The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education offers in-service workshops and other consultation services for Catholic schools that wish to improve their Catholic identity and/or deepen their understanding and practice of Catholic classical liberal arts education. Our staff and consultants have decades of experience from kindergarten through college.
Workshops (typically one or two days) are tailored to fit the needs of each school. We allow plenty of time for questions and answers and informal discussions. Talks directed to the broader community, including board members and parents, are often included. Our programs always include prayer, such as Mass, the Rosary, and the Liturgy of the Hours.
For schools interested in a comprehensive approach to the recovery of the Church’s tradition in the classical liberal arts and sciences, we offer full, longer-term renewal plans and related services.
Other individual consultation services include the following:
– customizable introductory webinars
– on-site observation with recommendation report
– curricular review & recommendations
– ongoing phone consultation
Contact us to discuss how our services can help your school.
Contact us for further information:
Consultants
Colleen Richards
Director of School Services, ICLE
Colleen Richards is the former headmaster of St. John Bosco Schools ~ Chesterton Academy of Rochester in East Rochester, New York. She led the school’s adoption of the St. Jerome Academy Educational Plan, training teachers and growing the school to double its size. In 2014 she led the opening of Chesterton Academy of Rochester as part of the new Chesterton Schools Network, making the institution an option for a complete Catholic education for students from Pre-K through twelfth grade.
Danny Flynn
Danny Flynn is the Principal of St. Jerome Academy in Hyattsville, MD, where he taught the 8th grade core classes for six years. Before joining St. Jerome’s, Danny managed a character education program in DC public schools, worked as Dean of Students in an independent Catholic elementary school for two years, and served as an Assistant Dean in a Catholic boarding school. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Theology from Franciscan University and a Master’s in Educational Administration from Trinity University. He is happily married and is the father of eleven children.
Dr. Arthur Hippler
Dr. Arthur Hippler is chairman of the Religion Department and teaches religion in the Upper School at Providence Academy. He has taught in the graduate theology programs for both Ave Maria University and University of St. Thomas (Minnesota). Before coming to Providence Academy, he served the Catholic Diocese of La Crosse (Wisconsin), teaching moral theology and social ethics in the diocesan programs for lay formation and continuing education for teachers. He is the author of Citizens of the Heavenly City: A Catechism of Catholic Social Teaching (Borromeo Books) and the “Leader’s Manual” for the parish study program Social Virtue and the Common Good (Together! Inc). He received his B.A. in Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College in California, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Boston College.
Dr. Merrill Roberts
Dr. Merrill Roberts is a post-doctoral researcher at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, where he studies solar coronal transients and performs forward modeling for the Parker Solar Probe mission. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from The Catholic University of America in 2018, and his Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College in 2003. He combines his passions for nature and education as the Nature Studies teacher at St. Jerome Academy where he has instructed 5th through 8th graders from 2010 to the present. Dr. Roberts is the Co-director of Music at St. Jerome’s Parish, where he strives to emphasize the beauty and truth inherent in the Mass, along with his wife Elizabeth. Merrill and Elizabeth live in Hyattsville, MD, and are blessed to be the parents of four active, inquisitive young men.
Rosemary Vander Weele
Rosemary Vander Weele was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She earned an undergraduate degree from Franciscan University of Steubenville and graduate degrees in Catholic Leadership from the Augustine Institute and Education Administration from Regis University. In 2011, after teaching middle school English and history for seven years, Rosemary was appointed principal of Our Lady of Lourdes, which at the time had less than 100 students and was identified for closure the following year. At the encouragement of then-Auxiliary Bishop James Conley, she led the school through a renewal in the Catholic liberal arts that resulted in a return to maximum enrollment within seven years and the addition of a second campus in the fall of 2018. Rosemary now serves as President of Our Lady of Lourdes, overseeing the continued development of both campuses.
Jessie Van Hecke
Jessie Van Hecke, a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College and a Kindergarten and First Grade teacher at St. Augustine Academy in Ventura, California, credits her liberal education at Thomas Aquinas College with introducing her to classical views of education and the human person, and with giving her the ability to sort quickly through different educational theories. After completing her education at Thomas Aquinas College in 1986, Jessie Van Hecke received her certification in primary education from the Montessori Institute of Los Angeles a year later and has taught across the country. Currently, she heads the K-3 program for St. Augustine Academy in Ventura, California.