The Valley Catholic April 24, 2018 | Page 19

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS tvc.dsj.org | April 24, 2018 19 The Drexel School System Expands to Include 12 Schools & Adds 4 New Instructional Leadership Positions The Drexel School System is Proud to Announce Two Critical System Expansions to Support Outstanding Catholic Education in the Diocese of San Jose The Drexel School System, a net- work consisting currently of nine K-8 Catholic schools in the Diocese of San Jose, is proud to announce two critical system expansions for the 2018-2019 school year: the addition of three new Drexel Schools (“Year Zero” schools) and the addition of four new site in- structional leadership positions, the Directors of Curriculum and Instruc- tion for Drexel Schools. Expanding to 12 Schools: The Drexel School System will welcome three new schools for the 2018-2019 school year: Saint John the Baptist School (Milpitas), Saint John Vianney School (San Jose) and Saint Victor School (San Jose). These three schools will enter the system in what is referred to as “Year Zero,” a period of twelve months during which the focus of administrative efforts and professional development is explicitly directed towards classroom instruc- tion and teacher training. During this 2018-2019 school year, the “Year Zero” schools will engage in a preparation year of training, open- ing formally in 2019-2020 as Drexel Schools with all associated benefi ts and advantages of being full mem- bers of the Drexel System. During the 2018-2019 school year, the “Year Zero” schools will engage in monthly col- laborations for teachers and monthly Drexel principal meetings for admin- istrators. All teachers will begin cer- tifi cation in the Drexel Instructional Methodology and each school will work towards full participation in the major instructional initiatives of the Drexel School System. The nine current Drexel Schools (Holy Spirit School - Almaden, Most Holy Trinity School - San Jose, Resur- rection School - Sunnyvale, Saint Clare School - Santa Clara, Saint Elizabeth Seton School - Palo Alto, Saint Joseph School - Mountain View, Saint Patrick School - San Jose, Saint Mary School - Los Gatos, Saint Mary School - Gilroy) are excited to welcome the three Year Zero Drexel Schools. Congratulations and Welcome! Addition of Instructional Leadership Positions: In addition to welcoming three new Drexel Schools, the Drexel School Sys- tem has also announced the creation of four new site positions, the Direc- tors of Curriculum and Instruction for Drexel Schools. The Directors of Curriculum and Instruction are lateral to the site prin- cipals and will serve as instructional leaders for three Drexel schools each. The Director positions were created to respond to the growing need for more sophisticated master teacher devel- opment and to support the ongoing and deepening consideration of data in the Drexel Schools. The Directors are responsible, in collaboration with the principal and at the direction of the Executive Director/Associate Superintendent of Drexel Schools, for the eff ective integration of the Drexel Instructional Methodology in