By Michelle Priar , Superintendent of Schools, Diocese of Evansville, Special to The Message
As our school hallways fill up with students and staff and the excitement of a new school year is underway, I find myself reflecting on the incredible privilege it is to serve the Catholic school community in the Diocese of Evansville. I’ve served as a teacher, principal, associate superintendent and now superintendent in our diocese and have had the honor of walking this journey with so many wonderful people.
This year, as students, teachers and staff return to the classroom, we do so celebrating this year’s theme, Walking Together in Christ. I believe this captures the very heart of what it means to be a part of our Catholic school family. For our students, teachers and staff, families and communities, this is more than just a slogan or a tagline but rather an invitation to view the school year as a shared journey. None of us walks alone: the nervous mom dropping her child off on that first day of kindergarten, the senior preparing for graduation or the brand new teacher who is just entering the teaching profession. We’re all travelers walking a road guided by the same light of Christ.
For students, walking together in Christ means learning to be good companions to one another — including a classmate who sits alone at lunch or helping a new student who is still getting acclimated to new surroundings. Our Catholic faith doesn’t work in isolation but is lived out through kindness and understanding.
For our teachers and staff, this theme is a reminder of the sacred responsibility that we carry to help students grow closer to God. It’s a daily choice to walk alongside our young people not just as instructors of knowledge but as witnesses to the Gospel. I’m continually inspired by the dedication of our faculty and staff who give so much of themselves to form the minds and hearts of our young people.
For our parents and families, walking together in Christ is a call to partnership. Over the years, I’ve noticed that Catholic schools are most impactful when home, school and parish walk in step with one another, reinforcing shared values and shared faith. We are deeply grateful for the trust families place in us each year, and this year we will again strive to be worthy companions in the mission of raising faithful, well-formed young people.
As we begin this new school year, let’s ask Christ to walk beside us, to open our eyes to his presence in one another, and to give us the grace to be faithful companions to those he has placed in our path. May this be a year marked by unity — a year in which our entire Catholic school family truly walks together in Christ.
God bless the school year ahead.