The Catholic Schools Foundation (CSF) recently announced that the former president of its board of trustees, Bill Mosakowski and his wife, Jane, have committed a $1.55 million investment to support CSF's mission. This investment will provide scholarships to low-income students as well as the seed funding for CSF's new Catholic School Leadership Program. Additionally, the Mosakowskis have established an endowed fund to support leadership development in Catholic schools which will ensure sustainability of the program in the future.

"Simply put, there is no substitution for effective school leadership," said Bill Mosakowski. "It influences performance in the classroom because it can impact staff motivation, teacher learning and development processes, and the culture of a school. The success of our Catholic schools requires excellent leadership."

In partnership with the Catholic Schools Office, CSF will be able to institutionalize much-needed programmatic aid in schools through training and professional development for teachers and future principals. CSF is now well-poised to help develop the next generation of effective and mission-driven school leaders, benefiting the thousands of students attending Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Boston.

"Excellent leadership and governance are critical to ensuring that students and families will have access to high quality Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Boston for years to come," said Mike Reardon, executive director of CSF. "We are thrilled to receive such a significant investment into leadership that will provide opportunities for the teachers, principals and pastors who make Catholic education work."

The CSF Leadership Program is a comprehensive initiative to provide professional development for aspiring Catholic school leaders. The ultimate goal is placing talented and highly qualified people in principal and other leadership positions in Catholic schools. Through this initiative, committed individuals will also be trained to actively serve as board members at in-need Catholic schools, providing support and guidance to the school leaders.

"Through the generosity of the Catholic Schools Foundation, the Catholic Schools Office is supporting the development of leaders in innovative and foundational ways," said archdiocesan Superintendent of Catholic Schools Kathy Mears.

"Our new leaders are learning how to communicate, build relationships, use data to inform their decision making and most importantly, how to bear witness to their own relationship with Jesus," Mears said. "Being a Catholic school leader is a very challenging and rewarding position and through the collaboration of the CSO and the CSF, the number of leaders who are ready to assist in our Catholic schools is growing."