CHAPTER 1

When One Door Closes

It may be an old adage, but that's because it's proven so often to betrue: when one door closes, another opens. It is imperative duringthese challenging times in Catholic school history that we remainpositive and focused on our goals.

Knowing ahead of time that we will inevitably face challengesand disappointments should prepare us to overcome these obstacleswhen they arise, and enable us to not give up too easily onachieving our goals.

A Secret to Happiness

One of the secrets to happiness as described in the book "TheFour Agreements," by Don Miguel Ruiz, is "Don't Take ThingsPersonally." It is a difficult goal to achieve for many of us whoinvest ourselves in such personal ways into the success of ourschools. We often put in exceptionally long hours and sometimessacrifice vacation time, holiday time, and even family time. Ittherefore becomes easy to associate what we do with who we are.That's a mistake. I learned that the hard way.

When I first became principal of St. Genevieve High School,I invested so much of my personal time in my job that I prettymuch gave up exercise, was on a steady diet of fast-food, allowedmy weight to balloon, couldn't sleep well, and became dissatisfiedwith how I looked and felt ... sound familiar, anyone? Finally, afterexactly six months on the job, my body shut me down — almostfor good.

On New Year's Eve of 1999, instead of celebrating Y2Ksurrounded by family and friends, I was in an emergency roomsurrounded by medical staff who were attempting to save my life.After more than 20 days in the hospital suffering from a seriousbout of pancreatitis, I emerged, wobbly and shaken, vowingto change my habits. Although my doctors believed I wouldnot survive, God had opened another door for me, and I wasdetermined to run through it.

I would change my habits. I would change my thinking.Had I died, it may have been a sad occasion for some, perhaps arelief for others, but the fact is, I would have been dead and allmy crazy hours would have added up to zero, and by now my sixmonth ministry at St. Genevieve High School would not evenbe a memory for most people. Balance. I needed to bring it backinto my life.

When the Worst ThingBecomes the Best Thing

I can remember clearly the searing pain I felt on the morningof December 31, 1999. It is the worst physical pain I have everexperienced. Yet it turned out to be one of the best things thatever happened to me.

When I got out of the hospital, I was barely able to walk up aflight of stairs, having been bed-ridden and connected to tubes foralmost a month. Once I learned that the diabetes I had acquiredalong with the onset of pancreatitis could have been preventedby proper diet and exercise, it got me to thinking: what kind ofa message do we send students if we are only preparing themacademically and socially for their futures? They might graduatefrom college, get high-paying jobs, drive the car of their dreams,and live in the big house on the hill, but what if they are notphysically fit? My near-death experience had taught me a valuablelesson; it was a lesson I wished I had learned earlier, say, in highschool or even grade school.

Exercise quickly became a regular part of not only my life,but also of the lives of all St. Genevieve High School students andstaff members. The entire staff agreed during the spring of 2000that we would implement an exercise program that fall requiringall students and staff to exercise at least three days a week, andpreferably, four.

Getting Creative to Get Fit

We have limited space and facilities — only one gym and twolocker rooms — so we had to get creative. We decided to pair upour teachers so there would always be two teachers working witha group of students. Since everyone would be exercising duringthe last period of the day, we didn't have the space nor the timeto spare to have everyone change into exercise clothes. So instead,we changed our traditional Catholic school uniform to AdidasWear. Students began wearing Adidas shorts and running pantswith our school's newly designed Valiant t-shirts. Now, no onehad to change from one set of clothes to another — the studentswere already dressed for exercise.

We began to see immediate results from our exercise program.One of the first — and most lasting — results is that when the finalbell of the day rings, there is still high energy on campus. Exerciseseems to rejuvenate students. Instead of the exhausted-lookingfaces we were accustomed to seeing, students were now leavingon an energy high. Some teachers, who decided to exercise alongwith the students, have expressed gratitude for providing themtime to become more fit during their workday. And a number ofstudents and teachers have reported dramatic weight losses sincewe began the program.

Exercise rejuvenates students

Over the years, there have been requests to replace the fitnessclasses with other classes or to use that time for other purposes.For the first three to four years, these requests were frequent;now, they are rare. We have established that the fitness class issomething that is a priority here, and have offered students avariety of fitness class choices, including ballroom dancing, salsadancing, hip-hop dancing, Pilates, yoga, hacky-sack, camp games,kickball, running, walking, biking, and more. When teachingcandidates are interviewing, they know up front that if they arehired to teach math or science or whatever their subject area, theyalso automatically become a fitness teacher when hired.

Fitness For All

by Kerry Roche, English Teacher,St. Genevieve High School

The St. Genevieve fitness program offers a variety ofactivities — from walking, running, badminton, ultimateFrisbee, and group games to yoga, hacky sack, and the"Insanity" workout. Every student is required to take aclass four days a weekand all teachers pairup to lead a fitnessclass each quarter.Our school uniforms(track pants/shorts)are designed with fitnessclasses in mind,so students do nothave to bother changingdaily. Becausethe classes changequarterly, teachersand students areasked to be opento new activities and to venture out of their comfortzone. Our program is unique and extremely beneficialto the St. Genevieve community in that it aligns with ourholistic approach to education, which adheres to thephilosophy that intellectual, mental, and physical healthare all necessary for an individual's success.

During my interview at the school in 2007, I was toldthat all teachers were required to teach a fitness class.I was skeptical at first. Though I like exercising, I amnot an athlete, and I was also concerned that having toteach a fitness class would add to the already challengingworkload. When I learned more about it, I realized itwasn't always about traditional exercise and athletics;instead, teachers were encouraged to teach a fitness classbased on their own interests and experience.

After teaching a jazz/hip-hop class my first twoyears at St. Genevieve, I branched out to teach a varietyof fitness classes. I now rotate between teaching bootcamp, strength training, and yoga/Pilates. The students'involvement continues to surprise and delight me. WhenI was young, anyone who wasn't good at team sportshated P.E. class, so it is inspiring to see students whodid little or no exercise getting better and challengingthemselves to run that extra lap, or hold planks a littlelonger. Likewise, I still expect the majority of studentsto complain about the amount of physical work we do,especially in our 90+-degree valley heat, but for the mostpart, they have a great attitude, are always willing to workhard, and have a lot of fun doing it. The fitness programalso provides an opportunity for teachers to connectwith students in a more open environment, which oftenencourages them to do better back in the classroom.

When I started out teaching six academic classes andstill had a seventh period of fitness, I feared not havingenough energy for it all. In fact, the result was quite theopposite. Teaching fitness always energizes me for therest of the day, and because I'm able to work out withthe students, it's easy for me to stay fit despite my busyschedule. Also, during boot camp, I set aside time todiscuss healthy eating habits, such as calorie intake andhydration, to make sure that students are not only gettingenough nutrients to work out that day, but also know howto make healthy food choices in general. I currently teacha yoga/Pilates class that focuses not only on strengthand toning, but also on the mind/body connection. Thisis one of my favorite parts of a hectic day! The fitnessprogram has also motivated me to learn more aboutwhatever class I'm teaching at the time, so I started takingseveral fitness classes myself in order to better educate mystudents on proper techniques and new exercises.

Students at St. Genevieve not only benefit from thefitness program, they really enjoy it, too. For example,juniors Edith Murillo and Andrea Rivera, students inmy yoga class, commented that the class helped themrelax at the end of a stressful day, yet was still "physicallychallenging." Edith said that she is "trying to do betterevery day." Senior Emanuel Marroquin likes the fact thatfitness is mandatory for all four years at St. Genevieve,which is different from the traditional two-year Californiarequirements. Senior Marilyn Gomez enjoys her groupgames class, saying that "it's fun" and that unlike at herprevious school, no one is excluded from the teams andeveryone here gets a fair chance.

St. Genevieve's fitness program clearly benefits boththe staff and the students. In today's world, where there isso much emphasis on obesity and health issues related toa lack of physical activity, we can truly say we are helpingone another develop healthy habits. With something assimple as thirty minutes a day, four days a week, we putaway our electronic devices, interact with one another,and little by little, change ourselves and the world.

Sometimes You Have to Findthe Door to Open Yourself

Recently, I knocked at the door (well, actually, it was a phonecall) of the National Catholic Education Association. In the springof 2010, the NCEA published "Living the Ascension," a shortprimer I wrote that offers some tips on effective marketing andrecruiting. Since its publication, I've received a lot of positivefeedback about the book, but also a lot of questions. I purposefullydesigned "Living the Ascension" to be a fast read, knowing thatwe educators don't typically have a lot of time. But I've discoveredthat while readers have appreciated the tips in the book, thereappears to be an appetite to know more. Which is what broughtme to the NCEA's door (well, conference call!) anew — I'ddecided to approach them to pitch this new book.

Even though I think it was a pretty good pitch, I was told"no." The door was closed. However, prior to hanging up thephone, I realized I had just been done a favor. Right in front ofme was the new door, which I would have never seen had theNCEA agreed to publish this book. By the time the call was over,I had made the decision to self-publish this book and to donateany proceeds to St. Genevieve High School. The door presentedto me turned out to be my preferred choice — a choice I hadn'teven realized I had.

You see, when they published my last work, the NCEA boughtthe rights from me. I received a nominal fee (which I acceptedin copies of the book instead of dollars, knowing I'd be givingcopies away). Also, the NCEA had edited out some importantideas that I thought should be included, so that the book couldremain "politically correct." Now, having made the decision toself-publish, I could write exactly the book I wanted, withoutconcern that ideas would be removed. Plus, there may even be afinancial benefit for our school.

These days, so many of us are attempting to recruit families,build enrollment, and seek out dollars through donations,fundraising, and grants. With an economic drought over thepast several years, the financial river has far less water than beforeand there are more of us fishing along the same banks. Add tothat the financial challenges faced by the parents of our currentand potential students, and the difficulties become increasinglycomplex. More and more families are requesting financial aid,those who were receiving financial aid before are requestinghigher amounts, and many of our financial resources have eitherdwindled or disappeared altogether. In waiting for the economyto improve, I've gone from feeling like I had my finger in thedike to feeling like I need both arms up to hold the dam fromcrashing in on us.

It is easy to grow frustrated. It is easy to become overwhelmedby the "I want to give up" or "I can't do this anymore" feeling.However, if we are part of a team sharing the challenges, workingtogether, while taking care of our own physical and mental health,it is easier to look for a new door when the one in front of us getsclosed or even slammed shut.

So what do I hope you have learned from this chapter?

1. It is important to take care of yourself, both physically andmentally.

2. If you don't feel that you are part of a team, begin buildingthe team.

CHAPTER 2

A Time For Reflection

Two books that helped me tremendously during the renaissanceof St. Genevieve High School were "Good to Great," by JimCollins, and "Raving Fans," by Ken Blanchard. We'll talk about"Raving Fans" in Chapter 9. For now, I want to briefly discuss"Good to Great."

In writing about corporate leaders who lead stunningtransformations, Jim Collins wrote:

The executives who ignited the transformationsfrom good to great did not first figure out where todrive the bus and then get people to take it there.No, they first got the right people on the bus (andthe wrong people off the bus) and then figured outwhere to drive it. They said, in essence, "Look, Idon't really know where we should take this bus.But I know this much: If we get the right peopleon the bus, the right people in the right seats, andthe wrong people off the bus, then we'll figureout how to take it someplace great."

One of the not so "politically correct" statements that wasedited out of my last book is that there are people in educationwho should not be in education. There are teachers who shouldnot be teachers, principals who should not be principals, pastorswho should not be pastors, superintendents who should not besuperintendents, and bishops who should not be bishops.

Canon law, which gives so much authority to our bishopsand pastors, will most likely not be changing any time soon.Therefore, there is not much we can do if we have an ineffectivebishop or pastor. However, when it comes to anyone else, changeis somewhat easier.

Let's begin with ourselves.

Life-Changing Moments

by Jamie Chang, English Teacher,St. Genevieve High School

On May 17th, 2012, just two days before my wedding, Isat on the living room floor of my parents' house cuttingstrips of butcher paper. However, instead of the paperbeing a decorative project for my wedding, as one wouldassume, I was prepping for a job interview — the secondof three I would haveat St. Genevieve HighSchool.

So many thoughtswere spinning throughmy head as I tried toplan my lesson for thenext morning. I kepthearing the person onthe phone telling me tohave a lesson ready for25 remedial freshmen.I began to wonder, whoare these freshmen I was going to meet the next morning? Will mylesson be relevant to them? How will the classroom be set up? AsI thought about all this, I was excited but also somewhatanxious. Just a few minutes prior, my DJ for the weddinghad called to say that he'd forgotten my wedding wasthis weekend! I felt like I was being pulled in differentdirections and questioned why I had even agreed to dothe interview when I really should be trying to fix thewedding. However, something kept me going.

My first encounter with St. Genevieve High Schoolis something I will never forget. As I entered the mainbuilding, a student walking down the hall greeted meimmediately. At first I thought that this was some sort offluke. Coming from an environment where students didnot like to acknowledge their teachers in the hallway, Iwas surprised by the student's willingness to greet a totalstranger. And it did not stop there. As I was directed tosit in a waiting area in the hallway, several staff memberscame to me to ask if I had been helped or if I would likesome water. I began to see the nature that is St. GenevieveHigh School.

It is something that I'm somewhat reluctant to tryto explain because, really, it is something that everyoneshould experience for themselves. I quickly learned thatSt. Genevieve High School does not "gloss" over the factthat they are a National School of Character; rather, theystrive to live up to that title in their daily actions andrelationships. Needless to say, it was refreshing to enterinto such an environment and it intrigued me to want tolearn more.