top of page

THOUGHTS
On Catholic Ed and the World of a Principal
Search


Leadership and Drs. Kevin Baxter/Susan Abelein
You might have heard the news that our our leader and superintendent, Dr. Kevin Baxter, is retiring and moving on to NCEA. Joining him on...

Kevin D
Jul 8, 20192 min read


10 Things I do in the Summer
So what does a principal do in the summer? 1. Reflect with Faculty - Our June Meetings are a great chance for us to step out of the...

Kevin D
Jun 24, 20192 min read
St. Catherine of Siena's Call to Action
Matt Fradd carried the feed of Sr. Mary Madeline Todd's talk on St. Catherine of Siena. It's a wonderful talk that is a call to action...

Kevin D
Jun 6, 20191 min read


Organization and Space
The way our spaces are organized communicates a great deal. With a huge helping hand, I re-organized my office, making the center...

Kevin D
May 29, 20191 min read


Communion and Vulnerability
In the spring, I typically give one to two tours a week to prospective families. A question I receive frequently is: "What makes your...

Kevin D
May 17, 20192 min read


The Answer Is... Me?
Last Tuesday, I had the honor of being James Holzhauer's roadkill on the night of Tuesday, April 21st. I lost by many tens of thousands...

Kevin D
Apr 30, 20194 min read


Don't Dumb Down Catholicism: On Beauty, Bishop Barron, and Cathedrals
Bishop Barron's Word on Fire Podcast from two weeks highlighted his talk at the religious ed conference here in Los Angeles several weeks...

Kevin D
Apr 16, 20192 min read


Clericalisms of Another Sort
Dr. Tim Uhl highlights the words of Pope Francis and amongst the Church in Sunday's Catholic School Matters. It's well worth the read and...

Kevin D
Apr 8, 20193 min read


Silent Conspiracy
In Justin Baeder's recent conversation with teacher and writer, Alex Kajitani, brings up the concept of a "silent conspiracy." He defines...

Kevin D
Apr 3, 20192 min read


Accountability
Accountability is an important word and ultimately is the goal of an effective leader. A leader helps the organization craft their goals;...

Kevin D
Apr 1, 20191 min read


Pornography
There is no doubt that we are living in a pornographic culture. The average age of exposure to pornography has been declining and now...

Kevin D
Mar 27, 20192 min read


The Real College Admissions Scandal
Yesterday, it was revealed that underachieving children of the rich and famous had been accepted to elite (or not so elite) colleges and...

Kevin D
Mar 13, 20193 min read


Standards-Based Expectations
"The standard should be the floor." - Mike Fisher on Principal Center Radio All too often, we underestimate what we, ourselves, and our...

Kevin D
Mar 12, 20191 min read


The End of Liberalism and Catholic Schools
I wrapped up Notre Dame Professor Patrick Deneen 's Why Liberalism Failed yesterday. The thesis of the book is essentially that...

Kevin D
Feb 28, 20193 min read


Anger and Leadership
Anger is one of the seven deadly sins. Anger is one of the clearest emotions Jesus Christ shows in the Gospels (appearing in 3 of the 4)....

Kevin D
Feb 21, 20193 min read


My Journey with Inclusion
The community is not complete until you serve all learners - John Garrow, on CatholicEd4All Inclusion has been the place where my journey...

Kevin D
Feb 15, 20192 min read


Leadership Coaching
Peter Dewitt, who I think is one of the best educational leaders in the consulting business, came on Principal Center Radio earlier this...

Kevin D
Feb 14, 20193 min read


Self-Care
He said to them, 'Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no...

Kevin D
Feb 10, 20192 min read


The Thrill of a Tour
One of the great gifts I have is to show off the amazing St. Joseph School to prospective families. We have a great and hard-working...

Kevin D
Feb 5, 20191 min read


Poetry
Growing up, outside of Shel Silverstein, I was never a big fan of poetry. It didn't truly speak to me until my senior of high school....

Kevin D
Feb 1, 20192 min read
bottom of page