By Mary Beth Peabody
CHERRY HILL — Leaders from South Jersey Catholic Schools met on Aug. 25 for their annual meeting to kick off the new school year. It was the first time the group has been together in person since March 12, when a regularly scheduled elementary principals meeting turned into a planning session for a probable tsunami arriving in the form of a pandemic. Arrive it did, suspending live education, events and activities for the rest of the school year.
Since March, school leaders have met weekly on Zoom calls with Superintendent Dr. Bill Watson — Monday for the elementary schools, Wednesday for the high schools. They supported each other through remote learning, virtual graduations and socially distant diploma events, and all the administrative responsibilities of finishing a school year.
As one school year ended officially on June 19, leaders came to the next week’s Zoom meeting ready to tackle plans for the coming school year. They volunteered to serve on task forces and work on prototypes for academic as well as health and safety plans.
“So many things were changing so quickly,” said Sister Michele DeGregorio, principal at Saint Margaret’s in Woodbury Heights. “The weekly meetings were very helpful. We supported one another and shared ideas. It didn’t feel like you were in it by yourself.”
Tech savvy Phil Gianfortune, principal at St. Michael the Archangel Regional School in Clayton, emerged as a leader on the academic planning team.
“We get to be the architects of what school can become,” said Gianfortune. “I always liked problem solving, so the academic piece was fun to work on.”
A second-year principal, Gianfortune said it was fantastic to collaborate with and learn from experienced colleagues. “It helps me be better. We lift each other up,” he said.
Deacon Joe Rafferty, who leads Saint Rose of Lima School in Haddon Heights, helped define protocols for health and safety. In his third year at Saint Rose, Rafferty returned to Catholic education after several years as Superintendent of Mount Ephraim and then Gloucester City schools.
“I always intended to work in Catholic schools after retirement as part of my diaconate service. It’s a gift to be able to do what I’m doing now,” he said.
The plans developed by school leaders adhere to guidelines established by Gov. Murphy, state and local health departments and the Centers for Disease Control. Each plan reflects the unique needs of its school community and allows for remote learning for families who are not ready to send their children back to the classroom. The schools are prepared to pivot to remote learning at any time, if necessary.
Expressing his thanks and speaking on behalf of Bishop Dennis Sullivan, Father Robert Hughes, Vicar General for the Diocese of Camden, was there to acknowledge the countless hours school leaders have worked this summer.
“We see how much work has gone into reopening plans. I know you are contemplating every single thing that could take place during the course of this reopening and how it will affect [students’] learning and also their wellbeing. Being Catholic schools, where we look to the whole person, that’s a beautiful thing,” said Father Hughes.
Wearing masks and sitting one to a table in the Camden Catholic High School dining hall, it’s possible school leaders saw more of each other’s faces on Zoom. But the joyful spirit in the room was a glimpse of what experience tells them they will find when schools open on Sept. 8 — the sound of humans engaging, sharing, learning and laughing, at an appropriate distance.