About this episode

Deacon Dave Kerski discusses the authentic Catholic identity in schools and how to cultivate a meaningful culture that aligns with core values.

Host: John Mihalyo | Guest: Deacon Dave Kerski, Former Catholic School Principal, Diocese of Raleigh What does it actually mean to be a Catholic school — not just in name, but in everything you do, every single day? Deacon Dave Kerski knows the difference. He spent ten years turning around a Catholic school in New Bern, North Carolina that was on the brink of closing. He earned his master's from Notre Dame's ACE program, served as a deacon, and built the kind of school culture that students, families, and teachers genuinely wanted to be a part of. Not by accident — by being relentlessly intentional about it. In this episode, Deacon Dave and John have a real conversation about what authentic Catholic identity actually looks like in a school building. Not the surface stuff. The deep stuff. The kind of culture that changes how kids grow up, how teachers show up, and how families understand what they are signing up for. Here is some of what they get into: Why Catholic identity is an anthropological question, not just a checklist of Catholic stuff you do How to build a school playbook that ties everything — from morning drop-off to the awards you give out — back to your root beliefs…

People in this episode

Host: John Mihalyo

Guest: Deacon Dave Kerski

Topics covered

• Catholic school culture
• Catholic identity
• school management
• education
• intentionality in education

Keywords

• Catholic culture
• school identity
• education
• intentional culture
• student development

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Diocese of Raleigh, Notre Dame

Places: New Bern, North Carolina

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