Oklahoma City partnerships enhance Catholic school communities

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the National Catholic Educational Association’s summer 2018 Momentum magazine.
 
In a question and answer format, Momentum magazine spoke to Oklahoma education leaders:
 

• Diane Floyd, superintendent of schools, Archdiocese of Oklahoma City;
• James Machell, dean, College of Education and Professional Studies, University of Central Oklahoma;
• Patricia Filer, executive director, Good Shepherd Catholic School at Mercy;
• Mary Sweet-Darter, school psychology professor emeritus, UCO, Good Shepherd board member and current director of the Anselm Center for Evaluation and Consultation in Edmond; and
• Renee Porter, president of Cristo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School.

 
As Catholic schools look to grow as innovators in education, more school and community partnerships are emerging. These partnerships help create learning environments where youth can learn, families can be strengthened, and communities can thrive.
 
The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City has embraced this culture of collaboration through two outstanding partnerships: Good Shepherd Catholic School at Mercy and Cristo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School.
 
Good Shepherd Catholic School at Mercy
 
Good Shepherd is a collaboration between the University of Central Oklahoma, Mercy Health and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
 
The Good Shepherd Catholic School at Mercy was established in 2011 and is located on the Mercy Health Center campus. Their mission is to provide a therapeutic environment for children diagnosed with autism and other developmental delays to reach their full potential. Their goal is to provide specific learning and therapeutic opportunities for children to become successful in all environments. The therapy programs are implemented by highly trained staff through an individualized curriculum.
 
NCEA: How did the collaboration with Good Shepherd Catholic School come to fruition?
 
Mary Sweet-Darter: Most partnerships begin with high-level negotiations and sophisticated bargaining. This one started with a car ride around the Mercy Health Center Campus in Oklahoma City. In 2011, Di Smalley, executive director of Mercy Health Systems (Mercy) and Kyle Sweet, of Sweet Law Firm in Oklahoma City, a Mercy board member, were touring the Mercy campus and discussing future plans for expansion. On one corner of the large Mercy campus sat an empty one-story childcare center.
 
To make way for another of Mercy’s many specialty service expansions, the small building was being considered for demolition. As Smalley pointed to the building, Sweet turned to her and asked her not to tear down the small building without first talking to his mother, a professor of school psychology at the University of Central Oklahoma. Smalley graciously agreed, and within a few days the hope to turn the empty building into a school for children on the autism spectrum emerged.
 
However, it would require a collaborative partnership between Mercy Health Systems, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the University of Central Oklahoma, plus start-up funding.
 
Jim Machell: The archdiocese had a need to provide additional education services to students with exceptional learning needs. Mercy had a need to provide additional ministry and service to the community and had a facility, previously used as a private childcare center, that had become available. UCO’s College of Education and Professional Studies had begun a program to prepare behavior analysts to serve the needs of children with exceptionalities, particularly those with neurological disorders, including autism spectrum disorders. But, they needed a high quality clinical site.
 
Mary: With a clear proposal communicated to the former superintendent of schools, Sister Kay Powers, and the then-new archbishop, Archbishop Coakley, the collaborative group formed. The Inasmuch Foundation was approached for a start-up loan and they graciously agreed. The process took some active listening, watching a brief video of applied behavior analysis in action, asking some logistical questions and agreeing the project should move forward – and move forward it did.
 
NCEA: What roles does the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City cover in this partnership?
 
Patricia Filer: Over the past several years, the archdiocese had become increasingly aware that children with autism were an underserved population. Parents were trying desperately to find help for their children; we could see that the children’s needs were not being met. We were heartbroken that none of our schools were equipped to help these families.
 
So, when we recognized an opportunity to open a school specifically designed to meet those needs, we were eager to participate.
 
Diane Floyd: The responsibility of the archdiocese is to monitor the Catholic identity and mission of the school. The archdiocese also provides access to employee benefits. Through the Catholic Schools’ Office we invite the participation of school administration in our principals’ meetings and facilitate a relationship between our Catholic schools.
 
Initial accreditation of Good Shepherd was completed via the Oklahoma Conference of Catholic Schools Accrediting Association. We later helped facilitate the transition to AdvancEd to maintain this status.
 
As an accredited school, Good Shepherd has access to the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship that provides access to state scholarship funds for students with exceptionalities to attend private schools. The beginning of the 2017-2018 school year saw the expansion of Good Shepherd into three satellite classrooms on campuses of three of our Catholic elementary schools.
 
Patricia: It is the first school in the nation operated through a partnership between an archdiocese, a hospital and a university. When we have succeeded in establishing a sustainable prototype, we will be able to work toward replication elsewhere in the state.
 
Our school:

• utilizes a model that blends educational and therapeutic interventions;
• tracks and reports student progress: educational, behavioral and social, with this mode;
• provides a place where parents, teachers and others can receive training in services designed to serve students on the autism spectrum; and
• collaborates with a wide range of therapeutic providers to develop a model for collaboration that can be replicated in other schools in Oklahoma and other states.

 
NCEA: Good Shepherd believes that all children can learn and experience success despite obstacles. What are some things that your organization has learned from the students in the program? What obstacles have you met and how did you overcome them?
 
Diane: Much like the students at Good Shepherd, we as an organization have faced some adversity. Finding the right governance structure for the school has been challenging at times, even to the point where we wondered if the school could remain open. The early years provided lessons that a traditional school structure with a principal did not meet the needs of the school in the best way.
 
Jim: The overall growth and success of the school has been remarkable. In the early years the financial viability of the school was quite uncertain, despite the hard work and commitment of many individuals and great support from top leadership of all three organizational partners.
 
Identifying and placing the right people in the right roles and developing a viable organizational structure and pattern were early challenges. In recent times, the operation of the school has been much smoother, with strong leadership and increased financial support, including great support from private foundations and individuals.
 
The lesson I have learned relates to one of the graduation celebrations at the school several years ago. To hear the stories of parents about how the school had enabled their children, who had been unable to function successfully in a typical school setting, to now be able to do so, was testimony to the goodness of the school. Long ago, school leaders realized this work is in our hands but is only possible through the grace of God.
 
NCEA: Good Shepherd recently has expanded their programs to satellite classrooms on the campus of other Catholic elementary schools. What are the benefits to the Good Shepherd students who are participating in the Catholic satellite schools and the benefits to students of the satellite school interacting with each other?
 
Diane: Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, Good Shepherd opened classrooms on three sites of traditional Catholic elementary schools. This allowed Good Shepherd to serve more students as it opened more seats at the Mercy campus.
 
It also allowed the Catholic elementary schools to have an additional resource on campus in the form of the behavior analysts and interventionists. One of the things that make the Good Shepherd classroom unique is the ability to combine a realistic learning environment with the power of instruction based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis. The structure of the school and the use of cutting-edge ABA methods teach students to be successful in realistic group settings and enable them to reach true competency, with the goal of returning to a traditional school site.
 
Patricia: Inclusion is extremely important to children with special needs; this is the natural environment setting. For Good Shepherd parents and students, there are many benefits, including inclusion with typical peers in modern therapies. Inclusion of typical peers has shown improved participation, academic engagement and formation of relationships. For some classes, more than one location for a particular “grade” allows for a child to be closer to work or home while experiencing a typical school setting.
 
Cristo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School
Cristo Rey is a collaboration between the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, The Cristo Rey Network and local community business and organizations.
 
Cristo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School is a Catholic learning community that educates young people of limited economic means to become men and women of faith, purpose and service. Through a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, integrated with a relevant work-study experience, students graduate ready to succeed in college and in life. The school opened to the first class of ninth-graders in the fall. Each year thereafter, they plan to add another freshman class of 125 students. By 2021, the school will serve grades nine through 12.
 
NCEA: The Cristo Rey Network is the only network of high schools in the country that integrates four years of rigorous college preparatory academics with four years of professional work experience through the Corporate Work Study Program. How did such a program come to be in Oklahoma City?
 
Diane: The collaboration began with a simple conversation with our previous Superintendent of Schools Cris Carter. Her initial meeting with Damon Gardenhire, the local representative for the Walton Family Fund, began the conversation about the Cristo Rey school model and the possibility of what that might look like in Oklahoma City.
 
Renee: In fall of 2015, a Cristo Rey steering committee made up of people in and around Oklahoma City launched a feasibility study to measure interest and support for a new Cristo Rey school. We wanted to determine: first, are there students and families interested in this kind of educational experience? Second, are businesses willing to participate in the Corporate Work Study Program that makes the school financially viable? Finally, is there a facility for the school?
 
The support was overwhelming. Families were excited about the opportunities to access affordable private, Catholic college preparatory education. Kids were thrilled by the idea of going to a school offering the ability to acquire work-experience and real-world skills.
We were encouraged by the buy-in of local companies that recognized the transformative opportunity Cristo Rey presents. We already have more than 30 companies signed up to participate in the Corporate Work Study Program.
 
We couldn’t have done any of this without a tremendous amount of support. That includes, first and foremost, support from Archbishop Coakley and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. It also includes unwavering support from the business and nonprofit community, including community leaders like Judy Love and Gene Rainbolt.
 
NCEA: What roles does your organization cover in this partnership?
 
Renee: In most cases, schools in the Cristo Rey Network are sponsored by a religious order. There were no viable religious orders that could provide the true sponsorship of the school, especially with the financial commitment.
 
As a result, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City would become an endorser for the high school. The responsibility of the archdiocese would be to monitor the Catholic identity and mission of the school as well as to provide a priest chaplain for the school. In addition, through the Catholic Schools’ Office we facilitate a relationship between our Catholic elementary schools.
 
What challenges have you experienced in launching Cristo Rey OKC?
 
Diane: The most obvious challenge is the launch process. A longer than anticipated search for a school principal resulted in extending our launch period over a second school year. Initiating the acceptance and enrollment process with students eager for this learning environment, only to be told that the school opening would be delayed, was difficult, but necessary.
 
One of the more significant challenges for the Catholic Schools’ Office was the inclusion of a new Catholic high school in a community that has only had two Catholic high schools. While all acknowledged the opportunities that Cristo Rey could provide to students we either were not serving, or had been serving, but could not make the financial transition to high school tuition, there was still the fear of the impact of this new school, not only on enrollment, but on those who donate and support existing schools.
 
NCEA: Cristo Rey programs provide rigorous college prep curriculum, integrated with relevant work-study experience. Why will this model be successful in the OKC community?
 
Renee: We are a Catholic school. We are open to students of all faiths, but we emphasize spiritual growth, faith-based values, moral development and personal responsibility.
Second, we exist to provide a great educational opportunity to families in underserved communities.
 
A lot of times when people hear “private school,” the assumption is that it is financially out of reach. At Cristo Rey, 100 percent of our students receive financial assistance. We will work with every family to set our tuition at an amount that is affordable for them. But, it is our corporate work study partnership that really sets us apart.
 
The Corporate Work Study Program also is a growth experience for the students. They learn the values of hard work and personal responsibility. By working in professional settings, students are exposed to mentors and careers, and connect what is taught in the classroom to the job.
 
Students acquire the soft skills they need to succeed in the workplace. They also graduate high school with an impressive resume that most young people their age don’t have.
 
All of this is possible because our business community has been tremendously receptive to the mission of the school. We have some of the largest, most visible and most well-respected Oklahoma corporations enlisted as partners as well as local nonprofits. Our students will be fully integrated within the fabric of the Oklahoma City community.
 
NCEA: How does the model and mission of Cristo Rey OKC respond to the mission of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City?
 
Renee: I’ll paraphrase what Father Foshee said when we brought him on board as our chaplain. First, we are a Catholic school centered on the premise that Christ is King, and that means love is king. We will love each other, and we will see amazing outcomes because of our love and our hard work.
 
We are focused on spiritual growth and fulfillment as much as academic fulfillment. Second, by focusing on underserved communities and families of modest means, we are responding to the Second Vatican Council’s mandate to identify people in-need and offer them assistance. We give students an opportunity to take ownership of their education, to work for it, and to earn their success. That will be a powerful and life-affirming experience for our students.
 
Diane: The mission of Cristo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School is a Catholic learning community that educates young people of limited economic means to become men and women of faith, knowledge, purpose and service. Through a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, integrated with a relevant work-study experience, students graduate ready to succeed in college and in life. This mirrors the mission of our archdiocesan schools. It also mirrors Archbishop Coakley’s vision for the archdiocese to “go make disciples.”
 
The timing of the feasibility process was divinely in sync with the release of the archbishop’s pastoral letter, which articulated three priorities – new evangelization, faith formation and Hispanic ministry. The addition of the Cristo Rey High School uniquely combined these priorities in the form of a powerful tool – a school. Many parents arrive on our doorsteps wanting a better life for their children. More often than not, our elementary schools are able to assist them, but the financial leap to Catholic high school can be too large at times. This is a source of great pain to all of us, because it is a denial of the very roots of Catholic education. which began as a ministry to educate poor immigrants and minorities.
 
If we truly believe in Christ’s call to love our brothers and sisters, and that everyone is our brother and sister, and if that belief extends to an understanding that education, grounded in love, is the pathway out of poverty, then Cristo Rey provides parents, regardless of their zip code, with the opportunity to choose a quality education for their children.