5 Marks of Catholic School Identity Poster
The Catholic school “must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.” (The Joy of the Gospel, 114)
In the spring of 2014, the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association held the Growing Forward Catholic Education Symposium. This symposium, which involved a variety of partners in Catholic education, included presentations from Dr. Reginald Bibby and Archbishop J. Michael Miller, Secretary for the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education. Input from those partners was integrated with the symposium material and presented in the Growing Forward-2014 Catholic Education Symposium Final Report.
The report centred on Archbishop Miller’s work on The Five Marks of Catholic School Identity, which is part of his larger work, The Holy See’s Teaching on Catholic Schools. It provides a framework for Catholic school identity, which is grounded in the formal work of the Church in Catholic education. Further, the report presents an assessment tool for that was developed for partners to use to evaluate their progress in meeting benchmarks of those five areas of importance: Grounded in Christian Anthropology, Imbued with a Catholic Worldview, Animated by a Faith-Infused Curriculum, Sustained by Gospel Witness, and Shaped by a Spirituality of Communion.
MARK ONE - GROUNDED IN A CHRISTIAN ANTHROPOLOGY
An excellent Catholic school is driven by a mission which views all people with an inherent dignity as children of God.
MARK TWO - IMBUED WITH A CATHOLIC WORLDVIEW
An excellent Catholic school has a visible and tangible Catholic vision evident in its physical space, liturgical celebrations, and prayer life.
MARK THREE - ANIMATED BY A FAITH-INFUSED CURRICULUM
An excellent Catholic school has an academic curriculum that integrates a vision of faith within the learner outcomes and teaching strategies.
MARK FOUR - SUSTAINED BY GOSPEL WITNESS
An excellent Catholic school hires and nurtures teachers that are living witnesses to the Gospel, and intentional disciples of Jesus Christ and his Church.
MARK FIVE - SHAPED BY A SPIRITUALITY OF COMMUNION
An excellent Catholic school recognizes that each and every member is responsible for the common good.