Learn, Teach, Love

Face the brutal facts!

Beth Blaufuss contributed to this week's Partnership blog.  I first heard of Admiral Stockdale's Paradox when I read Good the Great by Jim Collins.  He developed the theory during his 7 years as a prisoner of war in Viet Nam.  While firmly believing in his ultimate release, unlike many of his fellow prisoners, he knew they were not getting out by Christmas!

Cautionary Tales

One of my favorite podcasts is by Tim Harford entitled Cautionary Tales. Before he begins his second season this year he is doing a series of cautionary tales to help make sense of the world pandemic.  The episode, A Tsunami of Misery examines the reality of taking action

against an urgent danger can also cause longer term ills.  Many choices facing us are not black or white, but rather "double binds" which are situations in which a person is confronted with a choice between two undesirable courses of action.  Whether to have classes in person or online (or hybrid) might be seen as a double bind.  Exposing staff and children to the possibilty of infection and even death v. online remote learning.  Is it really a choice between death and life?  After I heard A Tsunami of Misery I gained a new perspective.  Our mission remains to learn, teach and love.  How we go about accomplishing that mission is going to take incredible faith, agile planning, and willingness to try anything that works!

History made and in the making!

As I get more immersed in our new venture, I have discovered so much history

of  Cleveland that I knew little about.  This link explains the long history of the southeast side of Cleveland's Catholic community and a brief bio of Bishop Lyke (he became Archbishop when he was assigned to Atlanta).

Meanwhile the staffs of both schools met briefly in downtown Cleveland on July 22 to celebrate our history making collaboration.  July 22, 2020 was the 224th birthday of the City of Cleveland and now the birth announcement day of Partnership Schools Cleveland!

Please subscribe to this blog and invite your friends!!!

To learn more or talk more about Partnership Schools Cleveland please contact me at richard.clark@partnershipcle.org.  We are planning digital events, digital and real tours!

Parable

Christian Dallavis hits a home run!

     Christian is the assistant superindendent of Partnership Schools and is directly working with our two schools in Cleveland:  St. Thomas Aquinas and Archbishop Lyke.  Anyone involved in education is asked daily about what are we going to do about going back to school.  Christian first emphasizes the mission that we share.  Whatever we do, and a month from now is in some ways an eternity, must be driven by our mission. Here is the link to his response, gaining national attention:  click here.

Time to renew our buildings!

This Wednesday, Partnership Cleveland in conjunction with Dominic Ozanne and Ozanne Construction

is beginning what I call the "Spruce up!" campaign.  First activity will be a fresh coat of paint for the interior of both schools.  1535 gallons of Sherwin-Williams paint is going to cover the schools (pardon the play on Sherwin-Williams tagline, Cover the Earth). I am gathering up a plethora of "before" pictures!  If anyone wants to take a quick tour of either building, I will be your socially distant, masked guide.  Just give me a shout on email!

Pardon me, at heart I am a theologian!

Today's Gospel contains a well known parable about mustard seeds and grains of yeast.  I met Dominic Crossan when I was in graduate school at Loyola University Chicago.  He was the guest of one my best professors of all time, Bob Ludwig . He introduced me to another way of looking at Jesus' parables.  They are portrayed in the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, and Luke (sorry, no parables in John) as riddles, moral stories or allegories.  Crossan's contention was that the work of a parable as told by Jesus was that "parables challenged their hearers to step back and reflect on the world and on God in new, counter-intuitive ways. They invite their hearers to ponder “whatever is taken totally for granted in our world."

Walter Brueggeman also presented this idea in his idea of God's abundance.  If you are looking for a reflective book for Advent I suggest Celebrating Abundance.   Whenever God initiates change in the scripture it is through the least likely suspects:  David, the youngest of seven, is named king by-passing his six brothers; Moses, the exiled Egyptian master with a speech impediment; Jeremiah-too young; and his biggest surpise, a baby from the hinterlands!  In many of these parables there is a theme of something small, often insignificant, planted or mixed in and then the magic happens!  

Another theme is someone is faced with the "impossible."  Storms swamp the boat.  An exiled traitor is told to go to the most powerful man on earth and say, "Let my people go!"  A woman is told that her daughter is dead, so don't bother Jesus anymore (his classic response is "Diregard the message.  Just have faith!").  Walk on water!  Fish again after coming up empty all night, and go out into the deep this time!  Go fight the 9 foot giant with a sling shot!  Bringing a paralysed man to get cured by Jesus, only to find a house so full they can't get in (ok, climb the roof, take off the thatch and lower him in!)  Andy, my thought partner, introduced me to the idea of wicked problems (no he's not from Boston), which is a theory of problems in planning and policies. One characteristic of wicked problems is that "The problem is not understood until after the formulation of a solution."  Let that sink in!

Saint Ignatius wrote that the greatest temptation is to think that a problem is so big that there is nothing I can do.  I am throwing my lot in with the Partnership Schools model.  Nine schools in the entire world are following this model.  Sounds like a mustard seed!

Mission Impossible? Not with God!

Whoever has ears ought to hear.  Mt. 13

Today's Gospel is an echo of Isaiah.  The prophet compares rain and snow coming down to do its job:  watering the earth, making it fruitful, giving seeds to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats to God's word which will do its will, achieving the end for which he sent it.

All the illusions in scripture about storms, terrible winds, earthquakes, fire and brimstone are accompanied first by fear and then by God's calming presence with his constant message:  Be Not Afraid!  Well we certainly are in a storm the likes none of us have ever seen before.  Fear is rampant.  Hope is scarce. Giving up is a strong temptation.  Today's Gospel, the Parable of the Sower, is really an allegory.  I do not pretend to know where that rich soil is for the word of God to land, but I believe it exists!

Response to a VUCA World!

Our mission to educate children is unchanged.  The why and what will not change, but it is the how that is unclear right now.  This week's change in the AAP's advice simply shows how fluid all of this is.  Who's to really say where we will be 8 weeks from now?  It is indeed a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguious) World.  Partnership's hallmarks are:  Guided by faith and values; Grounded in rigorous content, Supported by quality professional development, and Animated by a clear vision.

Educators are surely essential workers, yet how will we protect them?  Students are gifts of God's love, how will we care for them?  Whatever those answers are I know that we will need to be nimble and quick in our responses. We will need to turn on a dime and yet keep acheiving the end for which we were sent!

Partnership Schools included in national dialogue

Students at St. Charles Borromeo, a Partnership School in Harlem

As Cleveland begins to launch the first replication of Partnership Schools (originally only in New York City), the benefits of being a member of an established network were seen this past week.  The Cristo Rey Network in its national internal weekly memo mentioned Partnership Schools and its expansion to Cleveland.  The National Catholic Register praised Partnership Schools as an example of a priviate school management organization: 

 Private School Pioneers,” a 2015 report (Andy) Smarick co-wrote for the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, called Private School Management Organizations “among the most interesting and exciting innovations related to the supply of private-school seats — and potentially one of the most important recent developments in urban K-12 education.

We were also featured in a recent Philanthropy Roundtable e-magazine.  The lead paragraph says much:

While more than 50 Catholic schools have been forced to close their doors in the last few months, in part because of the coronavirus, two in Cleveland are poised to prosper under new management. Partnership Schools, a network of seven inner-city NYC schools that are connected to the local Catholic diocese but privately run, is expanding to the Midwest. 

 The recent news this week from New York City Archdiocese is indeed a chilling reminder of the crisis we are in.

We benefit greatly from the thought leadership and several years of practical experience in the arena.  Of course, the involvement of two schools from Cleveland adds to this experience and brings a new perspective to the whole organization.  Right now, we are the much younger sibling and benefit from the wisdom of our elders!  The old adage of "Out of the mouths of babes..." might come into play from time to time.

How we doin'?

To quote the former mayor of New York, Ed Koch, I am happy to say the two newest schools in the Partnership network are really working hard to get ready for this coming school year.  Archbishop Lyke and St. Thomas Aquinas.  Enrollment in the two schools has risen 6% over last year.  The Cleveland Scholarship Program is opening a second window this coming week.  I visited both schools this week and was so happy to see what I saw! 

At Archbishop Lyke I walked in while Jackie was reenrolling a family.  We chatted after and she led me through the history of the school.  An excellent summary is available on the website, just click here.  When I arrived at St. Thomas Aquinas, Rachael Stenger was on a Zoom call with 9 other teachers participating in professional development on the new language arts curriculum (CKLA).  Rachael could not speak highly enough of the currriculum and the accompanying professional develop.  

Meanwhile through the leadership of Dominic Ozanne of Ozanne Contruction, our vigorous "sprucing up campaign" is beginning to take shape.  We have plans for painting, updating doors, offices, entrance ways, bathrooms, boilers, and on and on!  Walkthroughs and bids are happening!  This just might rival a HGTV special!

What can you do?

We need to spread the word!  I am reaching out to you to introduce me to people you think would be exicited about this kind of news!l  Last week I had two meeting in the Rocky River Reservation, outside and we each brought our own coffee! 

Smoky the WWII dog hero

If we meet at Stinchcomb Memorial you can visit the statue honoring Smoky, World War II's smallest hero who: ...crawled through a tiny 70-foot-long culvert on a captured Japanese island, hauling a communication cable, sparing GIs from having to drag it above ground and be exposed to enemy sniper fire."  We met early in the morning to beat the heat and outside, socially distant, seems to be the ticket!  Of course email, calling, Zooming or however you would like to meet would be great.  I can answer your questions and you can talk about your contacts and how you might introduce me!  Email is richard.clark@partnershipcle.org.

Abbreviated vacation edition!

Partnership Schools Cleveland gains national attention

The Philanthropy Roundtable's e-Magazine featured Partnership Schools Cleveland in latest edition, click here for story.

Spiritual Reflections to combat racism in Catholic schools

                    

Vincent Hale teaches music at Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem. He is pursuing a graduate degree in educational leadership in the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program at the University of Notre Dame and is an impact leader for Profound Gentlemen, an organization supporting male educators of color in creating a cradle to career pipeline for boys of color.  Click here for his thoughts.

Please share our story...I need your help!

For the past two years we have been working to make this happen.  I have met many new friends who have been excited by our mission.  Please forward this Blog or any of the information you have about Partnership Schools Cleveland to people you know who might be interested.  I would like you to consider connecting me with your network of friends and associates, particularly with people you think might want to hear the story, so that I can digitally or otherwise meet with them.  My contact info is mobile, 216-409-7018, or email at richard.clark@partnershipcle.org.  We are also planning some sort of digital Q & A in the upcoming weeks.  Stay tuned!