On Friday, October 20, members of the Brother Martin High School faculty participated in a “Day of Curriculum” designed by a number of experienced instructional leaders. Our faculty spent the day on the campus of the University of New Orleans, working collaboratively within and among our academic departments in an effort to examine, analyze, and align our college prep curriculum. 

Why a Day of Curriculum?

This Day of Curriculum was the result of discussions and planning that began following our most recent Cognia Accreditation Review dating back to the Spring of 2021. Following our accreditation review, the administration and Academic Council devised the process of creating and implementing our Academic Improvement Plan, which focused on four goals: 

• Implementing 21st Century Skills across the curriculum, including communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity
• Gathering & analyzing formative and summative data that demonstrates ongoing academic excellence
• Reviewing assessment best practices
• Implementing processes to ensure the curriculum is aligned to standards and best practices  

Now in the third year of this five-year process, Brother Martin has created committees who have been charged with overseeing and implementing the progress of these goals. 

Last year, our faculty spent time setting goals aimed at answering the question, “What skills and content do my students need to learn to be successful when they leave my class”? The Day of Curriculum is one snapshot of the much larger picture focused on ensuring the academic success of each of our students. 

Day of Curriculum Activities

Our Day of Curriculum began in prayer as we reflected on the purpose of our mission, using Brother Rene’ Sanctorum’s “Pedagogy of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart” as our framework. Mrs. Michelle Chiasson, Principal of E.D. White Catholic High School in Thibodaux (another of our schools in the Province of the United States), then addressed our faculty about the ultimate goal of all Brothers of the Sacred Heart schools – that our students graduate knowing that God loves them – and how we help our students realize that goal through the daily work in our specific academic disciplines. 

Our faculty then spent the majority of the day in collaboration, reviewing the goals they’ve set against the reality of the progress they’ve made with their students along with what short-term and long-term adjustments may need to be made moving forward.

Our day of professional development culminated with a panel discussion of UNO professors and current UNO students who are recent Brother Martin alumni that focused on current trends in higher education and how that informs what we do in forming our students at Brother Martin to meet the needs of our changing world.  

Our faculty is committed to working alongside our Crusaders to help them achieve their academic excellence through personal attention and friendly discipline rooted in religious values. In the words of Father Andre’ Coindre, “When we have done all that we can, we have done all that we must.” As a school committed to your son’s academic excellence, we will continue to broaden our pedagogical expertise by committing to and modeling for our students the importance of lifelong learning.