering committee has been preparing for a strategic planning process, refining the work of the Think Tank and beginning to reach out to stakeholders. They have identified six critical areas of Quality & Catholic Identity, Leadership & Talent, Systems & Data, Finance, Governance and Communications & Messaging. The steering committee is selecting consultant support and will be inviting task force members to commence a planning process this year, which will take a year and a half to complete.
Meanwhile this vital ministry of the Church continues to innovate. The openings of the Cletus Jeckering Early Childhood Learning Center at St. Adalbert in Cleveland and the Guardian Angels Early Learning Center at SS. Robert and William in Euclid, the collaboration between St. Albert the Great in North Royalton and Assumption Academy in Broadview Heights, or the launch of the Welsh Academy at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland stand out among many innovations too numerous to list here.
While celebrating these and other recent successes, we acknowledge that the complex challenges remain, and the Office of Catholic Education will continue to serve schools and parishes throughout the diocese today while planning for the future takes shape. The task force is charged with an immense task, but I believe with the help of God, we can come up with bold master plan that will serve our diocese and Catholic education and faith formation in general for years to come. I look forward to their work and the implementation of their plan in our diocese.