August 7, 2024 // Diocese

As School Year Begins, Superintendent Urges Students to ‘Open Their Hearts’ to Christ

Joshua Schipper

Video/Digital Content/Graphic Design Producer

Ahead of the opening of the new academic year, David Maugel, Superintendent for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, sat down with Today’s Catholic to reflect on his first year in the role of superintendent and offered advice to students as they head back to school.

Uniting both sides of the diocese for Mass accompanied by Pueri Cantores, Maugel said, marked the highlight of his first year, and he noted the beauty of recognizing “Christ’s love for us” at this cross-diocesan celebration. Maugel also cited the willingness of school principals across the diocese to grow in areas of spiritual and educational leadership as particularly encouraging in his first year.

“We embedded a whole new teacher observation system, we embedded a different way of looking at professional development,” Maugel said, applauding teachers’ “willingness to take that and grow in those areas, because it was new to them. And to see, I think, some success that we had with growing teachers, which obviously then aligns to student understanding in both those areas of spiritual growth and educational growth.”

That growth will continue this academic year with the introduction of more fully developed social studies and science curricula, with a goal to have a completely published K-12 curriculum that “not only identifies academic standards but also identifies a Catholic identity for each lesson.”

For students who step into a Catholic school for the first time this month, Maugel said that they can look forward to the commitment that teachers and principals have for their students to grow spiritually and academically, and not putting each of these tenets in separate boxes but being intentional in finding Christ in each academic discipline.

“I think one of the words that I heard quite often that I connected with at the Eucharistic Congress was the word ‘receive,’” Maugel said. “I would encourage our students to open their hearts to receive Christ calling to them in their academic studies, in their spiritual formation, in their interactions with one another, and as they grow into young adults.”

Maugel encouraged teachers, administrators, the staff of the Catholic Schools Office, and even himself to receive Christ in this way.

“That word of ‘receiving’ Christ – we spend a lot of time asking Christ for things or wanting things from Christ, but opening our hearts to receiving what it is He’s willing or wanting us to have or guiding us to: That’s a whole different mindset.”

Students of each generation have faced new challenges, Maugel said, and current students are still dealing with the effects on their education from the COVID-19 pandemic. Maugel also pointed to an epidemic of teenagers who are vaping. Also, Maugel said, the teacher shortage crisis in the United States is “at a critical point,” and students will have teachers who are in the process of growing their skill set rather than already having the pedagogy and analysis skills that many teachers in the past had.

“There’s going to be some growing pains, I think; the students are going to experience that, but I do think that we have a committed group of teachers and administrators that are excited about that opportunity. Because with that, I think there’s a new opportunity for us to … embed our Catholic faith in everything that we do because there isn’t any predetermined framework that says, ‘This is how you do this, this is how you do that.’ There’s going to be some authentic growth with the formation of our teachers and our principals to bring our Catholicism in every lesson and every opportunity that we have in our schools.”

When he’s not navigating new challenges at the helm of Catholic education in the diocese, Maugel enjoys building things out of reclaimed wood, “dumpster diving” for wood to frame a building, and tearing out bleachers to repurpose and recycle the material. From this, he has made charcuterie boards and cheese boards, even the majority of a small cabin out of reclaimed wood.

“I’ve torn down dilapidated decks that had several boards that were still good. But by tearing it down, I got the wood for free and then repurposed it into things like small furniture items like tables, bookshelves … a variety of things.”

While Maugel’s handiwork with repurposed wood and Catholic education shows significant tact, the ability to provide a quality education, he said, also comes from the willingness of his two associate superintendents – Jeff Kieffer and Julie Williams – and their “joy that they have in education,” adding that their readiness to help principals grow has had a positive impact on education in the diocese.

“I feel totally blessed to have the current staff at the Catholic Schools Office,” Maugel said. “They’re well educated, they love Christ. It’s a joy to come to work and problem solve the things that we have to problem solve, but also celebrate the different events throughout the school year that we get opportunities to do so.”

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Prayer to Begin a School Year

Blessed are you, Lord God,

Creator of body and mind and heart;

You have sent the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge to guide your people in all their ways.

At the beginning of this new school year, we implore your mercy:

Bless the students, teachers, and staff, that together we may grow in faith, hope, and love as we learn from you and one another how to follow your Son, Jesus.

Expand the horizons of our minds, that we may grow in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge;

Deepen our commitment to seek the truth of your ways;

and enliven our faith to reach out to those in need.

Glory and praise to you, Lord God, in the Church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever.

Amen

Source: “Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers,” USCCB, 2007