Campaign for Catholic Schools (CCS) supporters and guests gathered at the Boston College Club for a June update on work underway at CCS and our co-sponsored academies—Saint John Paul II Catholic Academy (SJPIICA) and Trinity Catholic Academy (TCA).

Chair Jack Connors thanked supporters for their investment in CCS as he highlighted achievements at our 15th year mark. From the transformation of 10 struggling parish schools into two vibrant regional schools on five renovated campuses, CCS has been a game changer for Catholic education in Dorchester and Brockton. With the 2018 strategic shift from funder to school co-sponsor, CCS has a direct role in school management, partnering with local leadership. This hands-on relationship has led to stronger financials, new teacher retention and reward
programs, updated academics, and increased enrollment.

Joining Jack at the podium were CCS Vice Chair Bob Atchinson and CCS President Jim Walsh, along with Talia Sivaro, an instructional coach at SJPIICA. Ms. Sivaro spoke about her eleven years of teaching at the academy before leaving in 2019 for a promotion at an urban public school system. Talia was recruited back to SJPIICA
this year in a newly created institutional coach position. Because of CCS investments, new teacher professional development and retention programs are available that have allowed her to grow and become an even more productive school leader.

The meeting concluded with a birthday song for Jack who celebrated a special birthday in June. SJPIICA 8th grader Maliyah led guests in a round of Happy Birthday, in Cape Verdean Creole and in English. Guests donned masks of Jack’s smiling face illustrating you can never have too many Jack Connors in your corner!