The Roadmap for Excellence in Catholic Education continues to move forward, with significant changes to the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education, said Jason Slattery, director of Catholic education in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The office announced Jan. 26 it is reorganizing into three different departments: Department of Catholic Schools, Department of Parish Catechesis and Department of Educational Quality and Excellence. Directors for each are experienced OMCE staff members Gayle Stoffel, Eric Pederson and Emily Dahdah, respectively.

The archdiocese founded the OMCE in 2015 after dissolving a longtime Office for Catholic Schools, in an effort to refocus limited resources on the broad work of Catholic education, which includes Catholic schools, parish catechetical programs and homeschooling. The office has collaborated with numerous community partners such as the Aim Higher Foundation, GHR and Opportunity for All Kids to meet student needs.

The new departments will help the OMCE better “drive” recommendations coming out of the Roadmap work, Slattery said. They also address governance of Catholic schools, one of the Roadmap’s five focus areas. The others are talent management, curriculum and metrics, access and sustainability, and mission schools and their governance.

The Roadmap initiative launched in 2019 to coordinate a strategic approach over the next three to five years to strengthen Catholic education within the archdiocese. The initiative draws from local and national leaders with expertise in various aspects of Catholic education to make quality education accessible and sustainable.

Also coming out of the Roadmap work are several new positions in the OMCE, including a recruitment specialist to address Catholic school talent development and leadership, and another staff member to help schools navigate applying for state and federal funding available for nonpublic schools.

The OMCE is also partnering with the University of St. Thomas’ Center for Catholic Studies to develop a unified, professional development plan for Catholic school teachers and leaders.

Meanwhile, the archdiocese is working with the Drexel Mission Schools identified last year through the Roadmap initiative. The schools were determined to have the highest concentration of children and families in need. They are Ascension Catholic School, St. John Paul II Catholic School and Risen Christ Catholic School in Minneapolis; Blessed Trinity Catholic School in Richfield; Community of Saints Catholic School in West St. Paul; Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Columbia Heights; St. Alphonsus Catholic School in Brooklyn Center; St. Jerome Catholic School in Maplewood; and St. Peter Claver Catholic School in St. Paul.