N.O. plays host to national meeting of Catholic educators

By BETH DONZE
Clarion Herald

An estimated 1,700 Catholic school administrators, teachers, pastors and other education professionals from across the country are gathering in New Orleans this week for “NCEA 2022,” the National Catholic Educational Association’s first large-scale, in-person event since the onset of the global pandemic.

The conference will unfold April 19-21 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.

Two keynote presentations, 160 breakout professional learning sessions and daily Masses will focus on professionals involved in every level of Catholic education, from preschool through post-secondary, said Martha Mundine, deputy superintendent  of the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ Department of Catholic Education and Faith Formation (DCEFF), the event’s host.

“If you’re an institutional advancement person, there’s going to be an operational vitality track; there will be tracks on governance and leadership, and on academic excellence,” said Mundine, expressing excitement that attendees will be able to resume one-on-one exchanges of ideas with their peers and share cutting-edge research, classroom technologies and their experiences in pedagogy, enrollment-building and fundraising.

“People are hungry to get back together – they’re still nervous, but they want to get back together,” Mundine said. “(The pandemic made many educators) feel like they were on an island. Networking is so important.”

Local priest to give Tuesday keynote

Two keynote speakers, one of them a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, will kick off the first two days of NCEA 2022:

• On Tuesday, April 19, Father Rodney “Tony” Ricard, chaplain/theology department head at St. Augustine High School and pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel Church in New Orleans, will speak on finding Christ in the world of academia in a talk entitled “Have You Seen Him?” Following Father Ricard’s keynote, New Orleans Catholic Schools Superintendent Dr. RaeNell Houston will welcome the attendees and provide an explanation of the city’s second line tradition. The band from St. Augustine High School will lead attendees in a second line to the meeting’s official ribbon-cutting.

• On Wednesday, April 20, Chris McKenna, founder of the internet safety company Protect Young Eyes, will present “How to Lead Tech-Obsessed Youth with Empathy,” a consideration of adult responsibility and adolescent neurology in today’s technology-saturated, social media-obsessed world.

After each keynote, attendees will be able to choose from 160 breakout sessions covering a staggering variety of topics, among them: How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted students’ mental health; how to accompany students with disabilities; how Catholic teaching can assist teachers in classroom management; the use of LEGOs in STEAM learning; school marketing strategies; faith formation and character development in the P.E. classroom; enhancing retreat programs; how to develop and implement STEM certification; responding to the spiritual needs of young people in a shifting religious landscape; and engaging students through service-learning.

Archdiocese well represented

Locally based presenters of conference sessions include Dr. Ansel Augustine, director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministries, who will examine the phenomenon of “hero-worship” in elementary-age children; English teachers Tom Leggett and Ronald “Tommy” Thibodeaux, who will share how their annual writing assessment at Brother Martin High School has helped sophomores excel in that area; and Tracey Lamont, Ph.D., assistant professor of religious education and young adult ministry at Loyola University New Orleans, who will probe ways to build synodality in Catholic schools.

Main celebrants of the three conference Masses will be Archbishop Gregory Aymond, April 19; Father Sylvester Kwiatowski, a Polish-born priest from the Diocese of Sacramento, California, April 20; and Auxiliary Bishop Fernand Cheri, vicar general of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, for the April 21 Gospel Mass, featuring the ECHO choir from Academy of Our Lady in Marrero.

Choirs and musicians from other local Catholic elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools will provide entertainment throughout the conference, and the art of local Catholic school children will grace conference halls and meeting rooms, Mundine said. 

Awards handed out Monday evening

Tonight – prior to the conference’s official opening on April 19 – the NCEA will recognize individuals and organizations for their outstanding contributions to Catholic education by handing out five President’s Awards:

• The Leonard F. DeFiore Parental Choice Advocate Award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in promoting full and fair parental choice in education.

• The Catherine T. McNamee, CSJ Award is presented to an individual or institution that offers exceptional leadership in promoting a vision of Catholic education that welcomes and serves cultural and economic diversity or serves students with diverse needs.

• The C. Albert Koob Merit Award is given to an individual or organization that has made a significant contribution to Catholic education at any level – early childhood, elementary, secondary, higher education – or in any educational setting, in teaching, administration, parish religious education, research, publication or educational leadership.

• The Msgr. John F. Meyers Award is presented to an individual who has provided substantial support for Catholic education through contributions in the areas of development, public relations, scholarship programs, financial management or government relations.

• The Dr. Karen M. Ristau Innovations Award is presented annually to an individual, school or program that has furthered the mission of Catholic education through an innovative program or approach.

NCEA 2022 also is concurrently hosting a “conference within a conference” on April 21-22 – a symposium on blended learning in Catholic schools.

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