Two weekends ago we hosted our 2024 Catholic Education Symposium at Corpus Christi Parish in Edmonton.
Nearly 140 members of the Catholic Education community, including trustees, superintendents, principals, teachers, school chaplains, members of the clergy, and university students all joined together to discuss a vital question:
How do we support the formation of teachers in our schools so that they can serve as faithful Catholic witnesses for our school and model for our students?
Setting the tone for the event, His Grace, Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, gave a talk on the calling of every one of us to be missionaries: “There is more than enough missionary work in our schools to last us more than a lifetime” he remarked, underscoring the critical need for ongoing formation across all levels of the Church.
Later that evening, Dr. Matt Hoven (an Associate Professor at St. Joseph’s College) highlighted existing initiatives in faith formation for teachers that already exist. Dr. Hoven challenged attendees to reflect on what this conversation means for their respective schools, urging a proactive approach tailored to their unique contexts.
Saturday kicked off with virtual talk from Dr. Roisin Coll, Professor of Catholic Education at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Her talk explored the significance and merit of a Catholic school system and the pivotal role our teachers play in the faith formation of students. She touched on how there exists an eagerness in the Catholic Education community to learn, to be disciples. “This is such an opportunity” she stated.
Paul Corrigan and Ryan Ledene then underscored the importance of exemplary witness, stressing the collective effort necessary for this challenging yet achievable endeavor. “Is this an impossible mission? No. But it's a difficult task and we need everyone to work together.”
Nika Aalbers, a second year Education student from St. Joseph’s College put it beautifully, “There is hope for the future. Hope for future educators, hope for the students that we are addressing the concerns and trying to make a system that is most equitable to everybody.”
Echoing this sentiment, Mike Landry, Chaplain for Evergreen Catholic School Division stressed the centrality of personal encounters with Christ, a recurring theme we heard throughout the sessions. “I think the thing that I'm considering a lot is how, in several different sessions, the question of someone's personal encounter with Christ seems to be so critical.”
Andrée Norbert-Bennet (Assistant Superintendent for Conseil Scolaire Centre-Nord) summed it up perfectly: “Nous avons vraiment pu ressortir de très bonnes idées de stratégies concrètes mais aussi vraiment se rappeler que c'est dans l'expérience, c'est dans la relation avec Dieu avec Jésus qu'on trouve vraiment la foi.”
“We were really able to come up with some very good ideas for concrete strategies but also really remember that it is in the experience, it is in the relationship with God with Jesus that we really find faith.” 
So, now what?
In her opening address, our Vice-President, Dawn Miller, articulated the aspiration for the weekend: “that we will have the tools necessary to develop a guiding framework for our School Boards on this topic.”
Dean Sarnecki, Trustee for Elk Island Catholic School Board and ACSTA Director, has taken up the mantle of developing this guiding framework document.
ACSTA looks forward to sharing the findings of the report with all our members and the broader Catholic education community later this year!
