CHARLOTTE — Since he started in the post of superintendent June 1, Dr. Greg Monroe has been visiting the Diocese of Charlotte’s 19 schools to meet principals and staff and marshal the efforts to reopen schools for in-person instruction this fall. The Catholic News Herald recently interviewed Monroe to learn more about him and his vision for the diocese’s schools:
CNH: Can you share an overview of your experience in the field of education?
Monroe: I have been very fortunate to have served in many different roles in Catholic education. When I first graduated from college, I did not have a teaching license because I thought God’s plan for me was to work in the business field in Los Angeles, but through my experience volunteering with CCD and parish youth groups, I found myself drawn to working with students and helping them discover their vocation and preparing them for the future. So I switched to teaching, then spent my weekends towards earning a master’s degree in education and teaching licensure. I began my tenure in the education field as a K-8 computer teacher at St. Louis Elementary School in the Arlington Diocese, before moving up to teach social studies at the high school level in the diocese. A fun fact is that when I left Los Angeles and was discerning about whether to move into Catholic education, I took a sabbatical of sorts by working as a ranch hand in Ignacio, Colo. In fact, for the interview for my first teaching position, I had to climb a tree while leaving my horse hitched to a limb in order to get a cell signal to talk to the principal. After teaching for a number of years in the Arlington diocese and working as a youth minister at St. John the Baptist Church, I was asked to return to my alma mater to lead the Career and Leadership Development department. This administration position led me to my first principalship in Florida, which led to my position in the Catholic Schools Office in the Archdiocese of Omaha, where I worked with 71 schools and 20,000 students.
CNH: What is it about the Charlotte diocese that interested you in the position of superintendent?
Monroe: Having lived and attended school in Virginia, the Diocese of Charlotte was familiar to me – both because I had visited the area and because I had gone to school with and worked with friends who were from here. The overarching message I heard was that this was a strong, family-friendly Catholic diocese, with a great history and future potential for its schools and parishes. Having worked with multiple dioceses and studied Catholic education historically and nationwide, I was struck by the diocese’s vibrant Catholic identity. People are flooding in to the diocese from all over the United States, and there is the potential here to build upon the great history of our schools to grow, impact and further influence the Church nationwide by being a shining example of Catholic education. Our parishes and schools have great leaders, and I see this position as an opportunity to help them in sharing, ultimately, the inspiring story of what’s going on in our schools and developing future leaders for Catholic education and our nation.
CNH: In your opinion, what is the primary role of a superintendent today?
Monroe: I believe it is not one of mere administration, but of leadership development. The role is one in which I serve as a coach, mentor and servant to ensure that our schools’ leaders focus on continuous improvement, so they can fulfill our mission of developing students spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially. I believe it is my duty to walk with and empower our school leaders to create a culture that is data-driven, faith-filled and mission-oriented, and one that is not afraid to hold fast to tradition while integrating the best 21st century tools. The superintendent must boldly champion the fact our primary role as a Catholic school system is to remain strong in our Catholic identity and seek excellence in all that we do, for all students at all times.
CNH: How will you and the diocese’s two assistant superintendents work together moving forward?
Monroe: We are currently in the midst of a strategic planning reorientation to assess what the needs and opportunities are in our Catholic schools. We will be collecting stakeholder feedback and reassessing what our primary strengths are, so we can then plan how best to serve our schools moving forward. We are a small team, so we will be working closely together to determine how to best divvy up responsibilities, strategically plan for the future and allocate resources so that we can better serve all 19 of our schools.
CNH: What is the top new or ongoing initiative our schools will be focused on in the coming year?
Monroe: We are creating a new strategic plan and vision for the next three years in the Catholic Schools Office, and that will lay out our goals and objectives. Part of this plan will include launching initiatives for leadership development and process optimization and evolution, as well as refreshing our Catholic Schools Office brand and marketing.
CNH: How important is it for you to have accessible and accurate data when making decisions about our schools’ futures?
Monroe: It is very important. We must make data-driven decisions and informed, intentional choices based on historical, current and forecasting data. We work in collaboration with parents, as they are the primary educators for their children, and they deserve the highest quality product when they send their children to us and invest in Catholic schools. By analyzing, assessing and sharing this data, we can ensure our Catholic schools continue to be of the highest caliber.
We are fortunate to have technology at our disposal that enables us to solicit immediate feedback from stakeholders, online programs to assess students’ academic strengths, and mobile devices to collect and catalog notes and observations almost instantly. We can now differentiate the educational experience for individual students using the data available to us, and this data can help us further hone in on what will be the best decisions for our students and schools.
CNH: What will you do to foster a productive partnership between the diocesan schools and the community?
Monroe: We must start with the stakeholders that are right in our backyard – our parishes. Unfortunately, there are places where the parish and school community are seen as separate or isolated from each other, instead of the symbiotic and true Catholic community we share as one Church. A goal of the Catholic Schools Office will be to use, encourage and promote communication channels and initiatives that will help unify our parishes and schools. Additionally, we have many wonderful and exciting things happening in our schools every day. However, outside of parents and perhaps some donors, that news doesn’t always reach the wider community. We must continue to share stories of greatness occurring in our classrooms with the local community, and find ways to collaborate with local businesses and colleges for service and academic opportunities.
CNH: What is a recent trend that you think will have a major influence on our diocesan schools in the years to come?
Monroe: We will continue to see immigration from other states as the area continues to grow. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to recommit to sharing the welcoming message that we are a vibrant Catholic school system with a strong Catholic identity, committed to teaching all students regardless of socio-economic status, race, ethnicity or background. Many parents will find our schools a good fit for their family, and as St. John Paul II said, we must “open wide the doors for Christ.” Because we will see this trend of growth continue and people come to the area with various expectations, we must also stand firm in who we are: strong institutions rooted in our Catholic identity and tradition, that aim to produce missionary disciples of Christ who seek excellence in all that they do. This commitment to our Catholic identity is important in today’s culture, which doesn’t always understand the value of faith and a Gospel-centered education. We educate the whole person – mind, body and soul – and this holistic approach is something that sets us apart from other educational institutions. As our society becomes increasingly secularized, we must continue proclaiming that a Catholic education is one that prepares students for whatever their vocation is in life, and one that ultimately seeks to instill a desire for Truth, Goodness and Beauty through the pursuit of faith and excellence in academics, athletics and the arts.
CNH: How has the COVID-19 pandemic this year impacted our diocesan schools?
Monroe: Of course, our schools encountered many challenges because of the pandemic – especially how to create Christian community in our schools via remote and distance learning. However, our amazing school leaders and faculty proved how dynamic, agile and committed they are to each student. Throughout the diocese we heard stories about teachers and principals rising to the challenge, learning new technology teaching tools, and finding creative ways to gather in prayer online, post pictures of “learning at home” and connect regularly with our families. Our teachers also collaborated with other teachers from other schools using technology, and some teachers connected their classrooms with other classrooms for grade-level sharing across schools.
As school leaders, we also gained a new appreciation for the hard work of our wonderful parents, who showed tenacity, courage and patience with the unexpected challenges of remote learning. Indeed, it was a reminder that parents are our primary collaborators in their children’s education.
CNH: What challenges resulting from the pandemic do you foresee our schools need to overcome?
Monroe: As we approach the new school year, we will need to overcome the fear and uncertainty brought about by the pandemic. We still do not know as much as we’d like to know about COVID-19, so it is a challenge to prepare for every contingency when it comes to preventing the spread of the virus. However, we have a knowledgeable team developing protocols for returning to classroom instruction this fall, and they are working with state and school leaders to ensure every school has a plan for minimizing health risks to students and teachers when school starts.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Pictured: Dr. Greg Monroe, Diocese of Charlotte Catholic Schools superintendent, visited Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point June 24, where he met with retiring principal Greg Roberts and incoming principal Ryan Schnaith-Ivan. (Photo provided by Tara Hackman)