The Ignatian Inquiry Podcast: Recent Episodes
Jesuit Schools Network
At the Jesuit Schools Network, we are eager to encourage a spirit of inquiry across the many layers of our work in Jesuit secondary and pre-secondary education. We seek to create space to connect and learn about the good work that is going on across our schools in North America. To that end, we created the Ignatian Inquiry Podcast, so that no matter where they are or when they can tune in, Jesuit educators from all over the continent can be a part of the conversation.
In this episode, we speak with David Card, President of Regis Jesuit High School, about the school’s thoughtful and forward-thinking efforts to support meaningful discourse within the community surrounding the upcoming presidential election.
College Admissions in 2024: Rising Tuition, Standardized Testing, Politics, Affirmative Action, Achievement Culture, the FAFSA, and So Much More. How Do Jesuit Schools Navigate the Continually Changing Landscape of Higher Education Enrollment?
In this episode, we speak with Patrick Gallagher, Director of College Counseling at Gonzaga College High School in Washington DC, and a long-time enrollment professional with robust experience on both sides of the admissions desk. The topic of college admissions has been in the news in a myriad of ways this academic year – from standardized testing, affirmative action and rising tuition costs, to FAFSA upheaval and the intersection of politics on the admissions process. We will explore how this has been experienced in the College Counseling offices at the Jesuit secondary level, as counseling professionals work to support the needs of the students in their care.
In this episode of JSN's Ignatian Inquiry Podcast, we speak with Cindy Davis, Principal of Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, Washington and Dr. Kelly Goodsell, President of Bellarmine Preparatory School, who together form the first female President and Principal Team at Bellarmine, as well as the first female President-Principal team at a legacy Jesuit school in the JSN. Women's History Month comes alive in this conversation with two extraordinary leaders in the JSN, and it will be of interest to teachers and leaders across programs and academic disciplines in Jesuit schools.
In this episode, we talk with Dr. Terra Caputo, the Director of the Center for Ignatian Pedagogy at Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio, an institutional action research center that studies the cognitive, affective, and behavioral growth and wellness of adolescent boys. During the discussion, we delve into the evolution of the school’s commitment to to the Center for Ignatian Pedagogy that is unique in a secondary setting and seeks to explore the intersection of research and faith with student voices at the heart of the work. Listeners will learn about the Center’s intentional balance of innovation and Jesuit tradition, and what institutional support of Ignatian Pedagogy looks like in teaching and learning at Ignatius
In this episode, we explore the roots of catechetical accompaniment, considering accompaniment as a practice of intentional relationships of guidance and companionship oriented towards growth in faith with Dr. Colleen Karchunas, Assistant Director of Campus Ministry at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC. During our conversation with Dr. Karchunas, we delve into the findings of her doctoral research entitled “Removing Our Sandals Before the Sacred Ground of the Other: Finding the Roots of Catechetical Accompaniment in the Thought of Pope Francis and in the Ancient and Restored Catechumenates.” Animating this learning from Dr. Karchunas’ position in Campus Ministry, her research brings to life the important roles educators play in faith formation of their students as they walk with them along their journey in our member schools.
In this episode, Michelle Martin, M.Ed., shares about the evolution of her work at Brebeuf offering mindfulness meditation courses and how the program has grown into something that is woven throughout the school community via student athletics, clubs, retreats, faculty, staff, and adult formation, as well as a freshman seminar, new faculty orientation, parent program, and so much more. Listeners learn about how her interest in mindfulness training grew out of her work in the classroom as a teacher in meeting the needs of the students in front of her, and how Ignatian meditation and mindfulness supports the mission of our school communities.
On this episode, we’ll explore the experiences of Fr. Steve Katsouros, CEO and Founder of the Come to Believe Network, a mission-based organization that works to provide higher education institutions an innovative college model that's inclusive and accessible to students who are often underrepresented at selective universities. From Fr. Katsouros’ first-hand experience in crafting the unique culture at Loyola University Chicago’s Arrupe College, we’ll learn about the value in building ecosystems of support for marginalized students and how impactful these students are on larger institutions. We'll talk about Fr. Katsorous’ vast experience as a start-up leader in Jesuit education, and the skills needed to cultivate an asset culture in our communities. This conversation encourages school settings across the JSN to learn from our colleagues in higher education about accelerating paths to access and equity in our schools.
In this episode, we’ll explore the experiences of the Founding Principal of one of the newest "Nativity-like" model schools in the JSN, The Welsh Academy at Saint Ignatius High School. In conversation with Dr. Mary Ann Vogel, we will learn from her first-hand experience about crafting the unique culture at the Welsh Academy; about how the dedicated faculty creates a community where her young students grow and thrive; and how secondary school educators can be ready to welcome her students into their settings in the future. With a lens of leadership, we will learn from her efforts of building and nurturing the evolution of the Welsh Academy in Cleveland. This conversation encourages school settings across the JSN to listen carefully to our Nativity colleagues who so skillfully tend to the needs of the students in their care, each and every day.
In this episode, we explore how educators utilize technology judiciously toward their learning goals, and how teachers and leaders across the JSN can learn from the world of higher education as they seek to craft their teaching in the hybrid world in which we now live. As we emerge from the lessons learned over the past few years, educators across the network have transitioned from the habits of face-to-face learning to the world of online education, with most still living somewhere in between. This conversation will encourage school settings across the JSN to look closely at this learning around educational technology as they move forward to embrace the full potential of their future in seeking to meet the needs of the students in their care.
In this episode, we’ll explore the findings from the doctoral dissertation research undertaken by Dr. Sonya Arriola, Principal of Bellarmine College Preparatory School in San Jose, California. Her study, entitled “Fifty Years of Underrepresented Student Advocacy at One Jesuit Secondary School,” investigates what true inclusion looks like, how school culture changes over time amid cultural forces in society at large, and ultimately how Jesuit schools implement and grow support for marginalized students. Learning from the history and traditions of one of our schools, this research encourages school settings across the JSN to look closely at their past as they move forward to embrace the full potential of their future in tending to the needs of the students in their care.
The Story of One Leader’s Journey into the Connection Between Ecological Conversion and Ignatian Leadership – A Conversation with Dr. Karin Botto
This episode focuses on the story of one leader’s journey into the connection between ecological conversion and Ignatian leadership, of understanding how to support and develop individuals to activate their leadership around environmental sustainability. Dr. Karin Botto’s concept of the ‘ecological self’ is an important one for the Universal Apolostic Principles that are at the heart of so much of our work in Jesuit Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education. Her curiosity and foundation in research around the ‘conversion of self,’ of ‘being’ that leads to ‘doing’ is interesting and relevant to the daily efforts of teachers and leaders within our schools.
JSN Ignatian Inquiry Podcast: A Conversation on how Catholic schools incubate innovative and transformative pedagogies of character formation, with Dr.s Martin Scanlan and Andrew Miller of the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College.
Character formation is at the heart of Catholic schooling. Catholic schools - which have earned a strong reputation for advancing the common good - explicitly commit to educating students holistically, nurturing their spiritual, ethical and moral virtues alongside academic knowledge and skills, and socioemotional well-being. This conversation will explore how these ideals come to life in all the complexities of our present-day schooling.
On this episode of the Ignatian Inquiry Podcast we welcome Dr. Maura Toomb Estevez from the Theology Department at Regis High School in New York City, who has recently completed a doctoral research study out of Creighton University, where she explored the lived experiences of leadership among women who have served or are serving as President of a Jesuit secondary or pre-secondary school. Maura has worked in Jesuit education for more than a decade, serving as Director of Campus Ministry at Saint Peter’s Preparatory School for seven years, as well as Associate Provincial Assistant for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education for the Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus for four years. Currently, she serves as a Theology teacher and Department Chair at Regis High School. Dr. Kristin Ross Cully, Director of Inquiry and New Ventures for the Jesuit Schools Network, joins us for this conversation on such an important topic.
In this episode, the JSN’s Dr. Kristin Cully and Julia Andretta welcomed Fr. Juan Cristóbal García, S.J., President of the Chilean Network of Jesuit and Ignatian Schools and Editor of Jesuit Education at the Crossroads: Discussions on Contemporary Jesuit Primary and Secondary Schools in North and Latin America, which brings together scattered studies on Jesuit education and asks experts on the issues about the current challenges of Jesuit education.
In this episode, we welcomed Kent Hickey, former President of Seattle Preparatory School, to tell us about his new book 40 Days with God, a book of 40 reflections on 40 passages from scripture about being with God in short time and tight spaces.
At the Jesuit Schools Network, we are eager to encourage a spirit of inquiry across the many layers of our work in Jesuit secondary and pre-secondary education. We seek to create space to connect and learn about the good work that is going on across our schools in North America. To that end, we created the Ignatian Inquiry Podcast, so that no matter where they are or when they can tune in, Jesuit educators from all over the continent can be a part of the conversation.