Summer Message from New CSDO Superintendent Andrew Currier

The Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Oakland faced the educational, health, and wellness challenges of the pandemic with one primary focus in mind – serving the individual needs of each and every student with the utmost care and attention as possible.  The 47 Catholic schools within the Diocese of Oakland looked to Christ as the great exemplar in reaching out to every child in our care with a sense of hope and profound respect for the dignity of each student while tending to each student’s individual needs.  In partnership and cooperation with parents as their children’s primary educators, the Catholic schools of the Diocese of Oakland persevered and provided the great value of education imbued with a holistic approach to educating the student as mind, body, and soul.

• I thank our school leaders for finding a way to educate students despite strict guidelines disrupting the normal operation of schools. 
• I thank our teachers for adapting to new ways of educating our students and keeping their students’ health and wellbeing at the forefront of their care and concern day in and day out. 
• I thank our students for continuing to work despite the disruptions and the many losses in student activities.
• I thank our parents for continuing to support their child’s education by sending them to our Catholic schools.
• We thank Jesus Christ for carrying us through the uncertainties and helping us through the most difficult of times.

As we look forward to the 2021/2022 school year, we know that we will be able to provide all of the best aspects of Catholic education – excellent academic experiences, a wide variety of student activities, and most importantly, a regular encounter with Our Lord Jesus Christ through the sacraments, prayer, and religious education. That said, we have not completely emerged from the pandemic and will follow State and County health guidance in addition to proven practices to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our Catholic school community members.

I commend and thank former Superintendent Kathleen Radecke for her many years of dedicated service to the advancement of Catholic education in the Diocese of Oakland.  I am grateful for the time and care she gave me in helping me join the Catholic Schools Department for the Diocese of Oakland and I wish her the very best in the next chapter of her accomplished and distinguished career.

At your service,

Andrew Currier, PhD
Superintendent of Schools
Diocese of Oakland