Featured Sessions on the Main Stage
Moving from Inclusion to Belonging: Accompanying Students with Disabilities in Catholic Schools 
Michael Boyle, Ph.D., Superintendent of the Diocese of Joliet, IL
How can we learn to see people with disabilities if they are not part of our communities, hidden away from our view? By excluding certain groups of people from our Catholic schools is there an inadvertent message that these people don’t exist or are not valued? Or, if there are students with disabilities in our schools, do we see them? Are they visible and viable members of our school communities? Drawing on experiences in Catholic schools, Dr. Michael Boyle will offer a framework for understanding the barriers that students with disabilities experience that prevent a sense of belonging and identify potential first steps for schools.
NSBECS Standard 1
Fire in the Belly: Believing in and Sustaining the Passion to Make a Difference
Frank Donaldson, President of the Institute for School and Parish Development
This session will invite all in Catholic education to explore the reasons behind two questions: 1. Why do we do what we do? 2. Who are we being while we’re doing what we are doing? We will talk about what motivates us to lead and how we can develop the "fire in the belly" that will sustain us in our ministry and prompt us to be the best we can be.
NSBECS Standard 13
Public Policy Advocacy and Federal Benefits: What Catholic School Educators Need to Know and Do!
Sister Dale McDonald, NCEA Vice President of Public Policy and Jennifer Daniels, Associate Director for Public Policy, USCCB
Advocating for Catholic school benefits and rights is the job of EVERY Catholic school educator. This session highlights the ways schools can serve their students through federal program benefits and by knowing the rights of Catholic schools. Learn the law and learn to advocate from whatever position you hold in Catholic education.
NSBECS Standard 5
Mental Health in Catholic Schools: How Are the Kids Doing?
A panel of experts will reflect on the mental health of Catholic school students. This session will explore the strategies that have strengthened school-home relationships and the overall wellbeing of students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NSBECS Standard 9
The State of Catholic Education
Join NCEA President/CEO Lincoln Snyder and various national leaders as they discuss the current state of Catholic education. Topics will include federal policies, national enrollment trends and the pressing matters that impact the vitality of systems of Catholic schools.
NSBECS Standard 6
– NCEA Book Author