• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Dr. Donna Hargens, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, speaks at the Catholic Schools Convocation Aug. 30 at Church of the Nativity in Timonium. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

New superintendent excited about ‘Year of Service’

August 31, 2018
By George P. Matysek Jr.
Filed Under: Feature, Local News, News, Schools

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Encouraging students to reach out to others through community service has always been a critical part of Catholic education. This year, however, helping others is getting even more attention as the Archdiocese of Baltimore has declared the 2018-19 school year a “Year of Service.”

Dr. Donna Hargens, the newly appointed superintendent of Catholic schools for the archdiocese who began her new job July 2, said the designation is a way of highlighting missionary discipleship in the schools in a concentrated way.

“This is a chance to get really active and help improve the community,” said Hargens, who most recently served as superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Ky. “There certainly are a lot of needs.”

The projects developed by teachers and students will be closely tied to classroom learning, Hargens said. That might mean writing essays about service experiences or conducting scientific investigations into an environmental project.

“It’s not just service projects that stand isolated from the regular learning the school is undertaking,” she said.

Through an online system, the archdiocese will track and quantify service efforts. That will culminate in an end-of-the-year celebration, Hargens said.

“It’s all obviously related to the Catholic faith,” she said. “I think people are going to get really creative. It’s going to get a little competitive to see who can do the most good – and that’s a good thing.”

Hargens believes Catholic schools help students meet their potential, and  recalled being a second-grader at St. Helen School in Milwaukee when her teacher, a religious sister, wrote her a note saying she could one day be valedictorian.

“I worked to be that,” she said. “I was my high school valedictorian because of the expectations and the foundation and the community of learners and going to Mass.”

In the new academic year, schools throughout the archdiocese will continue to develop curriculum mapping, a digital system begun several years ago that keeps precise measure of what’s happening in the classroom. At the end of each class or at the end of the week, teachers enter information about everything they actually covered in their teaching sessions, not just what they planned to cover.

A benefit is that new teachers are more easily able to learn from experienced teachers and have access to the same resources, the superintendent said.

Because students have different learning needs, the archdiocese will also look at ways of providing “differentiated support,” Hargens said.

“We need to know what the schools need and make sure we’re providing that support,” she said.

As the archdiocese moves forward with plans for building a new K-8 school in West Baltimore, Hargens said it will be important to make sure the school is “state-of-the art” and “excellent in every aspect of it.”

“It’s the opportunity to build a community around what you want this school to be and to engage community members and students in building this vision for the new school,” she said.

Hargens has already met numerous Catholic school educators and parish priests across the archdiocese. She intends to meet more as she learns about a system made up of 44 archdiocesan schools in nine jurisdictions.

“There’s so much good work going on and so many good people doing that work,” she said. “I’m excited to be here.”

Also see:

Educators gather for Catholic schools convocation in Timonium

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org.

Listen to a Catholic Baltimore radio interview with Dr. Donna Hargens below.

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

George P. Matysek Jr.

Click here to view all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Mary’s assumption: The long-held belief was declared dogma 75 years ago

  • Statue of Confederate general known as anti-Catholic to be reinstalled in nation’s capital

  • Gun buyback exceeds expectations, previous totals

  • Project PLASE hopes Beacon House Square shines a light in Southwest Baltimore 

  • Movie Review: ‘Freakier Friday’

| Latest Local News |

Project PLASE hopes Beacon House Square shines a light in Southwest Baltimore 

Baltimore NBCC leader among People of Life awards winners

Gun buyback exceeds expectations, previous totals

Radio Interview: The situation in Gaza with Catholic Near East Welfare Association

Patrick Brice sentenced to home detention for attacks on elderly pro-life supporters

| Latest World News |

Texas woman sues ex-partner, abortion pill provider, alleging she was given drugs without consent

Canadian court OKs priest’s abuse suit against prominent priest, religious order

Judge blocks religious exemption to birth control coverage; Little Sisters of the Poor to appeal

Catholic University of America Press to publish Pope Leo’s dissertation

Pope says he hopes Trump-Putin meeting leads to ceasefire in Ukraine

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Texas woman sues ex-partner, abortion pill provider, alleging she was given drugs without consent
  • Canadian court OKs priest’s abuse suit against prominent priest, religious order
  • Project PLASE hopes Beacon House Square shines a light in Southwest Baltimore 
  • Judge blocks religious exemption to birth control coverage; Little Sisters of the Poor to appeal
  • Catholic University of America Press to publish Pope Leo’s dissertation
  • Mary’s assumption: The long-held belief was declared dogma 75 years ago
  • Baltimore NBCC leader among People of Life awards winners
  • Pope says he hopes Trump-Putin meeting leads to ceasefire in Ukraine
  • Sisters of Life ‘are the very mirror of God,’ cardinal says as 3 take perpetual vows

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en