Look for more emphasis on “putting Christ at the center” and a focus on helping Catholic school children understand reverence in the Archdiocese of San Francisco Catholic schools.

“We talk a lot about putting Christ at the center of what we do. There is no greater way that we put Christ at the center than during the Eucharist,” said new Catholic schools Superintendent Pamela Lyons in an interview with Catholic San Francisco Sept. 8 to discuss plans for the new school year.

The 2017-18 school year is the first year of a three-year initiative around the Eucharist, Lyons said. Year one will include education for leadership and “challenging the schools to really look at their sacramental life and think of ways that they can increase the students’ participation at Mass, how often they are going. Maybe add (eucharistic) adoration.”

The Archdiocesan Catholic schools will also work on the idea of reverence with students, Lyons said. “Starting to get them to understand when they go to Mass and when they receive the Eucharist it is a very different experience than anything else in their lives and they need to behave accordingly.”

With an almost entirely new slate of administrators in the Department of Catholic Schools, Lyons said a top priority is getting to know each of the schools. A second goal, which overlaps, is data gathering in all areas. The schools department will set three- to five-year goals for the department by the end of the school year.

The goals will be in the areas of academic excellence, mindful stewardship, authentic Catholic identity and organizational vitality, Lyons said. A top priority is training and enrichment for the department administrators and for all those working in the Catholic schools, Lyons said.

Full story at Catholic San Francisco.