The Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester will sponsor its annual two-day Summer Institute on Catholic Education on July 9 and 10 with this year's sessions geared toward some of the most pressing diversity challenges facing Catholic schools.
Now in its 18th year, the Summer Institute on Catholic Education is designed for teachers, school administrators, youth ministers, church members, parents, and others who are interested in Catholic education. This year's programming includes informative and interactive lectures and discussions around the theme of "Catholic Education: Many Spokes, One Wheel." More than 2,500 have attended the institute since its inception.
The first of the two keynote speakers, Sister Marie Michele Donnelly, RSM, co-director, Mercy Spiritual Ministries in Bryn Mawr, Pa., will discuss how schools can master, affirm, and enrich the lives of students in a diverse classroom while maintaining the Catholic school mission. Sister Donnelly, who will speak on Monday, July 9, has served as an administrator of the retreat/spiritual center and as a middle school, high school, and college teacher.
Arturo Chávez, Ph.D., who has worked for more than 20 years in a variety of ministries, is currently the director of programs at the Mexican American Cultural Center in San Antonio, Texas. He will open the institute's Tuesday, July 10, event with an address on how to build unity in culturally diverse schools and communities. Drawing on his experience as a teacher and a youth minister, he will share how Catholic schools can become welcoming places and empowering for everyone engaged in the learning process.
Rochester-area educators and experts will lead small group discussions on a range of topics from planning and leading multi-cultural and multi-religious prayers and rituals in the school setting to appreciating the cultural diversity of parents and students in our schools.
All sessions will be held at the Holiday Inn Airport on Brooks Avenue in Rochester. The registration deadline is June 20. Registration is $225 per person and includes materials, refreshments, and luncheons. Group rates and housing are available. To register or for more information about the Summer Institute, visit www.rochester.edu/warner/summerinstitute, call (585) 275-7833, or send an e-mail to ekirst@warner.rochester.edu.
About the Warner School of Education
Founded in 1958, the University of Rochester's Warner School of Education offers master's and doctoral degree programs in teaching and curriculum, school leadership, higher education, counseling, human development, and educational policy. The Warner School of Education offers a new accelerated option for its Ed.D. programs that allows eligible students to earn a doctorate in education in as few as three years part time while holding a professional job in the same field. The Warner School of Education is recognized both regionally and nationally for its tradition of preparing practitioners and researchers to become leaders and agents of change in schools, universities, and community agencies; generating and disseminating research; and actively participating in education reform.