Collaboration in Catholic Education

Through the years, I have watched the role of the leader in a Catholic school evolve. In the beginning, leaders were managers, who made decisions and told others what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.

Today, thankfully, leadership is about collaborating and working toward a common goal. In my 50 years of working in Catholic education, I have learned that when leaders bring people together and ask them to assist in reaching a goal that they are happy to share their own wealth of knowledge and skills. The diversity of the group strengthens the process and leads to better decisions.

In the end the winners of this collaborative process are the children we serve. Good leadership and good decisions bring about the change needed to make our students successful inside and outside of the classroom. Over the years I’ve seen Catholic education free children from the limitations of every type of poverty -- material or spiritual. In addition to helping children succeed academically, we teach them that it is Christ who gives meaning to their lives. From that simple truth students learn to respect the dignity of every single person. We can’t make real progress as a society or have justice without this.

A Special Message on National Gay-Straight Alliance Day

Since taking office, President Obama and his Administration have taken many steps to ensure that all students are safe and healthy and can learn in environments free from discrimination, bullying and harassment.

Bullying is an epidemic that has gone ignored for too long, and far too many of our young people are targeted and harassed based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.  But across the country, Gay-Straight Alliances and other similar student groups are taking important steps to address these issues.

Last year, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and others welcomed students, parents, and teachers in addition to non-profit leaders, advocates, and policymakers to the White House for a Conference on Bullying Prevention.  Also last year, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wrote a “Dear Colleague” letter to school districts across the country in support of Gay-Straight Alliances.  And today, on the occasion of the first-ever National Gay-Straight Alliance Day, Secretary Duncan has taped a video message to students, teachers, and allies to re-emphasize the Obama Administration’s commitment to safe schools for all students.

On the Reservation and Beyond

As a representative of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians of southern California, I am honored to be recognized as a “Champion of Change.”  In my decade of service for the Tribe I have seen much change as San Manuel has established many departments not only Fire in fewer than two decades; a notable accomplishment when considering that counties and municipalities have historically taken 50 to 100 years to develop similar services. Chief among these accomplishments has been its investment in a safe community for all who live, visit and work on the reservation some 70 miles from Los Angeles. As one of the oldest established communities in the San Bernardino Valley, the people of San Manuel have managed their land since the establishment of the reservation in 1891; a steep terrain which is crisscrossed by earthquake faults lying in the path of floods and wildfires.  Therefore, when the tribal government began to develop needed services, fire and emergency response was of paramount priority.  In my role as fire chief I am humbled and honored to be part of a community wide effort that is bourn from the experience of generations of tribal members who built and safeguarded their reservation despite many challenges and limited resources.

Unlike many reservations across America which are rural, San Manuel interfaces directly with two cities: San Bernardino and Highland. Throughout its history, the people of San Manuel have worked together with their neighbors to build their community seeking to find common ground based on mutual respect while building a self sufficiency. It was in this spirit that I came to work for the Tribe in 1999 to develop and lead all emergency and preparedness activities for the Tribe. Previous to working for San Manuel, I had served numerous roles including: Paramedic-Engineer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection; paramedic program liaison for Crafton Hills College; federal disaster team member (responding to the World Trade Center after the 9-11 attacks, and the gulf region for Hurricane Katrina in 2005); President and Engineer for a local volunteer fire department, flight paramedic, and Special Projects Officer for the California National Guard’s California Cadet Corps.  The position with San Manuel was rare opportunity indeed, and for the next 4 years, I and the community worked diligently to organize the resources and personnel needed to constitute a fully operational Fire Department that met all necessary requirements to join the state’s mutual aid response and protect both San Manuel and the communities of California.