“It is the right and duty of the diocesan/eparchial Bishop to visit all the Catholic schools in his diocese, including those established or directed by Institutes of Consecrated Life, Societies of Apostolic Life or other public or private associations, whether of diocesan/eparchial right or of patriarchal or pontifical right. The Bishop is required to visit them at least every five years, personally or, if he is legitimately impeded, through the coadjutor Bishop or the auxiliary or the Vicar general or episcopal Vicar/Protosyncellus or Syncellus, or some other presbyter. It is advisable for the Visitor to take both clerics and lay persons as companions, people who are truly experts in the various aspects of Catholic education. The visitation should concern different areas: the quality of the curricula, so that “the instruction which is given in them is at least as academically distinguished as that in the other schools of the area”; the ecclesiality of the school which is manifested in its communion with the particular and universal Church; the pastoral activity of the school and its relationship with the parish; the conformity of the educational project of the school with the doctrine and discipline of the Church; the administration of the temporal goods of the school. The visitation can be divided into three phases: the preparatory phase, in which the visitor asks the school to draft a report on its current state; the visitation proper, after which the visitor describes in a report the situation found during the visitation and issues, in an authoritative way, any provisions or recommendations; the third phase, in which the school implements any provisions or recommendations on the basis of the visitor’s report.”
— The Identity of the Catholic School for a Culture of Dialogue, 59.f
The Archdiocese of Denver’s Mission Fidelity Assessment process is the new mission-focused, quality assurance program for the Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Denver. In fidelity to the directives of the Vatican in the 2022 document The Identity of the Catholic School for a Culture of Dialogue, the Mission Fidelity Assessment process is focused on supporting the primary relationship between a bishop and his schools by formally visiting and reviewing the Catholic schools of the Archdiocese to ensure that all schools are meeting their obligations to be centers of formation through a quality academic, catechetical, and spiritual program. Along with a delegate of the Archbishop, a team of professionals from across the Archdiocese of Denver and beyond, who are skilled and knowledgeable in what the mission of the Catholic school is according to the mind of the Church, conduct a formal visit of each school to review the school’s self-assessment, conduct focus groups, review survey data, interview leadership, and observe the school in action. The conclusion of this work results in a report for the review of the Archbishop and school leadership that offers both commendations and recommendations to each school as to how they can grow in their fidelity to the mission of the Catholic school and continue to prepare students for success and sanctification.
Quality assurance as it regards how the school effectively animates its mission as a Catholic school is the focus of the Mission Fidelity Assessment process and is based upon five Standard areas:
– Standard I: Inspired by a Supernatural Vision
– Standard II: Founded on a Christian Anthropology
– Standard III: Animated by Communion & Community
– Standard IV: Imbued with a Catholic Worldview Throughout the Curriculum
– Standard V: Sustained by Gospel Witness
These five standard areas are reflective of what was identified as the five marks of a Catholic school by Archbishop J. Michael Miller in his 2006 work, The Holy See’s Teaching on Catholic Schools.
The Mission Fidelity Assessment process verifies that all of the schools that are recognized as Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Denver are remaining faithful to the Catholic Church and are offering a robust formation in the Catholic faith alongside a high-quality academic program. The Mission Fidelity Assessment process visits and recognizes:
– 28 parochial schools
– 3 Archdiocesan schools
– 5 stand-alone Catholic Pre-K / ELCs
– 9 independent Catholic schools
Schools that are recognized for completing the Archdiocese of Denver’s Mission Fidelity Assessment process are:
– Evaluated based upon 65 individual indicators across 5 standards of evaluation
– Evaluated on a five-year visitation cycle with a mid-cycle report due at 2.5 years
– Responsible for the completion of a prayerful, mission-focused, and rigorous self-assessment and executive report as a part of the Mission Fidelity Assessment process
The Mission Fidelity Assessment process started in 2023 and is directed by the Office of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Denver under the authority of the Archbishop.
© Archdiocese of Denver.
