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These criteria include:

  • In-service training for all Board members of each school on the spirit of the Xaverian charism, the XBSS governance model, and expectations for mission effectiveness.
  • The chief administrator of the XBSS must demonstrate familiarity with and commitment to the expectations and demands of all aspects of Catholic education.
  • Formational activities for all administrators, faculty and staff in XBSSs to help them understand the spirit of the Xaverian charism.
  • Stringent selection and development process for school personnel on the basis of their educational and professional competencies, their effectiveness in working with youth, their understanding of Catholic education, and their willingness to participate actively in the Church's ministry of education.
  • Periodic forums for faculty and staff from all the Sponsored Schools with programs dealing with various spiritual and professional formational issues. [3]

 

As membership in their community declines, the Xaverian Brothers choose to share responsibility for mission, governance, administration, and educational ministry with lay persons of the school community (teacher, parents, students, alumni). As the face of the Church has changed, so too has the Brothers’ implementation of the Founder’s vision evolved to include lay persons who share the same passion for the important work of education and forming young people in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet the Brothers are careful to make their mark on the spiritual formation of the leaders of their school, cognizant of the fact that leaders will mold the cultures of the institutions in their charge. Thus, while the Xaverian Brothers provide the spiritual support needed to realize this mission and ministry, their partnership with lay educators represents a new understanding of Church and allows the Congregation of the Xaverian Brothers to fulfill their mission in the Sponsored Schools today.

Dr. Sal Ferrera was appointed the first lay president of Xaverian High School over a decade ago. Since that time, he has overseen the growth of the school’s endowment from $60,000 to over $14 million.

 

 

[3] Ibid.