Diocesan educators attend NCEA conference

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
April 14, 2005

Several educators from the Diocese of Sioux City were among the more than 13,000 people at this year's National Catholic Educational Association's convention held March 29 to April 1 in Philadelphia.

Kevin Vickery, superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese, went to the conference as did the diocese's curriculum director, Linda Ebel; the director of the diocesan media center, Deacon Larry Sitzman and various principals and teachers from diocesan schools.

"It was a very good turnout. It is always exciting to be in a large group of people with shared vision - that we all come with the same commitment to growing better Catholic schools and doing it by sowing seeds of strong faith," noted Vickery.

The conference featured hundreds of workshops geared to specific topics and areas of the educational ministry, but he added that they came together for several dynamic keynote presentations and liturgies.

He liked two of the keynote presentations in particular. One was by Archbishop John P. Foley, who works in the press office of the Vatican. The speaker stressed the importance of raising awareness about the impact of media in society. Another speaker that Vickery believed added to the depth of the conference was Cardinal Edward Egan who reminded the educators that they were all called to witness the Gospel.

"Cardinal Egan called Catholic teachers heroes in a modern society," said Vickery.

The diocesan administrator added that Philadelphia proved to be excellent location for the conference with the city's rich historical background.

"It was a great place to mix the historical perspective with who we are as a nation with the contemporary context of who we are as Catholic schools and as Catholic educators," said Vickery, who added that many people took in several of the local sights.

Three teachers from Sacred Heart School in Spencer were among the diocesan delegation to attend the conference. They pointed out that their school board continues to see the conference as a priority not only for the new insights they gain for teaching but also as a means to build a bond between the educators. Each year the school board sends three or four teachers.

Nancy Geisinger, fifth grade teacher, found it good to spend time with teachers outside of the school setting.

She noted that all three of them found a workshop by Jodee Blanco on bullying to be very beneficial.

"This was especially relevant to us because our school has been doing a great deal with bullying this year," noted Geisinger.

She teaches about the Revolutionary War in her class, so visiting all of the historical sites and gathering literature and brochures for her class about some of the things she educates them about - the Liberty Bell and Betsy Ross's house - was a great addition to the trip.

Shirley Selzer, media specialist at Sacred Heart in Spencer, said the bonding experience is wonderful for the teachers - great for their spirits. In addition to spending time with teachers from her own school, she added that it was great to dialogue with others from throughout the country that work in similar areas of ministry.

She agreed that the workshop on bullying provided some relevant information that she has already shared with others at the school.

Mary VerMulm, kindergarten teacher, has attended the conference three times now.

"We bring back knowledge from the conference and share it with the other teachers," she noted.

Along with the educational sessions, the conference featured a huge expo where venders displayed assorted resources and products. She said it took them about five hours to go through the displays. They picked up samples for the teachers back home.

Entertainment was also featured at the conference such as a concert by David Haas. VerMulm mentioned that this Christian artist had performed one time in Spencer.

Father Craig Collison, pastor at Sacred Heart Church in Sioux City, was one of several people from Sioux City to attend. All of the city Catholic school principals and a few teachers attended as did three from administrative offices of Catholic Schools of Sioux City.

The priest noted that he has attended several NCEA conferences. As a regional associate of Region 9 consisting of Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas, he meets with educators from this area. He finds that the smaller gatherings as well as the national conference provide excellent opportunities to connect with others in the educational ministry.

At this year's conference, Father Collison chaired a workshop that was presented by Dr. Bill Hudson from a Catholic high school in Minneapolis that featured research as to why people support Catholic schools.

"I also went to other sessions - attending some on marketing and bullying was a big topic this year," he noted. "The large exhibition hall featured the latest and greatest of books, teaching aids, even down to what you have in your cafeteria to the latest in sliding panels to make rooms. You could even get foot massages for your feet."

Ultimately, Father Collison found the liturgies that were celebrated on a daily basis to be the highlight of the conference.