DIOCESAN ELEMENTARY schools will be rolling out a new program in the 2026-27 school year that focuses on teaching virtues across the curriculum.
Nearly 600 TK- through eighth-grade schoolteachers and principals packed the Arboretum at the Christ Cathedral campus in the fall for a sneak peek at this new curriculum during Elementary School Formation Day: Education in Virtue. The event was a full day of professional development to prepare teachers on how to implement a new curriculum, Education in Virtue, by Openlight Media. Openlight Media is an education company founded by the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.
SR. JOHN DOMINIC SPEAKS TO A LARGE CROWD DURING THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FORMATION DAY PROGRAM TITLED EDUCATION IN VIRTUE AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL’S ARBORETUM. PHOTOS BY SCOTT SMELTZER/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
“Today is a day to bring us all onboard to learn the beauty of our virtues, to be reminded of this beautiful gift we’ve been given in our Catholic tradition and how we can bring that to our school communities in a very real way,” said Dr. Erin Barisano, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Orange.
The training built on the previous learning from the annual Educators Convocation in September, which featured keynote speaker Brett Salkeld, Ph.D., on real-world ways to integrate Catholic teachings in every subject matter, including math and science. They also learned why it is important that it is taught everywhere, not just in religion class.
SR. JOSEPHINE DINH, LEFT, SR. THERESE FALCON, SR. GEMMA HUGOBOOM AND MARGIE KELLY ATTEND THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FORMATION DAY PROGRAM TITLED EDUCATION IN VIRTUE AT THE CHRIST CATHEDRAL ARBORETUM ON NOV. 3, 2025.
“This is really, then, the next step for elementary schools, about infusing our schools with that Catholic identity, with that Catholic sense,” Dr. Barisano told the crowd. “That is aligned with that first goal of our strategic plan: increasing the Catholic identity of our schools so that we can create disciples of Christ, just as our vision statement tells us. And really, we are in the business of creating saints, and there’s no better way to do that than to make sure our virtues are being taught and lived at our school, day in and day out.”
Education in Virtue will allow teachers to embed virtues across the curriculum, said Dr. Denise Valadez, associate superintendent of curriculum, spirituality and accreditation. The program will replace other virtue-based curriculum that schools might have been using; this will create a commonality across the diocesean schools, she noted. “We’ve been talking about it for a couple of years, and really we want to make sure that these virtues are part of our schools’ culture and become part of the language that we are using in the schools across the board,” Dr. Valadez said.
The professional development was hosted by Sr. John Dominic Rasmussen, O.P., a founder of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education, a master’s degree in theology and has more than 40 years of experience in education as a teacher and administrator.
Sr. John focused on the theological virtues of faith, hope and love, and the cardinal virtues of justice, temperance, fortitude and prudence. There was also a focus on how they can be modeled and taught in a classroom of young learners. The virtues are what it looks like, and sounds like to be a disciple of Christ, said Sr. John. The virtues are a means and a way to become like God, she added.
“If we are living these, then we know,” said Sr. John. “It’s kind of like a test, a way of knowing I am living as a disciple.”
Four schools — Christ Cathedral Academy in Garden Grove, St. Irenaeus in Cypress, St. John the Baptist in Costa Mesa and St. Hedwig in Los Alamitos — have been piloting the Education in Virtue curriculum this year and given positive feedback, said Dr. Valadez.
St. John the Baptist has been implementing the program by teaching one virtue a week, having students read daily virtue announcements, using the videos and materials, and reinforcing virtuous behavior with tickets so they can enter into a drawing, said St. John’s vice principal, Chris Reilly.
“Not everything just comes automatically to the kids,” Reilly said. “I feel like as teachers we always expect them to just know, but they don’t just know. You need to teach them what the virtues look like, what they sound like, good examples of them, and we need to notice it in them and reward them for it until it becomes a habit.”
The campus started teaching a virtue-based program four years ago and has seen a positive culture shift since then, added St. John the Baptist Principal Paula Viles. Although it was a good program, the school was ready for more, and the Education in Virtue program is very extensive, Viles explained.
Although the program won’t officially launch until the next school year, the diocese has purchased a starter kit for all schools, said Dr. Valadez.
“We’re hoping that it will gain traction so that other schools will want to jump into the pilot phase this year,” she said.