The Institute for the Transformation of Catholic Education was well-represented April 11-13 at the National Catholic Educational Association’s (NCEA) 2023 Convention in Irving, Texas! ITCE is proud to have given two presentations on relevant topics; one was about a recently released document from the Vatican on Catholic education and another was on how to teach students about Christ’s True Presence in the Eucharist through sacred art. Dr. Daryl Hagan, Interim Director of ITCE and Director of Accreditation, says, “Held in partnership with the Diocese of Dallas, the convention is the largest private-education association gathering in the nation and it was a real blessing to be with our Catholic education colleagues from around the country.”

Dr. Hagan joined Dr. Andrew Kremer, Associate Director of Accreditation, to give an interactive presentation titled “The Holy See’s Recent Document on Church Education: What is it? How does it apply to my school?” on “The identity of the Catholic school for a culture of dialogue,” which was published in Spring 2022 by the Congregation for Catholic Education. The document is meant to guide Catholic school leadership as they consider the value and meaning of Catholic education in the midst of today’s culture, with a particular focus on true, effective dialogue. Dr. Hagan and Dr. Kremer’s presentation asked participants to apply quotes from the document to their own experience of Catholic schools – both areas of success and areas for growth. Dr. Kremer remarks, “It was a pleasure to present at the NCEA Convention on the recent document from the Congregation for Catholic Education. We were blessed with a wonderful group of Catholic educators that collaborated and shared aspects of the document as it relates to their Catholic school experience.” 

ITCE Program Manager, Sagra Alvarado-Hardy, co-led a virtual presentation with the Founder and Executive Director of Behold Visio Divina, Katie Weiss, entitled, “Contemplating the Eucharist with Sacred Art in the Classroom.” Sagra shares, “ITCE had the privilege to collaborate with Behold Visio Divina in the Summer 2022 to create a visio divina prayer companion for the Insight video series. It was a pleasure to work with Katie again on a new visio divina project that supports the USCCB’s National Eucharistic Revival.” During this presentation, Sagra and Katie shared best practices on how “visio divina”, prayer with sacred art, can be used as a teaching technique to help students grasp the mystery of Christ’s True Presence in the Eucharist through the Church’s art tradition. Their topic directly ties into the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)’s campaign for the National Eucharistic Revival. Katie reflects, “Visio Divina is a powerful way to support the National Eucharistic Revival because it can be a vehicle by which our students learn about and encounter Jesus in the Eucharist more deeply through teaching, prayer, and discussion.”

Both of these presentations were well-attended and well-received! ITCE thanks NCEA President Lincoln Snyder and the NCEA team for providing the opportunity to come together for prayer, professional development and networking opportunities.