A Year in Review

Director’s Report

Center for Catholic School Excellence Advisory Board Meetings
The Mount hosts advisory board meetings on November 11, 2010 and May 26, 2011. 

Status of Master of Education for Instructional Leadership for Catholic Educators
The M.Ed. for Instructional Leadership for Catholic Educators received program approval from Maryland State Department of Education in July 2011.  The program will begin in summer 2012.

Principals’ Leadership Institute for Advanced Study
The inaugural conference for the Principals’ Leadership Institute for Advanced Study was held on February 22, 2011 at Loyola University of Maryland.  Dr. Todd Whitaker served as the keynote speaker.  The Mount will be hosting two modules in the spring and fall of 2012 for those enrolled in the program.

Center Outreach

Catechesis Course
Fr. Jim Donohue, Chair of the Theology Department, collaborates with Sr. JoAnne Goecke, DC, principal of Mother Seton School, to develop new catechesis course that he offered in spring 2011 at the Mount.  In addition to Theology majors, eight senior education majors participated in the course

Cameroon Trip
Dr. Caroline Eick, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Professor, traveled to the Cameroon with students and faculty eager to help with the efforts to build a Catholic secondary school for young women.  Advisory Board member, Dr. Tim Wolfe, was one of the faculty members who participated in the trip. 

Catholic Education in Frederick County
The Center worked in tandem with Advisory Board member, Caroline Pugh, Executive Director of the Friends of Catholic Education, to print and publish a brochure highlighting the following Catholic schools in Frederick County:  Mother Seton School, St. John Regional Catholic School, Saint Thomas More Academy, The Visitation Academy, St. John’s Catholic Prep, and Mount St. Mary’s University.  The brochure was distributed to all Catholic schools and parishes in Frederick County. Catholic Education in Frederick County.

Visitation Academy, Frederick, Maryland
Dr. Barbara Martin Palmer, Dean, School of Education and Human Services, Dr. Dave Bushman, Dean, School of Natural Science and Mathematics, and Elizabeth Monahan, Center Director, met with the administration at Visitation Academy to discuss a potential collaboration between the two institutions.  The primary objective of the collaboration would be to provide opportunities for female education students and/or science majors to serve as instructors for a summer camp program.  It was also proposed that our students could volunteer to work with students on their Science Saturday program. 

Mother Seton School, Emmitsburg, Maryland
Graduate students enrolled in the Master of Education in Instructional Technology worked throughout the academic year with Mother Seton School by offering technology support to teachers.  We look to continue this partnership in the 2011-2012 academic year. 

St. John Regional Catholic School, Frederick, Maryland
A Professor in Residency (PIR) was named at St. John Regional Catholic School.  Elizabeth Monahan supervised two interns in the field this past semester and will be spending one full day per week at the school in the fall.  She will serve as a supervisor for college interns and a resource for professional development for faculty and administrators at the school during the fall 2011 semester.  Professor Monahan and Dr. Laura Frazier, Coordinator of Teacher Education, have also begun conversations with Karen Smith, school principal and Advisory Board member, to discuss ways to support their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) school designation.

Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Dr. Barbara Martin Palmer, Dr. Laura Frazier and Elizabeth Monahan met with Livia Riley, Superintendent of the Diocese of Harrisburg and Advisory Board member, and Sister Geralyn Schmidt, SCC, Instructional Technology Specialist, to discuss potential partnerships regarding technology and catechesis certification. 

Women’s Alliance of Partners in Excellence, Baltimore, Maryland
Elizabeth Monahan and Dr. Caroline Eick, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Professor, had an opportunity to attend the Women’s Alliance of Partners in Excellence luncheon in Baltimore where they were able to witness first-hand the philanthropic support that provides scholarships to Catholic Schools in Baltimore City. 

National Catholic Education Association
Elizabeth Monahan attended the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) convention in New Orleans and continues working with the Catholic Higher Education Supporting Catholic Schools (CHESCS) committee.  The CHESCS committee is working on the development of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools.