Looking at Catholic Schools' Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic Through the Lens of Catholic Social Teaching Principles

The current COVID-19 crisis has significantly impacted all teachers throughout the country, in particular, those teaching in urban schools. The urgent nature of this crisis has brought new challenges to urban Catholic school educators specifically, and their ability to enact and model Catholic Social Teachings which include; respect for the life and dignity of the human person, the call to care for family and community, solidarity in uniting the human community, the dignity of work and the rights of workers, providing persons with rights that ensure decent lives such as an education, preferential option for the poor, and care for all creation. Using critical theory and narrative analysis, this paper examines how 31 urban Catholic school teachers perceive and address the impact of COVID-19 on teaching and learning in their classrooms. Analysis of these teacher’s narratives illustrate how Catholic Social Teachings are foundational to their response to the current situation. The conceptual framework and methodology of the research, and findings are presented. A key aim of this paper is to provide some concrete examples of the current urban Catholic school landscape and practice recommendations for all teachers, particularly those working alongside marginalized communities.