Have a "Fashion-Free Summer"

Anyone who has encountered the dubious experience of walking behind a teenage boy in a shopping mall can be forgiven for succumbing to the temptation to support dress code requirements in public places. A view of “Joe Boxer” peeking over belted jeans that angle somewhat south of where most people expect it to be is enough to cause one to advocate for the return of knickers. I am reminded of this cultural oddity as La Salle students sit for their final exams, flushed with anticipation for the start of summer vacation. The malls will be flooded with teenagers in varying stages of sartorial disarray. Boys’ hair will grow longer, girls’ shorts will shrink and a variety of “message” t-shirts will proclaim an array of nihilist (or pointless) messages. And, there will be a flood of belts-below-the-butt as far as the eye can see.


These are the moments when I celebrate the existence of La Salle’s uniform requirement - the virtue of which can be measured on any given Friday when “Spirit Day” or “Dollar Dress Day” produces student clothing more aligned with mall-hopping attire than the khaki pants and LS polo shirt usually seen Monday - Thursday (I’ve learned to invite visitors to the campus on any day but Friday).

Those who advocate for the Friday exception argue that teenagers need to be able to express themselves - and sociologists would agree. I recognize that I am a bit of a “Luddite” when it comes to my view of how teenagers should comport themselves in public spaces. I also suspect that the best I can hope for in this regard is that the adult world - which they will enter in just a handful of years - will impose upon them a conformity to standards of dress that is only a pipe dream in high school. So, I recognize that “Casual Fridays” at La Salle will always be a foundation for the inevitable testing of boundaries that is the sacred mission of every teenager. Yet, I wonder, shouldn’t that be enough? Shouldn’t the promise of a casual Friday be sufficient for our students to accept the more restricted dress code of Monday-Thursday? Every parent reading this should be rolling their eyes at my naiveté. I know it’s a rhetorical question! The point is this: why do we engage in this test of wills from Monday - Thursday? Surely there are more important battles (keeping every grade above a “C” is a good example).

This grim rumination at the end of a school year has been prompted by an article I recently read entitled:

Dealing With Today’s Social Norms

When a Catholic school teacher says to a student “tuck in that shirt,” it means more than actually tucking in the shirt

The author celebrates a by-gone era when lay teachers, sisters, brothers or priests would tell a teenager: “Tuck in that shirt” and compliance would be instantaneous. No more; social norms have changed and our teenagers are exposed to a barrage of electronic images which disparage conformity and celebrate transgression. The author argues that the traditional elements of Catholic education - traditions, foundations and values - have served the Church well during the last three decades of cultural chaos. Anyone who has encountered the Catholic Church would recognize that ritual, routine and principles are the central operative elements of its schools. That was true fifty years ago and it is just as true today.

For me, this is the “edge” that schools like La Salle have over the other fine private educational options available to the students entrusted to our care. We hold in trust a tradition of Catholic and Lasallian education that has served the Pasadena area for over 50 years. The ritual, traditions and values of a Catholic and Lasallian education inform our college preparatory mission by asking this rhetorical question: prepared for what? If it is only college, then the existence of La Salle High School is unnecessary. If the answer is a life well lived and well worth living, then, perhaps, something as simple as a tucked-in shirt has larger cultural consequences that escape the notice of most 15 year-olds. Sociologists and psychologists, for example, have found 'external appearance' to be one of the prime factors that decides how a child is perceived and accepted by a peer group. At La Salle, we expect our students to demonstrate care and concern for others, especially their peers. This is challenging enough in the world of today’s adolescents, without having to also manage the status-conscious aspect of teenage fashion statements. At La Salle, the uniform serves the same function as our rituals (daily prayer/monthly mass) and traditions (Lancer Cheer/singing the alma mater while waving one’s hand with the number of fingers representing one’s year in school): to reinforce for our students a sense of community that aspires to reflect the values of the Catholic Church.

A Taco shop just opened in Sierra Madre. By 3pm, it is filled with students sporting La Salle logo wear. As I drive by, I can better appreciate the notion that “sometimes the instruction to tuck in that shirt” is more than actually tucking in the shirt. Have a blessed – and fashion free – summer!

Why is Easter so late this year?

I am writing these words on the last day of Easter Break. For all practical purposes, this is the latest Easter can be and it won’t be for another 35 years that Easter will occur as late as it has in 2011. Catholic Elementary and Secondary School teachers will understand why I (and they) will be thankful that many of us expect to be retired by the time Easter occurs this late again. I’ve noted in this space and elsewhere that Catholic schools operate with a unique rhythm and ritual that is not typical of other types of pre-collegiate environments. This is particularly true of elementary schools as so much of their instructional focus is organized around the Church’s liturgical calendar. Until Vatican II, for example, Catholic elementary schools were responsible for the catechetical preparation of students for the sacraments of First Eucharist and Confirmation. This required a keen sensitivity to the timing of these sacraments as the Church had (and has) specific requirements regarding when the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, First Eucharist, Confirmation) can be administered. By way of example, one of the many reasons why I love the Great Easter Vigil (Saturday night) is that the Church permits the reception of adult converts into full Communion; which is symbolized by the administration of all three sacraments of Initiation at the same time. With the possible exception of a death-bed conversion (think John Wayne, two days before he died), there is no other opportunity for these three sacraments to occur in tandem.


Organizing schools around priorities such as these is not as simple as it looks - particularly now that the Church has shifted the sacrament of Confirmation to the high school years, albeit, administered through the teen’s local parish. It requires Elementary and Secondary schools to be mindful of what is going on in the parish and to align their calendar with these priorities. To put this in perspective, La Salle serves students from more than 25 parishes.

But the challenge of a late Easter doesn’t end with the need to coordinate liturgical schedules. Catholic schools here in the US have traditionally taken what is known as “Spring Break” the week after Easter (unlike our non-sectarian colleagues who happily divide the second semester in two and position Spring Break in the middle). The logic of this is not difficult to understand from the perspective of the history of Catholic education in the US - which is synonymous with the history of priests, sisters, and brothers who have staffed Catholic schools. These good men and women were expected to fully devote their attention to the students entrusted to their care and to fully participate in the Triduum (the three days of Easter). Anyone who has done so, knows that, in the words of one Church wag: “If the priest isn’t exhausted at the end of the Triduum, he hasn’t done it right”. You can well imagine the need of these good people to have a week off after Easter. So now, we have this anomaly that won’t occur for another 35 years. And, so? …

Anyone who has worked in schools knows that the time between Easter and the end of the academic year is fraught with enormous potential for frayed nerves, misunderstood conversations and a general exhaustion that continues to inform my opposition to year-round schools (virtually non-existent in California, thanks to the Legislature’s ongoing inability to pass a budget). Since graduation at La Salle is on Memorial Day Weekend, you can imagine the mischief Seniors - who already know what college they will attend next year - can create out of a sheer sense of “been there, done that” (not to mention a dollop of adolescent conviction that they no longer need the teachers who have spent four years bringing them to this point) in less than four weeks.

Yes, regardless of when Easter takes place, in schools, it was ever thus … which is why I celebrate the stories of adolescent commitment that you will encounter in this issue of Lancer Magazine. When I read these stories, I can’t think of a better place to feel exhausted at Easter than at La Salle High School. These exasperating, amazing adolescents are capable of incredible accomplishments requiring talent, skill and determination - so much so - that my gratitude for a few days off is blinded by my delight that what they and we (you and I) do matters. With graduation on the horizon, it doesn’t matter that my nerves are as raw as meat in a butcher’s window; because the students entrusted to our care continue to showcase why the La Salle Difference demands that we take care of them.



 The Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. (which fixed the arrangements for Easter) provided that:
• Easter must closely follow the spring equinox, in accord with the pagan (Roman) tradition of spring festivals
• Easter must closely follow a full moon in order to light the way for pilgrims' travel to the festivals
• Easter must follow the Jewish Passover (which always falls on the 14th day of the paschal month) to avoid   conflict between the two holy days
• Easter must be on a Sunday
• Which means that Easter could not fall on a fixed date, since it must always follow the changing Passover

"Odd" Ash Wednesday

I recently read an intriguing article entitled: The Oddness of Ash Wednesday written by Anthony Robinson, President of Congregational Leadership Northwest, a support network for Church professionals. He argues that the “oddness” of the event lies in its counter-cultural significance. In a “nip and tuck” world where ageless beauty is triumphantly promoted throughout the print and broadcast media and medical procedures are intended to deny the inevitable (think Joan Rivers) end-game, Ash Wednesday asks us to:

“REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE DUST AND UNTO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN.”

Ash Wednesday also launches what the Church refers to as the “discipline” of Lent - a time of self-examination, some sort of self-sacrifice and (for Catholics) the abstinence from meat on a weekly basis. While I love the symbolism of Ash Wednesday, I’ve never really liked Lent…which is precisely the point of these forty days. Robinson puts it this way:

Lent really invite(s) us to become fluent in the language of confession of our own sin and shortcomings, to practice self-examination.

In a world where the Left and the Right shout at each other, where the bad boy behavior of Hollywood Celebrities gets prime time media treatment and where the only popular form of self-examination includes a therapist, the “discipline” of Lent is a bit of a downer. And…we mark its beginning by smearing ashes on our forehead! No wonder Robinson calls it “odd.”

Its “oddness” is also its distinctive strength. After receiving ashes at our School Liturgy on March 9th, I attended the weekly meeting of the Pasadena Rotary Club. One of the members, not knowing anything about Ash Wednesday, asked me why there was a “smudge” on my forehead. Ever the “Marketer-in-Chief”, I was happy to explain its significance. As I was speaking, it occurred to me that the ashes were a form of branding (literally and figuratively). The School’s Marketing Committee has spent the better part of 18 months clarifying the La Salle “Brand”, so I was particularly attuned to this dynamic. It also helped me to realize why I like the ritual of Ash Wednesday. Once a year it “marks” me as member of a group that promotes a set of values I hold dear and to which I’ve oriented my personal and professional life.

A long time ago I gave up on the notion that the world would universally share those values; but, at least once a year, I am reminded of the power and the promise of those values - especially for the children entrusted to our care. Given the fact that Lent is not my favorite part of the liturgical year, I am relieved that it will be another 35 years before Easter arrives as late as it will in 2011. I take comfort in that knowledge because -as any Catholic school teacher will tell you - it’s very important for schools to have as much time as possible between the Easter Break and Graduation. For La Salle, this Easter means we will have slightly more than three weeks to ramp up for graduation-related events. Not only does that make Lent feel excessively long, but it also imposes an entirely different “discipline” on the School’s end-of-year preparations.

Ash Wednesday may be “odd” but it is also a magnificent moment in time to take stock of our lives and to challenge our unexamened assumptions about what is truly important.

To Mentor or Not to Mentor?

Spring (or the threat of it) is that time of year when La Salle begins to prepare for the annual Mission Effectiveness Workshop conducted by the Board of Trustees and the Board of Regents. A committee of the Regents uses the academic year to collect data regarding the four principles articulated in the School’s Mission Statement (you can find our Mission Statement by clicking on “About Us” on the School’s Web Site). One of the ways in which the Committee collects data is by surveying a sample of the student body who are asked to respond to a series of questions designed to ascertain their perspective on the relative success of the strategies the School uses to implement the Mission on a daily basis. One such strategy has been the creation of a twice-weekly “Mentoring Program” in which teachers and most administrators meet with a group of 16 students for about 30 minutes. A committee of administrators and faculty has created a grade-specific curriculum to address the various issues arising over the course of four years in which our teenagers grapple with changes in their physical, intellectual and emotional development. The fall semester, for example, finds the seniors spending a significant amount of their Mentoring periods focused on the task of applying to and selecting an appropriate college. Freshmen, on the other hand, are introduced to the highly structured world called high school and are given strategies to negotiate the - often bewildering - maze of emotional, intellectual and social issues into which they are thrust on a daily basis.

It shouldn’t surprise any adult actively engaged in negotiating the peaks and valleys of adolescent life (parents/teachers) that the older the teenager, the more critical they are of the value of the Mentoring program. Seniors, therefore, could be expected to be more annoyed with the sudden disruption in their schedule that Mentoring imposed on them. Pat Bonacci, AFSC delightfully captured their irritation with this observation:

Of course they’re annoyed…we took away 10 minutes of their lunch-time and added 10 minutes to their school-day!

While senior angst is a situation worthy of attention, what was troubling to the committee was the discovery, based on last year’s survey of students (which coincided with the implementation of the first year of the Mentoring program), that there was a significant lack of clarity across grade levels as to the purpose of Mentoring. As a result, the committee included a “free-response” question in the 2011 survey which led with the prompt:

The purpose of Mentoring is….

Student response to this question mirrored my earlier assertion about the inverse relationship between the age of adolescents and their relative comfort with change. Here are a couple of freshman responses:


to help the students get started at La Salle and to have someone to go to if there is some sort of problem

to have someone to talk to about things that happen in school and to help you with questions about school. It is also used to help you to become a better person and have strong morals

These comments – which echo the statement of purpose in the Mentor curriculum – highlight the ongoing renewal experienced by every high school with the arrival of a new freshman class. Not knowing what the school was like before their arrival, freshmen take at face value the program they experience in their first year. They are too new – and young – to question the decisions of teachers and administrators.

Not so for seniors who have had three years of twists and turns in their academic journey to inform them of what’s wrong with high school. Some of their cynicism is a function of their desire to occupy the privileged position that being a high school senior represents. When they finally get there, they tend to be uninterested in any change which impacts their anticipated enjoyment that being at the “top of the heap” represents. The introduction of Mentoring in their senior year is an example of a change that impacts their anticipated privileged status. To no one’s surprise, the following responses typify their reaction to Mentoring:

to make the school day longer and to sound fancy to incoming freshman

to fill in a forty minute time lapse so it looks like we're at school for a longer amount of time

The latter comment echoes Pat Bonacci’s lighthearted interpretation of the seniors take on Mentoring. To be fair, some seniors were willing to look at the big picture:

to give students an open forum to discuss important facets of our academic and outside life.

Parents know first-hand how their teenagers can resist change which is intended for their benefit. It is no different in schools. I’ve often commented in this space and elsewhere that La Salle’s success is a product of the close working relationship between home and school. And, just as parents have to wait until their children reach adulthood to receive significant appreciation for their good parenting, it is just as true at school. So, while we know that four years from now Mentoring will be an accepted fact of life at La Salle; today’s freshmen will become tomorrow’s seniors, with their own set of critiques…and the cycle begins anew – just like springtime.

MLK & Non-Violence

In honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, my Freshman Mentoring Class engaged in a group activity that brainstormed adjectives that one would associate with the values he stood for Words such as tolerance, compassion, justice, equality, fairness and non-violence surfaced during the course of the activity. The Class then developed a “Wordle” poster (a “tag cloud” of associated terms that are computer generated to appear as an artistically drawn poster).

That activity - especially the use of the tag, non-violence - resurfaced for me when Martin Luther King III, head of The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, was recently quoted in the news media asserting that the tragedy that left a Congresswoman critically injured and six people dead in Arizona is a grim reminder that the country has not yet achieved his father's dream of a peaceful society. Then, hard on the heels of that observation, Angelenos were confronted with the presence of deadly violence in their public schools - first at Gardena High School where a loaded gun concealed in a student backpack went off, critically injuring two students and, then, in Woodland Hills, when an armed man attempted to gun down a School Police Officer.

It is tempting to consider these events as isolated from our daily lives. Not so, argues the National Center for Education Statistics which recorded 13 victims of school-site shootings across the country in the 2009-2010 academic year. In reflecting on that disturbing statistic, I realized that we who labor in and support Catholic education may want to reflect more deeply on what it is about our communities that keeps this trend at bay in our schools.

A November 2010 media report entitled:

Philly Nuns Save De Sales Catholic School, Make Peace Amidst Violence

reinforces what we have come to believe about Catholic schools and the virtues of private education - only with a twist - De Sales Catholic School is in the middle of the second highest homicide district in Philadelphia (in one 48 hour period there were 10 homicides on streets near the school). Sister Jeannette Lucey and Sister Constance Tuoey became overnight fundraisers when the Archdiocese of Philadelphia threatened to close this neighborhood Catholic school. But they didn’t stop at saving the school; they also set out to save the 500 children from the violence they faced each time they walked the streets of this impoverished West Philadelphia neighborhood.

How? By making the message of non-violence inescapable in the halls, classrooms and playing fields. A particularly creative approach has been the maintenance of a “Peace Wall” where students can nominate other students who have exemplified the value of non-violence. It is filled with pictures of little sinners and saints, all trying their best to model the School’s values – values that will get them through high school and into college and, ultimately, out of poverty. Even though the school is surrounded by poverty and violence, inside its walls, the values that have always characterized Catholic education create an environment where children learn to become their best selves.

The world occupied by La Salle High School in Pasadena may seem far removed from that of De Sales Catholic School in West Philadelphia until we realize, in a month that celebrates Martin Luther King, we all have dreams. In Pasadena, it may be to become a lawyer or a business person. But in West Philadelphia, Sister Jeannette’s students wrote in their essays on Martin Luther King: “I have a dream that I'll be able to go to the store without being shot', or 'I have a dream that I won't have to cover the windows so someone doesn't shoot into my home.” At least when they enter De Sales Catholic School, they don’t have to worry about the violence coming in with them. All schools need to be this haven for the poor and affluent, alike.
Martin Luther King III said it best regarding the tragedy in Arizona: "…it shows us how much work we must do to create the kind of nation where nonviolence is embraced."

The Future of Mission at La Salle

For over three hundred years Lasallian schools have endeavored to remain faithful to the central Mission of the Brothers of the Christian Schools:

To provide a Human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor.

 Following the Second Vatican Council, the 34th General Chapter (1966) of the Christian Brothers called for an increasing integration of Lay Partners in the implementation of this Mission at the local level. Over time, as the Brothers have focused more deeply on their role as animators of the vision of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, there has developed a greater need for ongoing support for the formation of Lay Partners in the constitutive elements of the Lasallian Mission. Mindful of this shift in emphasis, La Salle High School has created the position of Vice-President for Mission. In addition to serving a s resource for Lasallian pedagogical practices, it is expected that the Vice-President for Mission will coordinate all local and District Formation programs intended to reinforce the vision and values of the Christian Brothers.

It is within this context as well as the Founder’s insistence that his teachers engage in the “conversion of souls” that La Salle High School places particular emphasis on the creation of an Office for Mission:

In carrying out your service to children, you will not fulfill your ministry adequately if you resemble Jesus Christ only in his guidance and in his conversion of souls. You must also enter into his purposes and his goals

-Meditation 196.3

When Lasallian schools were operated by a preponderance of Brothers, this catechetical imperative transcended the artificial boundaries of academic departments. Whether a Brother taught Religion or Math or English, the legacy of Saint John Baptist de La Salle’s vision for his schools was transmitted through the person of the Brother teaching his subject competency. For 40 of its 54 years, La Salle High School was fortunate to rely on the services of a critical mass of Christian Brothers in the classrooms and in administrative offices. That is no longer the case at La Salle and at other Lasallian schools on the West Coast. To address that shift in personnel, the District of San Francisco has sponsored a series of robust formation programs aimed at educating Lay Partners in the understanding of and responsibility for the Lasallian Mission. After almost 15 years of sending teachers and administrators to these programs, La Salle High School is ready to bring responsibility for supporting Formation for Mission programs to the local (Pasadena) level. It does so mindful of the growing awareness that the Brothers’ distinctive approach to Mission (“Together and by Association”) requires Lay Partners to view their role in a Lasallian school through the lens of vocation. This is not to suggest that Lay Partners must become like Brothers. Rather, it is to recall the challenge of the Second Vatican Council to nurture the vocation of the laity in the life of the Church. By virtue of our Baptism, we are each called to share responsibility for the implementation of the Kingdom of God here on earth. Happily, Lasallian schools on the West Coast have a strong track record over the course of the last forty years with respect to encouraging Lay Partners to share in the Mission bequeathed to us by Saint John Baptist de La Salle. It is this experience which prompts the School’s strategic move to emphasize the central importance of Formation for Mission by creating a senior administrative position responsible for its implementation. One of the more recent documents that remind us of this shared Mission was produced in 2006 by the Symposium of Catechesis in the Lasallian Tradition convened by the Brothers Visitor of the six Districts in the US/Toronto Region:

• “All Lasallian educators, Brothers and lay colleagues alike are evangelizers and catechists by their vocation of giving witness to the Gospel in ways that invite young people into a deeper, more integrated, more committed faith.

• “The Lasallian educator must be committed to the values and mission of the Church and of the Institute, and to the Lasallian School as a community that gives witness to and embodies Gospel values.”


• “Although the teachers of religion in the school may have a unique role or opportunity in the evangelization and catechesis of the young, the entire Lasallian educational community assists the young to interiorize and make normative Gospel values in their lives, to become more and more conscious of God calling them to help fashion a world according to God’s design.”

The specialized nature of this challenge (to encourage all educators to share responsibility for the implementation of the Lasallian Mission) necessitates the allocation of human resources in support of this goal. For the better part of the last decade this responsibility was shouldered by the President, Principal, other administrators and graduates of LLI. It is now time to allocate those responsibilities in a dedicated senior-level administrative position called the Vice President for Mission. I am particularly pleased to announce that Pat Bonacci, AFSC has graciously consented to take on this challenge beginning with the 2012-2013 academic year. I can’t think of a person more suited to this challenge than Pat. As an Affiliated member of the Christian Brothers, Pat has a deep appreciation for the mission and ministry bequeathed to us by Saint John Baptist de La Salle. His personal and professional behavior is uniquely Lasallian and he understands the power of the Lasallian pedagogical model. I am confident that, under Pat’s guidance, teachers and students will flourish in their appreciation of and commitment to Lasallian values.

Pat will continue as Principal next year (2011-2012) which will allow the School to develop a profile of the ideal candidate to serve as Principal in 2012-2013. Recognizing that it will be a challenge to fill Pat’s shoes, we want to take the next 18 months to carefully examine the central characteristics of Pat’s 20+ years of leadership here at La Salle. With that as a foundation, we will identify the critical issues facing La Salle in the next 5-10 years and begin a search for the next Principal. It is an exciting and challenging time for all of us!

To every thing there is a season...

Many of us are familiar with the Pete Seeger song, Turn, Turn, Turn. It is based on the famous passage from the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3: 1-8 that begins with:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven

Biblical scholars argue that the relatively rare use of the word “season” in this passage is due to a more formal translation of the Hebrew concept of “fitting time”. That is to say, things happen when they are supposed to – when it is a fit time for the event to occur. As one scholar put it:

(The author) speaks of this diversity of time for two causes: first, to declare that there is nothing in this world perpetual; next, to teach us not to be grieved.

At December’s faculty meeting we listened to the first 8 lines of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3 as we made the announcement that the time is near for the School to search for a new principal. More specifically, to hire a new principal to succeed Pat Bonacci, AFSC in the 2012-2013 school year. After occupying virtually every administrative position at La Salle for the last 25 years (15 as principal), Pat has asked to step back from the challenging responsibilities of the principalship at the end of the next school year. Happily, he wants to continue to serve the students entrusted to our care; albeit with a less intense set of responsibilities. Without hesitation, I knew what Pat’s next job would be at La Salle: Vice President for Mission.

This will be a new administrative position at La Salle, aimed at supporting Lasallian values among Lay Partners. In addition to serving as a resource for Lasallian pedagogical practices, it is expected that the Vice-President for Mission will coordinate all local and District Formation programs intended to reinforce the vision and values of the Christian Brothers.

Why this position and why Pat? Forgive me if I take a rhetorical detour into the world of the Christian Brothers. For over three hundred years Lasallian schools have endeavored to remain faithful to the central Mission of the Brothers of the Christian Schools:

To provide a Human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor.

Following the Second Vatican Council, the 34th General Chapter (1966) of the Christian Brothers called for an increasing integration of Lay Partners into the implementation of this Mission at the local level. Over time, as the Brothers have focused more deeply on their role as animators of the vision of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, there has developed a greater need for ongoing support for the formation of Lay Partners in the constitutive elements of the Lasallian Mission. The (2010) report of the Superior General of the Brothers to the US/Toronto Conference of Christian Brothers stressed this point:

It seems that local Lasallian formation programs are not as strong as those at the regional level.

and also stressed that:

Quality Lasallian formation is essential to keep alive the Lasallian charism as a

gift for the universal Church

Mindful of this challenge given by the Superior General, La Salle High School has created the position of Vice-President for Mission. In addition to serving as a resource for Lasallian pedagogical practices, it is expected that the Vice-President for Mission will coordinate all local and District Formation programs intended to reinforce the vision and values of the Christian Brothers.

It is within this context as well as the Founder’s insistence that his teachers engage in the “conversion of souls” that La Salle High School places particular emphasis on the creation of an Office for Mission:

In carrying out your service to children, you will not fulfill your ministry adequately if you resemble Jesus Christ only in his guidance and in his conversion of souls. You must also enter into his purposes and his goals

-Meditation 196.3

When Lasallian schools were operated by a preponderance of Brothers, this catechetical imperative transcended the artificial boundaries of academic departments. Whether a Brother taught Religion or Math or English, the legacy of Saint John Baptist de La Salle’s vision for his schools was transmitted through the person of the Brother teaching his subject competency. For 40 of its 54 years, La Salle High School was fortunate to rely on the services of a critical mass of Christian Brothers in the classrooms and in administrative offices. That is no longer the case at La Salle and at other Lasallian schools on the West Coast. To address that shift in personnel, the District of San Francisco has sponsored a series of robust formation programs aimed at educating Lay Partners in the understanding of and responsibility for the Lasallian Mission. After almost 15 years of sending teachers and administrators to these programs, La Salle High School is ready to respond to the Superior General’s call to strengthen local Lasallian formation programs by bringing responsibility for supporting Formation for Mission programs to the local (Pasadena) level. It does so mindful of the growing awareness that the Brothers’ distinctive approach to Mission (“Together and by Association”) requires Lay Partners to view their role in a Lasallian school through the lens of vocation. This is not to suggest that Lay Partners must become like Brothers. Rather, it is to recall the challenge of the Second Vatican Council to nurture the vocation of the laity in the life of the Church. By virtue of our Baptism, we are each called to share responsibility for the implementation of the Kingdom of God here on earth. Happily, Lasallian schools on the West Coast have a strong track record over the course of the last forty years with respect to encouraging Lay Partners to share in the Mission bequeathed to us by Saint John Baptist de La Salle. It is this experience which prompts the School’s strategic move to emphasize the central importance of Formation for Mission by creating a senior administrative position responsible for its implementation. One of the more recent documents that remind us of this shared Mission was produced in 2006 by the Symposium of Catechesis in the Lasallian Tradition convened by the Brothers Visitor of the six Districts in the US/Toronto Region:
• “All Lasallian educators, Brothers and lay colleagues alike are evangelizers and catechists by their vocation of giving witness to the Gospel in ways that invite young people into a deeper, more integrated, more committed faith.


• “The Lasallian educator must be committed to the values and mission of the Church and of the Institute, and to the Lasallian School as a community that gives witness to and embodies Gospel values.”


• “Although the teachers of religion in the school may have a unique role or opportunity in the evangelization and catechesis of the young, the entire Lasallian educational community assists the young to interiorize and make normative Gospel values in their lives, to become more and more conscious of God calling them to help fashion a world according to God’s design.”

The specialized nature of this challenge (to encourage all educators to share responsibility for the implementation of the Lasallian Mission) necessitates the allocation of human resources in support of this goal. For the better part of the last decade this responsibility was shouldered by the President, Principal, other administrators and graduates of LLI. It is now time to allocate these responsibilities to a dedicated senior-level administrative position called the Vice President for Mission.

Pat is particularly well-qualified to take on this challenge. As an Affiliated member of the Christian Brothers, Pat has a deep appreciation for the mission and ministry bequeathed to us by Saint John Baptist de La Salle. His personal and professional behavior is uniquely Lasallian and he understands the power of the Lasallian pedagogical model. I am confident that, under Pat’s guidance, teachers and students will flourish in their appreciation of and commitment to Lasallian values. Pat will continue as Principal next year (2011-2012) which will allow the School to develop a profile of the ideal candidate to serve as Principal in 2012-2013. Recognizing that it will be a challenge to fill Pat’s shoes, we want to take the next 18 months to carefully examine the central characteristics of Pat’s 25 years of leadership here at La Salle. With that as a foundation, we will identify the critical issues facing La Salle in the next 5-10 years and begin a search for the next Principal. I also want to assure you that our succession planning efforts will carefully take into account all of the wonderful values that you have found to be typical of your interaction with La Salle.

This Annual Report is a particularly special one because, not only are we giving you an accounting of the past 12 months, we are also giving you a glimpse of an exciting future framed by a chapter that sees Pat Bonacci, AFSC shift from one set of Mission-driven responsibilities to another, equally critical, set of challenges. It’s a story that is worthy of pursuing.

After the quote from Ecclesiastes was read to the faculty, Associate Principal, John Ring read a quote from the “Book of Pat”:

A time for transition to allow for new leadership and institutional reflection, a time for grandpa to spend more time with grandson, a time for Pat to step back and embrace a new professional challenge!

Indeed, there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens! It is an exciting and challenging time for all of us!