Teachers from six Drexel schools in the Diocese of Wichita gathered on Friday, November 8, at All Saints School in Wichita for a day of collaboration and professional development. The event included educators from St. Anne, St. Patrick, St. Margaret Mary, St. Jude, All Saints, and St. Joseph Catholic schools.

The day began with a Zoom session led by Jennifer Dees focusing on professional development in ESOL to support schools with increasing numbers of English language learners. In the afternoon, Jessica Lopez, D.Ed., addressed classroom behavior.

Teachers collaborated in grade-level and content groups during the event. As each school has only one classroom per grade level, opportunities to work with similar teachers are rare.

Janet Eaton, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, expressed her satisfaction with the event's outcomes: “The teachers could identify with each other immensely. They shared ideas and gave suggestions to each other,” she said.

The St. Katharine Drexel Catholic School Fund aims to help parishes that face financial challenges in providing Catholic education and supports those without their own school that struggle with costs associated with sending students to other local Catholic schools.