Enhancing Our Catholic-Jesuit Ethos

(This article was first published in the Belen Jesuit Alumni Magazine - Winter edition.)

In the summer of 2022, Fr. Guillermo (Willie) García-Tuñón, S.J., ‘87, debuted a new Strategic Plan for Belen Jesuit. Serving as the blueprint for the school, the plan restates the vision and defines the means most conducive to achieving it. Reinforcing the importance of the first pillar from the 2017 Strategic Plan, the theme remained the same - Enhancing Our Catholic-Jesuit Ethos. 

 

With that in mind, the school administration was tasked with finding innovative ways to elicit our Catholic identity, Ignatian heritage, and values into all educational disciplines. Director of Faculty Development Dr. Matthew Jordan ‘08 is tasked with leading the charge.

 

“Fr. Willie was clear about making sure the Catholic identity was present in all lessons,” said Dr. Jordan. “The initial concern was to ensure the curriculum was not diluted. So, instead of inserting it into every lesson, we should elicit it. The goal is to help teachers see how to elicit when the fruits of that lesson allow for rich content.”  

 

Dr. Jordan brought in Theology and Philosophy Teacher Dr. Lawrence Goodall to help undertake the task. Together, they have attended conferences, seminars, researched, and reflected to understand what Catholic identity in the curriculum means and how faith can permeate every aspect of the campus. 

“We are working with every subject and each teacher to see where the vocabulary of Ignatian pedagogy and spirituality are present,” said Dr. Jordan.

 

Many teachers have already started to find ways to draw out our Catholic faith by tasking students to see beyond the lesson and to look at things differently. For example, in civics, we can develop what it means to be a legislator and how the legislative branch works, but how do you vote as a Catholic legislator? What do you do when the vote may compromise your faith and how do you, as a Catholic, respond to that? Looking at Supreme Court cases, we can examine how the court values or devalues human dignity rather than studying the precedent it sets. That’s an example of not diluting the curriculum because you’re still teaching them the importance of the cases but also making the correlation to our faith.   

 

This is an ongoing process and support is being offered every step of the way. From providing faith formation to professional development to meeting with the Office of Mission and Formation to work on lessons, the faculty is looking at their lessons with a new perspective.  

 

“We aren’t trying to meet a deadline,” said Dr. Jordan. “We would fail when we stop reflecting. The only way we will see if we are doing this correctly is to take the time to reflect on what we are doing and continue to grow and improve. This, of course, is a very Ignatian approach.”

 

In addition to those efforts, Belen is participating in a national Eucharistic revival. “At the center of our lives as members of the Catholic Church is the Eucharist,” said Fr. Willie. The greatest gift Jesus left his Church is his body and blood. On that sacred night that marks the beginning of his passion, he gathered with his disciples for the Last Supper.” 

 

Efforts to promote this initiative are ongoing and include the entire Belen community. From monthly adoration of the Blessed Sacrament to a Eucharistic procession to begin Advent. “We are looking for opportunities to promote our community’s commitment and devotion to the Eucharist,” said Fr. Willie. 

 

In the summer, Brother Hunter D’Armond, S.J. and Fr. Willie plan to lead students to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Indiana. This extraordinary event will bring together thousands of youth from around the country to share their faith experience and focus their attention on Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The trip will be held from July 16 to July 22, 2024, and is open to current 9th, 10th, and 11th grade Belen students.

 

Committed to fulfilling the objectives in the Strategic Plan, the school administration is beginning the process of reviewing the curriculum across all subjects. The first subject to undergo a deep dive is theology. Principal José E. Roca ‘84 established a committee to begin the arduous process. 

 

“We are devoted to realizing the goals outlined in the Strategic Plan,” said Mr. Roca. “Belen Jesuit has always been committed to academic excellence and forming young men with a strong Catholic faith. We now embark on a comprehensive curriculum review infusing the essence of Catholic Identity in all subjects and seeking to ensure its pervasive presence in all that we do.”

 

The committee’s work began at the end of the last academic year, with Theology Department Chairperson Kathleen Mackle and Dr. Goodall taking the lead. 

 

“Our mandate is to design a curriculum for grades 6-12 with a directive to find ways we can present our faith in a way that will prepare our students to understand better and embrace the faith, defend the faith and continue to grow in their faith after they graduate from Belen,” said Dr. Goodall.

 

The existing curriculum for the high school was revised over a decade ago and each grade was implemented one year at a time. This time around, the approach is different. The goal is to renew the entire theology curriculum through all seven grades.

 

“We are taking special care to always keep Jesus Christ at the center of everything the students will study,” said Ms. Mackle. “It is important to us that the students grow in their intellect and experience growth in their relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not enough that they experience what they are learning with only their “head,” but they must experience what they are learning in their “hearts” as well.”

 

“We need to examine every aspect of the school and how it serves evangelization,” said Dr. Goodall. “Then we need to explore the intellectual formation of the faith and see how it’s nourishing our students so they can have the best foundation for their adult practice of the faith.” 

 

Surveys have been sent to multiple groups within the school community to assess the status of the current curriculum and hone in on what needs to be addressed. The results are being analyzed, and the research involved has taken months of coordination, diligence and determination. The theology committee meets weekly and has made great progress, including creating a department mission statement and designing the new course content assigned to each grade level. 

 

“We are blessed to be working with a consultant who went through this curriculum redesign at her previous school,” said Ms. Mackle. “She has served as a guide throughout our process.  With this guidance, we are creating something different from other schools, unique to Belen Jesuit. The redesigned curriculum will contain the topics from the previous curriculum, with an added emphasis on primary sources, important papal documents and influential books that will enhance each unit.”

 

“We are designing the curriculum based on what the students need,” said Dr. Goodall. “We want to ensure the included content is meaningful, digestible and achievable. As an example, there won’t be a Scripture course. Instead, we will keep Scripture at the heart of the 7-year curriculum, spread the Bible throughout the seven years of theology, and tie it to the lessons per grade. The goal will be that the graduate at graduation will have, in essence, read the whole Bible and understand it deeply and meaningfully.” 

 

The courses for grades 12, 9 and 7 are being completely redesigned, while the courses for the other grades are being tweaked. 

 

As the committee continues to move forward, they have completed the new curriculum for the 12th and 9th grades and continue to advance on the rest of the high school curriculum. Once ready to move into the next phase, the committee will oversee the professional development of the faculty so they are confident with the new material and are ready to deploy it to students.