Article featured on the National Catholic Register on February 25, 2025. Written by Martin Barillas.
Consider an alliance of Catholic schools.
And biannual school summits for school leaders and a solid faculty faith-formation program, with a focus on such topics as Church teaching on the Eucharist and the theology of the body. Also, alliances made between the various parochial school boards.
This is the “Catholic Schools: Bridging Faith and Future” plan spearheaded by David Faber, Catholic K-12 schools in the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The results: increasing enrollment and efficiency, plus two new schools and three others “reimagined” with new names and mission.
For his efforts, Faber was recognized with the Dr. Karen M. Ristau Innovations Award, “presented annually to an individual, school or program that has furthered the mission of Catholic education through an innovative program or approach,” by the National Catholic Educational Association, a professional membership organization of 140,000 educators that provides leadership and professional training of supervisors, principals, teachers and pastors. It collaborates with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and private and Catholic associations to lobby Congress and state governments on issues such as nonprofit status, school choice and internet safety.
“I attribute any success to what Mother Teresa would say is ‘faithfulness,’” Faber told the Register, and “I thank the Lord for his grace and goodness in my life. God gave me a vision many years ago for Catholic schools which developed over time. It was something that came from my experiences leading an elementary school.”
Faber began working for the diocese in 1993, serving as principal at an elementary school for the next 17 years. In 2010, he became school superintendent. This year, Faber will retire from the position.
And he is leaving the schools in a better place, anchored on “growth with a focus on bringing in young people and families to know the Lord and encounter him every day,” as Faber told the Register, “growing or expanding education, and thinking about the ways to do that. Expansion is all about evangelization and how to engage more and more young people and families in this beautiful Catholic culture and the opportunity to encounter Christ on a daily basis.”
Educator-Approved
His fellow educators applaud his efforts.
“I worked at NCEA for two years, and while I was there I realized how much of an impact Dave was having in Grand Rapids,” Jill Wierzbicki Annable, president/CEO of West Catholic High School in Grand Rapids told the Register. She said that Faber was able to resolve the relative isolation of the various diocesan schools by bringing together an effective alliance. One of the fruits of this, she said, was the founding of two new Catholic schools in parishes that did not have them before. She added that Faber and Bishop David Walkowiak ensured that home-schoolers also benefit. “Dave was very invitational and taught us how to allow home-school families to see us as a community,” recalled the leader, who served with Faber as assistant superintendent. This meant allowing home-school students to participate in Catholic-school sports and to take enrichment classes.
Amy Zakrajsek, who teaches fourth and fifth grade at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School in Grand Rapids, has known Faber since 2008, when she interviewed for her teaching position. He was looking not only for teaching credentials, but a faith journey that matched the school’s Catholic identity, Zakrajsek told the Register. “To me, that was very telling about who Dave Faber was as a principal and the type of person he was looking for for St. Thomas.”
Faber also gives credit to Bishop Walkowiak, who was appointed to the diocese by Pope Francis in 2013. “It’s been a journey, and in our strategic planning, we were blessed when Bishop Walkowiak came to the diocese with a bold vision for Catholic schools and he was willing to support that vision and put into place his Catholic schools’ initiative. We nearly tripled the number of scholarships we could offer to our schools and families. We increased affordability through the bishop’s initiative in 2014-15,” Faber recalled. Approximately 11% of the student body is non-Catholic, which he said is a tribute to the attractiveness of Catholic education. However, rural schools may have student bodies of 30% non-Catholics.
Sustained Investment
With diocesan investment and implementing Faber’s “Bridging Faith and Future” plan, that investment could be sustained. Scholarships improved affordability, schools’ efficiency and effectiveness increased through shared services, and planning for future vitality commenced. This characterized the initial five-year phase of the plan, in which the diocese is now in the second phase. Faber said collaboration and training for all levels of leadership improved.
Parish school boards meet biannually with the Diocesan Catholic School Board to share resources, experiences and best practices to improve educational outcomes and control costs. “We get all levels of leadership together in order to better serve the community,” he said.
“Prior to the alliance, the parishes and schools were siloed, working on their own and competing,” Faber said, adding, “It just felt wrong.”
“Rising tides raise all ships,” he said about collaboration. Schools share data and strategic planning, leading to improvement. For example, there has been record enrollment for kindergarten and pre-K students.
The diocese serves more than 6,400 students, of which more than 4,000 are enrolled in 26 elementary schools and more than 1,300 in five high schools. The average ratio of students to teachers is 18 to 1. The high schools boast a 99% graduation rate.
Rural parishes, where there are fewer Catholic children, are growing by reaching out to non-Catholics, Faber said. During the COVID-19 outbreak, diocesan schools had in-person sessions when possible and remotely when necessary. “A lot of folks were attracted to that. The wider culture is not supportive of our values. Many families who once thought public schools are good enough are finding out it’s not. They are looking for the truth. They are looking for reality. They are looking for traditional family values. They are looking for virtue to be taught. Our schools have become attractive for a number of reasons,” Faber said.
Family income is taken into account in charging for enrollment, he said, which means that many children attend at significantly reduced tuition rates. In parishes where the cost of education is a challenge to families, the variable tuition rate is supplemented by fundraising.
Encountering Christ
Faber said the diocese offered scholarships for five years to families whose children were new to Catholic schools.
The outgoing superintendent also described the T.I.P strategy of Timely-Invitations-Phone-calls. This involved collecting parish records of the sacraments of initiation, primarily baptism. The diocese collects data from 53 of 79 parishes, which is entered into customer information management software. The diocese regularly sends Christmas cards, updates and invitations to families, resulting in growth in seven of the last 10 years.
Faber, 58, has five married daughters and 15 grandchildren. In retirement, Faber and wife Sarah plan to help their daughters raise their growing families. One daughter recently became a widow in her 20s, which he said offers an opportunity to help support her four young children. “Her faith is beautiful, and it has taught us many lessons and brought us all together in a new way as a family,” Faber said.
The Fabers will establish Seek First Catholic Leadership Consulting in tribute to Matthew 6:33: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” The nonprofit will assist clergy, parishes, diocesan officials and laity working in evangelization and education, while using the skills and insights from his time as a school superintendent and principal.
As to the difference a Catholic education can make, Faber underscored, “Catholic schools offer an encounter with Christ every day. It’s an integrated curriculum that truly addresses the whole child: mind, body, and spirit. That’s not possible in a public school. In a Catholic school there is no secular subject. God has created all that is. So everything He has ordered and created for our good and the common good. So, everything we teach is within the context of that fully integrated education founded upon our faith in Jesus Christ. We are preparing children not only for this life, but for heaven.”
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