Congratulations to Our 2013 NCEA Award Winners

ASSUMPTION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Bellingham, Washington

The Office for Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Seattle is proud of the recognition received by Assumption School, Bellingham, for their design of a project that creatively and memorably teaches principles of horticulture, economics, stewardship, and Catholic Social Teaching - all within a global context.

Like the mustard tree, the idea started with a small, $1,500 seed grant from the Fulcrum Foundation of Seattle to support a project for cultivating a garden on school grounds. Working on the garden teaches students the principles and practices of cultivating and growing plants, then of selling the produce that is not consumed on site, and then of contributing the proceeds from the sales to a sister school in Thailand.

Over time, this project has assisted Assumption’s sister school with equipment and scholarships, and thanks to their ability to go to school, many students in Thailand have dramatically improved their lot in life.

The global reach of the project is a sign of the times, but the lessons of Catholic Social Teaching that the students of Assumption School are learning is a local application of the Church’s age-old wisdom. The model is exciting, replicable, and integral to the school’s curriculum. We in the Office for Catholic Schools are proud of the recognition received by Assumption School, Bellingham.

VINCE Mc GOVERN
Principal, Our Lady of the Lake School, Seattle

The Office for Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Seattle is proud to join with NCEA in recognizing Vince McGovern, an outstanding principal and faith leader of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School in Seattle. For Vince, the Catholic identity of the school requires that the whole community promote excellent academic learning and faith formation for the children they serve. He and his Pastor have collaboratively developed and presented a program that assists parents with the catechesis of their children and supports them in their role as primary educators of their children; this program serves both the majority of students and those needing more challenge and support.

Vince Mc Govern shares his leadership throughout the Archdiocese of Seattle by serving as co-chair of his school deanery and on many time-consuming but significant committees: School Accreditation teams, principal search committees, Fulcrum Foundation committees, and a neighboring school’s commission. Other principals look to Vincent for leadership and advice especially on how to serve students who need more than traditional ways of learning to succeed.

We are especially grateful that Vince has shown his leadership and commitment to Catholic schools by agreeing to serve as the principal of a struggling school whose enrollment was dwindling each year. Thanks to his inclusive and motivating leadership, the school has completely turned around and has launched a capital campaign to build a new gym.

A humble and genial man, Vince is willing to listen, willing to learn, always looking for the next challenge to address, and tirelessly seeking ways to do his best job. The Archdiocese of Seattle is pleased that the NCEA is honoring Vince Mc Govern as a distinguished principal of a Catholic School for the 21^st Century.

BISHOP BLANCHET’S BOARD OF ADVISORS
Bishop Blanchet High School, Seattle

The Office for Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Seattle is pleased to join the NCEA in honoring the Advisory Board of Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle for the leadership they showed at a crucial time in the school’s history.

In partnership with the Seattle Archdiocese, the Advisory Board began to explore the President/ Principal model of high school leadership. They discovered how successful this approach was in the university setting but also how it had worked successfully at many Catholic high schools across the nation. The Advisory Board formed a subcommittee to evaluate this leadership model for Bishop Blanchet High School.

After much study and many interviews of those familiar with the model, the Subcommittee gained an understanding of the benefits and shortfalls of the President/ Principal model. The subcommittee made a recommendation to the Advisory Board to adopt the model. The Advisory Board in turn made a recommendation to the Archbishop.

After a thorough national search, the Archbishop appointed the first President of Bishop Blanchet High School, Mr. Antonio DeSapio in the Spring of 2012. This appointment by the Archbishop was a major step in stabilizing the leadership of the school. As a result, the school has begun to reap the benefits of the new model under Tony’s leadership. His first act after appointment was to name a new principal, Sheila Kries. Sheila is a well-respected and seasoned educator who has much respect and credibility among the faculty. She has earned much credibility within the larger Bishop Blanchet community especially among the families of the students that we serve.

Thanks to the Advisory Board, AY 2012 - 2013 has been transformational for Bishop Blanchet High School. The BBHS Board of Advisors is a functioning, proactive, and working board with committees that report directly to the President; together, they are working to conduct long-range planning and to lay the groundwork for a capital campaign. The Office for Catholic Schools is grateful for the dedicated service and contributions of the BBHS Board of Advisors during this time of transition, and we rejoice in their being recognized by the NCEA as a distinguished board.