A Living Document
It is not easy to write of things that are actually in being , between a past that is only beginning to lengthen into distances and a future that is still unknown . Events move quickly , and living things modify themselves even more while they move .
– Mother Janet Erskine Stuart , RSCJ
The above quote was penned in 1913 by Mother Stuart , who served as Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart . It helps to frame the introduction to the fourth update to the Criteria of the Goals and Criteria , issued in early January 2021 . It describes perfectly the difficulty of trying to capture a fixed reality given the ever-changing nature of events and all living beings .
The Religious of the Society of the Sacred Heart ( RSCJ ) were well aware of the tension that exists between the desire to have a set of guiding principles that all Sacred Heart Schools would follow , and the reality , simply put , that people and things change . Historically , the RSCJ drew up the first Plan of Studies in 1805 , five years after their own founding and reformulated it 10 times over the next 150 years . Then in 1958 , a document set aside all curriculum details , noting that “ these are bound to vary according to time and place .” Five Foundational Principles ( see right ) were drawn up , forming non-negotiable constitutive elements for all Network Sacred Heart schools . The Goals and Criteria , first published in 1975 , were distributed as fundamental expressions of the Sacred Heart mission .
The Goals are timeless principles that guide Sacred Heart schools , however , the Criteria are updated every 15 years . They provide how Sacred Heart schools put the Goals into action , which can change over time . Importantly , the introduction to this re-visioning of the Criteria states that they “ are not prescriptive , but , rather , expressed as aspirations for our educational communities .”
other Network schools — to the Sacred Heart Commission on Goals ( SHCOG ), which led the review effort . SHCOG looked at each draft and then , last fall , prepared the final update to send to the Religious of the Sacred Heart Provincial Team . The team assessed the process of review as well as the final version , and approved it to be adopted by all the Network schools .
Having been a member of SHCOG during this process of review , Nat Wilburn , Head of Schools , says that the work was a privilege to do . “ We collaborated and heard from RSCJ communities , schools , and other constituencies who are deeply invested in the mission of Sacred Heart education . These communities , across two nations , are diverse in many ways , but our love for the mission unites us . I believe the 2020 Goals and Criteria draw us to unity while honoring our diversity , providing an essential instrument from which we can all work to address the critical issues facing our world .”
The 2020 version of the Criteria is a testament to vision and collaboration , rooted in , as the introduction states , “ this transformational moment in our history .” What the future may hold is uncertain , but Sacred Heart schools will surely continue to be guided by the values of faith , intellect , service , community and personal growth as set forth in the Goals and put into action as the Criteria call us to do .
2020 GOALS AND CRITERIA
Updating the Criteria was begun in earnest in November 2018 . The RSCJs , Boards of Trustees , faculties and staff of the then-24 schools in the Network of Sacred Heart schools , and other key constituency groups of the United States-Canada Province , gathered in their separate locales to provide multiple perspectives . Sacred Heart-Sheridan Road designated its own steering committee to lead the process . Members of the faculty and staff met regularly to review each criterion of the five Goals ; the evolving drafts were finalized during Faculty / Staff Institute Days . The final draft was sent — as were the final drafts of the
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FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES
In the Goals and Criteria the Society of the Sacred Heart defines the mission of the school as part of the Society ’ s educational mission in the Catholic Church .
Each school is accountable to the Society of the Sacred Heart Commission on Goals for its adherence to the Goals and Criteria .
Each school ’ s Board of Trustees and Administration establish and uphold policies that are consistent with the Goals and Criteria .
The school allocates its resources to support each Goal and its Criteria .
The School is in compliance with professional standards as stated by accrediting agencies .
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