CURRENT AND ASPIRING school administrators recently came together to reflect, reinvigorate the ideals of Catholic education and consider whether leadership is their next career step.
FROM LEFT, RAE ANNA ASHTON, JACQUELINE QUIÑONES SIENKOWSKI, DR. ERIN BARISANO, SUPERINTENDENT OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, BRAD SNYDER, ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT
OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, AND RUSSELL SMITH, DIOCESAN DIRECTOR OF ELEMENTARY ATHLETICS FOR THE PAROCHIAL ATHLETIC LEAGUE, RAISE THEIR CUPS AT THE ANAHEIM
MARRIOTT ON MARCH 23. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
The Diocese of Orange Catholic Schools department hosted its second annual Leadership Summit on March 22 and 23 at Christ Cathedral’s Richard H. Pickup Cultural Center and the Marriott Anaheim Suites in Garden Grove. Attendees also toured the Shroud of Turin museum in the Cultural Center.
The summit was co-hosted by the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship in Education, a national developmental organization for Catholic leaders. It brought together educators from Orange County and some from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Diocese of San Diego and the Diocese of San Bernardino.
“Today is about deepening our commitment to our call to Catholic school leadership,” said Dr. Erin Barisano, superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Orange. “As school leaders and as aspiring leaders, you’re often the ones providing stability for others, but today we invite you to let Christ be the anchor for you.”
The summit opened with a keynote address from Rob Birdsell, founder and director of the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship in Education. The second day’s keynote speaker was Dr. Marco J. Clark, a nationally recognized expert on Catholic education and leadership formation.
Clark, who serves as president of Holy Cross College in Indiana, shared his career path from being a successful
high school football coach to realizing his real passion was building culture, which he went on to do at the K-12 and collegiate level.
“I share these things not to say, ‘Yay me, yay Marco,’ but what we do is truly soul-sized,” Clark said, “and as long
as we don’t treat it transactionally, we recognize it was transformational. We invest in relationships, we lead with our hearts, we lead with love and we lead with hope. And if you love the kids, then everything else takes care of itself.”
Clark noted how studies on successful Catholic education leaders show that they are mission-centered, have a spirit of collaboration, possess a zeal and love for the students, and demonstrate a mentoring mindset. Clark said there is an expected 75 percent turnover in leadership over the next decade at the principal and president levels. He then asked attendees how they will help prepare the next generation.
Blessed Sacrament teacher Phuong Pham is one of the next generation considering making the move toward
a full-time leadership position. She currently teaches fourth grade and serves as a part-time assistant principal
for her Westminster school. Pham said she likes her current balance of teaching while also supporting her principal and fellow teachers but is seeking clarity if leadership is the right fit.
“I’ve been teaching for a while, so I feel like there is more for me,” Pham said. “This is my second year being the
assistant principal, so this is the year that I’m figuring out if I want to take it further and aspire to be a leader and
take the next steps so I can officially step into the role more than part time.”
For JSerra Catholic High School Principal Eric Stroupe, the two days were about recharging, getting fresh
ideas and actually spending time contemplating leadership. The contemplation part can be difficult to fit in between day-to-day tasks, he noted.
“I’m really pleased that the diocese is cognizant of leadership as something you have to cultivate,” Stroupe said.
“It doesn’t just happen. You have to actually cultivate leadership. Having conferences like this, where you can
really think about it, is important for that process.”
One of the talks of the day, “Collaborative Leadership,” was given by Leticia Oseguera, superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of San Diego. Oseguera pointed out the differences between management and leadership. Although she said management, such as ensuring health and safety and controlling
costs, is vital to a functioning school, leadership focuses on people: celebrating success, mentorship and developing others.
“It’s not about me being the boss and telling you what to do and you seeing my ego to feel powerful, but it’s about recognizing that we are one and that unity is important,” Oseguera said. “I am going to see you as a person and we’re going to work together. That doesn’t mean that I don’t hold people accountable, because I do. But it means that even that conversation happens with dignity and respect.”