A Year of Faith and Formation: Reflections on the 2025–2026 School Year

A Letter from Catholic Virtual President, Rob Birdsell

Dear Friends,

At the end of every school year, I find myself doing what I suspect many of you do: pausing, taking stock, and asking whether the work we did together actually mattered. This year, I can answer that question with gratitude and conviction. It mattered. You made it matter.

From our earliest days as Catholic Virtual to our current identity as Catholic Education Services, our mission has been singular: to be a trusted partner in the sacred, urgent work of forming young people who are academically prepared and spiritually rooted. We serve schools that believe — as I do — that education is not merely a delivery system for information, but a transformative encounter with ideas, with community, and with one’s own deepest capacities.

This year offered its share of challenges. That is simply the nature of leading schools in a complex, fast-changing world. But what I have witnessed, time and again, is the extraordinary creative resilience of Catholic school leaders — your willingness to adapt without abandoning your values, to problem-solve without losing your sense of purpose. That is not a small thing. That is the signature of a community that knows who it is.

This year, Catholic Education Services proudly served a growing network of partner schools — providing flexible online courses, instructional continuity, and faith-centered curriculum that enabled your schools to do more for more students. I want to highlight what that looked like in practice:

• Expanded Course Access. Partner schools offered more student choices than ever before — AP® courses, world languages, dual-credit options, and innovative electives in AI and Digital Media — without the burden of additional hiring. Expanding access to rigorous learning is not a logistical achievement alone; it is a statement about who deserves the best.
• Seamless Instructional Continuity. When staffing gaps threatened to disrupt learning, schools turned to CES and kept instruction moving without missing a beat. Behind every uninterrupted school day is a community’s commitment to its students — and CES was honored to help you honor that commitment.
• Faith-Centered Academic Rigor. Our Cognia-accredited curriculum, with religious courses aligned to USCCB standards, continued to provide what families trust and students deserve: the dual foundation of academic excellence and Catholic formation. These are not competing goals. They are, in the deepest sense, the same goal.
• College Readiness & Preparation. Students who completed CES online courses graduated better prepared for the independent learning demands of higher education. That is a direct, measurable fruit of the partnership you built with us — and a reminder that what we do now shapes who students become.

Season 6 of the Next Class 2.0 podcast brought a refreshed format and what I believe were some of the most practically useful conversations we’ve produced. Ideas matter. The right conversation at the right moment can change how a leader sees a problem — and change what they do about it. Here are five highlights from this season:

• The Evolving Nature of Catholic School Leadership. Brandon Jacobs of Carney, Sandoe & Associates gave us a candid and searching look at how dramatically the role of school heads has shifted. Average leadership tenure has dropped. Today’s leader must be a spiritual shepherd and a financial strategist, an advancement officer and a culture builder, often all in the same week. Finding the right leader for the right moment in a school’s life is both art and science — and it is urgent.
• Renewed Hope for Catholic Education from NCEA. Dr. Steve Cheeseman, President of NCEA, shared an encouraging read on the state of Catholic schools nationwide. School communities are strengthening their Catholic identity, responding creatively to teacher and leader shortages, and NCEA is evolving as a strategic partner — bringing actionable data, leadership development, and tools for operational vitality. Hope, in this context, is not naive. It is earned.
• School Choice and the Educational Choice for Children Act. Ashling Kelly Preston, Former Associate Director of Public Policy for the Secretariat of Catholic Education at the USCCB, walked us through what this federal legislation could mean for Catholic schools and the families we serve. The opportunity is real. So is the responsibility to lead thoughtfully as access expands.
• Contemplative Leadership: What Mysticism Offers School Leaders. Spiritual leadership coach and Turning to the Mystics podcast host Kirsten Oates brought a rare and grounding perspective to the show. Drawing on her work at the Center for Action and Contemplation, she made the case that contemplative practice — far from being esoteric — offers practical tools for leaders navigating complexity, burnout, and the inner life of institutions. The outer work of leadership is always shaped by the inner life of the leader.
• Culture-Building Lessons from a World-Class Soccer Coach. Our most surprising — and most listened to — episode featured Fabrice Gautrat, head coach of the Houston Dash. His principles translated beautifully into school leadership: add outrageous value; build environments people want to stay in; meet people where they are; lead with extreme ownership; start with self-awareness. Any principal or president could apply his framework starting tomorrow.

Listen to Season 6 and all past seasons of Next Class 2.0 on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

The best institutions do not simply respond to the present moment. They prepare purposefully for the future they intend to create. As we look to the coming year, Catholic Education Services is building toward that future with several key initiatives:

• Expanded course offerings in STEM, theology, and career-technical pathways

• New professional development resources for Catholic school faculty and staff
• Deeper partnership models for schools navigating enrollment growth or faculty transitions
• Continued investment in our Hudson Global Scholars Network membership, broadening global educational connections for your students

We will share more as we approach the new school year. And as always, your feedback and partnership shape everything we build. This is not a one-way relationship. It has never been.

None of this is possible without you. To every principal, president, department head, and faculty member who has entrusted Catholic Education Services with your students — thank you. You are not merely partners in a program. You are partners in a vocation.

I am deeply grateful to Fr. Michael Murray for his faithful spiritual leadership of our organization, and to our entire CES team, whose commitment to Catholic education is evident in everything they do and everything they are.

Our students are the reason we show up every day, full of purpose and gratitude. May this summer be a time of genuine rest, joyful renewal, and the kind of deep reflection that prepares you for what comes next. You are capable of more than you know.

In the spirit of our shared mission — rooted in Christ’s call to “Go and teach all nations” — I wish each of you a blessed and restorative summer. The work we do together is not merely good work. It is essential work. And I look forward to continuing it with you.

Together in Christ,

Rob Birdsell

President, Catholic Education Services

www.catholiceducationservices.com