Abstract
The decline in the presence of consecrated religious in Catholic diocesan secondary schools, and the emergence of lay educators as primary stakeholders in those settings, requires Catholic secondary school leaders to consider thoughtfully how to meet the faith formation needs of the educators that comprise the community. It is through this formation that Catholic school educators can more effectively champion the identity of the Catholic schools in which they work. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to identify efficient and meaningful strategies for lay educator professional faith formation that support the preservation of Catholic school identity. This was accomplished through a qualitative, grounded theory study of lay Catholic school educators in dioceses in the New England region. The careful codification and analysis of data collected through interviews with 11 participants in 6 schools led to the development of a theoretical framework for faith formation which identifies relationships between prayerful reflection and professional collaboration, relationships with students, and the outward expression of faith in the form of service. Additionally, the authenticity of the faith witness of school leaders, as well as their deliberate efforts to structure faith formation in their school communities, emerged as essential qualities of effective leadership. Finally, disruptive forces such as transition and crisis were identified by participants to be opportunities for spiritual growth within the context of a faithful community of Catholic school educators.|Keywords: Professional faith formation, reflective practice, collaboration, service, student engagement.