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Special Litigation and Advocacy Project
Census Hotline
Call the Census Hotline
Through a holistic lens, the Economic Justice Project engages in impact litigation and legal advocacy to ensure that communities of color can access opportunities and meaningfully engage in the economy to lead dignified lives free from discrimination. Our work includes:
Eliminating barriers to equal opportunity for underrepresented employees, including individuals with criminal histories;
Ensuring equal pay for women, including women of color;
Advocating for administrative and legislative policies that protect communities of color, including in the areas of immigration, reproductive access and consumer protection; and
Tackling discrimination in public accommodations.
Our Most Recent Work:
On Nov. 9 the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law submitted comments urging the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to withdraw a proposed rule that would hamstring its enforcement authority and disproportionately harm Black workers and other underrepresented groups.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) unjustifiably seeks to overhaul the EEOC's conciliation procedures for the first time in more than 40 years. If finalized, EEOC enforcement staff would have to undertake significant additional responsibilities of preparing extensive disclosures for employers, diverting already limited resources from other critical duties. Requiring unnecessary disclosures would expose the EEOC to dilatory tactics and legal challenges by employers, leading to protracted resolution for workers.
Main Points of Comments:
Employment discrimination continues to be a significant problem throughout the United States. EEOC received 24,000 charges of race-based and 3,415 charges of color-based employment discrimination just last year, collectively comprising 37.7% of all charges.
In 2019, Black workers were 13% of the U.S. workforce but "race discrimination against this group account[ed] for 26% of all claims filed with the EEOC and its partner agencies."
The NPRM undermines Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and established Supreme Court precedent by imposing unnecessary pre-suit conciliation requirements on EEOC to the detriment of workers.
Paralyzing the Commission's conciliation process with burdensome requirements that greatly favor employers is unnecessary and contradictory to the EEOC's mission.
Webinar: Race, artificial intelligence, and systemic inequalities
On June 19, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings hosted a webinar of distinguished computer, social scientists and legal experts to talk about the intersection of race, AI, and systemic inequalities. The discussion shared existing research in this area and explore how fairness, equity, and ethics can be better addressed in the development of AI systems.
How Race, Ethnicity and Gender Impact Your Life's Worth
The U.S. Constitution promises equal protection and due process under the law. Important federal, state, and local civil rights laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, and other protected categories in various areas including employment, public accommodations, and education.
The Economic Justice Project engages in impact litigation on behalf of people of color using a variety of legal tools, including federal, state and local laws that prohibit discrimination in employment and public accommodations, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which promotes the accuracy, fairness and privacy of consumer information contained in consumer reporting agency files.
Paul v. Georgia Tech and University System of Georgia
The Lawyers' Committee, Outten & Gold LLP and Atlanta-based Buckley Beal LLP recently filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC against the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and the University System of Georgia (USG) alleging that the University's criminal background check policies and practices used to screen job applicants result in unlawful discrimination against African Americans in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The charge was filed on behalf of Mr. Benjamin Paul and similarly situated individuals.
Lawyers' Committee v. OMB
On September 20, 2017, the Lawyers' Committee and the National Women's Law Center filed several FOIA requests with the Office of Management and Budget in connection with its sudden and largely unexplained decision to suspend an initiative previously approved by OMB for the collection of pay data from employers by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). After more than five months of OMB not producing a single document or providing any substantive response, the Lawyers' Committee and NWLC filed suit in the D.C. District Court on March 21, 2018 seeking declaratory, injunctive and other appropriate relief. The complaint states that women working full-time, year-round are typically paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts, and comparing women of color to white, non-Hispanic men, the pay gaps are generally larger. Men of color experience similar pay disparities compared to white, non-Hispanic men and the lack of comparative salary and wage information may contribute to the persistence of race and gender pay gaps.
NWLC and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law File FOIA Request to Uncover OMB's Secretive Decision-making Process that Halted Equal Pay Data Collection
NAACP v. Philips Electronics et al (NYS Supreme Court, New York County)
In June 2015, the NAACP filed a class action against employers who use leading job search sites Monster, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter to illegally post hundreds of job listings in New York with blanket bans on applicants with felony convictions. The lawsuit sought an injunction forbidding defendants from posting and disseminating the illegal listings on job search websites. Monster, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter were joined as necessary defendants to effectuate the relief sought and to ensure that the injunction is effective and enforced. On May 16, 2018, the Lawyer's Committee was successful in getting the settlement approved and a certified a class of NYC employers who are alleged to have illegally posted job listings with unlawful blanket bans. The settlement includes monetary and injunctive relief (including training to HR employees on providing candidates with criminal records proper consideration for employment; developing stand-alone policies in their HR manuals reaffirming commitment to hiring people with criminal records; and conducting affirmative outreach to job candidates with criminal convictions).
Outten & Golden LLP: NAACP Beats Back Employers' Attempt to Escape Litigation in Discrimination Class Action
NAACP Sues Employers for Posting Ads Barring Applicants With Criminal Records
Long v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (E.D. Pa.)
On April 27, 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of job applicants rejected by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) based on information contained in their background check reports. The lawsuit alleges that SEPTA, the nation's sixth largest public transportation system, willfully violated federal and state laws when conducting criminal background checks of prospective employees. Specifically, SEPTA is accused of 1) violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act by not providing proper notices and failing to give plaintiffs a pre-adverse action letter and a copy of their consumer report before deciding not to hire them; and 2) violating Pennsylvania's Criminal History Record Information Act through its policy and practice of disqualifying job applicants with unrelated felony convictions from employment in positions involving the operation of SEPTA vehicles.
Defendant SEPTA filed a motion to dismiss for lack of standing and failure to state a claim, which Judge Petrese Tucker granted in April 2017. Thereafter, the Lawyers' Committee filed an appeal of the FCRA claim in the Third Circuit, and filed the CHRIA claim in state court. Our state court claim was dismissed on August 25, 2017, which the Lawyers' Committee appealed. On December 12, 2017, attorney Deepak Gupta argued the appeal on behalf of plaintiffs before the Third Circuit. Judges Restrepo, Chageres and Fisher sat on the panel and on September 10, 2018 issued a ruling in plaintiffs' favor, stating that job applicants have standing to sue under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
SEPTA Background Checks Violate Federal and State Laws, According to Lawyers' Committee and Co-Counsel
United States v. Consolidated City of Jacksonville (Middle District of Florida)
On April 23, 2012, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the city of Jacksonville, FL alleging that the city is engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination against African-Americans in its fire and rescue department, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lawsuit challenges the fire department's use of written examinations and ranking system for the promotion of firefighters to four ranks—Lieutenant, Captain, and District Chief, all in the suppression line, and Engineer.
The complaint alleges that the examinations impact African-American candidates in two ways. First, African-American candidates for promotion to the four positions pass the examinations at significantly lower rates than white candidates. Second, even those African-Americans who pass the examinations are rarely promoted because the fire department selects candidates for promotion in descending rank-order based primarily upon each candidate's written examination score; and African-American candidates score significantly lower than whites. The complaint also alleges that the City's examinations violate Title VII because they result in a disparate impact on the basis of race and because Jacksonville cannot prove that the test is job related and consistent with business necessity (i.e., that it truly tests for what the job requires). The parties have arrived at a settlement, and the settlement is pending approval. A fairness hearing was held on December 19, 2018.
Joint Motion for Provisional Entry of Consent Decree
E.E.O.C. v. Local 28 (Title VII)
On July 21, 2015, a federal court signed an order approving an estimated $12 million settlement of back pay claims for black and Hispanic sheet metal workers in litigation against their union. These minority members of Local 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association, the trade union for sheet metal workers in New York City, suffered underemployment from 1991 to 2006. This settlement supplements a 2008 settlement of $6.2 million, which covered back pay claims from January 1, 1984 through March 31, 1991. The case dates back to 1971. The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP intervened in the case in 2003 on behalf of aggrieved minority members and successfully moved for the case to be certified as a class action.
Local 28 has also agreed to reforms designed to equalize work opportunities for nonwhite and white union members. These include improved monitoring and investigation of discrimination complaints, an expansion of the use of the union's referral hall to guarantee non-discriminatory hiring decisions, increased education and training opportunities for members, and increased monitoring, analysis, and reporting of potential work hours disparities by the union.
The settlement was achieved after extensive negotiations with the union by the Lawyers' Committee and Debevoise, on behalf of the class of underemployed black and Hispanic union members, along with the EEOC, the New York State Division of Human Rights, and the City of New York. The Court-appointed Special Master, David Raff, also had significant input into the final terms of the settlement and the enhanced injunctive reforms.
Court Approves Estimated $12 Million Settlement of Back Pay Claims In Historic Union Discrimination Case
Programmatic Work
Records Assistance Project
As a result of the settlement in Gonzalez v. Pritzker, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has partnered with Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations ILR to create the Records Assistance Project (RAP) to provide eligible Census class members with pro bono legal assistance designed to aid them in getting their criminal records corrected, sealed, and/or expunged. The Lawyers' Committee is working closely with law firms and legal service organizations across the country to coordinate pro bono record clearance and rap sheet repair services.
Other Advocacy
Letter on Qualifications for President-Elect Biden's Labor Secretary
Ensuring the protection and advancement of the rights, economic security, and well-being of all working people in this country is a priority.A member of the The Employment Task Force we partnered with the Leadership Conference and many others to create this letter on the views we feel our necessary for a strong Labor Secretary. And to promote policies that support the needs of the current and future workforce, including by strengthening and expanding protections against discrimination and harassment in the workplace and providing for the health and safety of working people.
Leadership_Confererence_Labor_Secretary_Letter
Protecting Women's Access to Reproductive Healthcare
The Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce held a legislative hearing on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, at 10 a.m. in the John D. Dingell Room, 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled, "Protecting Women's Access to Reproductive Health Care."
Kristen Clarke Hearing Testimony
On March 18, 2019, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law submitted comments opposing the CFPB's proposed delay of the compliance date for the ability-to-repay provisions of its final payday/auto title/high-rate installment loan rule (Payday Rule). Delayed implementation of the Payday Rule will have profound negative consequences on African American and Latinx communities, and in particular unmarried female headed households. A delay in the implementation of the Payday Rule would allow predatory lenders to continue exploiting low income communities and communities of color by trapping borrowers in cycles of defaults and refinancing.
In May and June, 2018, the Economic Justice Project issued various FOIA requests to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) seeking records related to CFPB Acting Director & OMB Director Mick Mulvaney's efforts to deregulate payday lending and weaken the CFPB's fair lending enforcement by moving the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity (OFLEO) and dismantling the Consumer Advisory Board. Payday lending has disparate impacts on African American and Hispanic communities; a rollback of the CFPB's Payday Loan Rule will remove important consumer protections for these communities. Similarly, the CFPB's efforts to significantly reduce fair lending enforcement will disproportionately impact low-income communities of color.
FOIA Related to the Dissolution of the Consumer Advisory Board
FOIA Related to Payday Lender Communications with CFPB
FOIA Related to CFPB's Basis for Moving the OFLEO
FOIA Related to Payday Lending Rollback
FOIA Related to Payday Lender Communications with OMB
Payday Rule Comments
Civil Damages Disparities
How Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Impact Your Life's Worth
The report addresses the use of race/ethnicity and gender in determining future income earning in wrongful death or personal injury actions and how this practice perpetuates discrimination by reinforcing pay disparities and failing to account for future progress. Though this is a significant issue, and one of the only instances where court-sanctioned discrimination is allowed to occur, very few state or federal reforms have been proposed and none have been passed. The report urges state legislators to pass laws prohibiting the discriminatory use of wage and earnings tables delineated by race and gender in the calculation of damages so that women and people of color receive parity in civil damage awards.
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law & Silicon Valley Community Foundation Release Report Highlighting Discrimination in Civil Damage Awards
How Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Impact Your Life's Worth: Discrimination in Civil Damage Awards
Public Accommodations Discrimination
Toward a Vision for Racial Equity & Inclusion at Starbucks: Review and Recommendations.
On April 12, 2018, Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson were the victims of a highly publicized, wrongful arrest and detention at a Philadelphia Starbucks. As a result of this incident, they retained the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to work with their attorneys at Cohen Placitella & Roth to assist in recommending specific actions for Starbucks. Their recommendations, focused on preventing similar incidents from occurring in the future included in the report titled, "Toward a Vision for Racial Equity & Inclusion at Starbucks: Review and Recommendations" and authored by Heather C. McGhee and Sherrilyn Ifill. The objective of this report is to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future and to provide input and recommendations on how Starbucks can foster an inclusive, diverse, and anti-biased workplace. In addition to looking inward in order to achieve racial equity, the report urges Starbucks to look outward and engage and participate with their communities.
Toward a Vision for Racial Equity & Inclusion at Starbucks: Review and Recommendations
Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson Release Statement Calling on Starbucks to Implement Report Recommendations
Title VII Brief
In partnership with the Leadership Conference for Civil Rights and a coalition of 57 other civil rights and social justice organizations, we have filed an amicus brief in support of three Supreme Court LGBTQ workplace discrimination cases.
The brief urges the Court to find that sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination constitutes discrimination "because of … sex" and notes that recognition of this reality is essential to safeguarding the job security and economic stability of millions of LGBTQ people in American, especially those most often subjected to employment discrimination: LGBTQ people of color.
Key Brief
On November 15, 2018, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury published two final rules that, if enacted, will deprive thousands of women of meaningful access to contraceptive health care services. The Religious Exemption Rule and the Moral Exemption Rule broadly exempt nearly every employer or university with a religious or moral objection from complying with the Affordable Care Act's requirement to provide coverage for comprehensive preventive health services, including no-cost coverage for contraception services. Several states' attorneys general challenged rollback and the Northern District of California and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania entered a preliminary injunctions. The Administration has appealed the decision to the Third and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals.
The Lawyers' Committee and the Center for Reproductive Rights, along with a coalition of civil rights organizations, submitted an amicus brief highlighting for the court how these rules will discriminate against employees and students who exercise their fundamental right to reproductive decision-making by using contraception – a right long recognized by the Supreme Court as a constitutional liberty. Theses rollbacks discriminate against women by singling out health care services predominantly used by women as a lesser form of care that employers and universities are free to exclude from comprehensive coverage. The amicus brief also highlights how women of color, in particular, will bear the brunt of the burden of this rollback because they already face heightened structural barriers accessing and navigating the health care system, and in exercising their right to reproductive health care. The Affordable Care Act has provided many of the over 15 million women of color with private insurance with coverage for preventive services, including cost-free contraceptives. With 83 percent of Black women, 91 percent of Latina women and 90 percent of Asian women of reproductive age using contraception, this significant coverage gain is vital for the millions of women of color seeking to plan their reproductive lives and gain greater financial stability for themselves and their families. The new rules threaten to rollback those advances and will perpetuate a longstanding history of systemic burdens and infringement on the reproductive rights of women of color and low-income women.
Key Document:
Additional Amicus Brief Participation
Nine Civil Rights Organizations Led by Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law File Amicus Brief in SCOTUS Case Regarding Discrimination in Public Accommodations
National Civil Rights Groups File Amicus Brief Defending DACA
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Issues Statement on SCOTUS 5-4 Ruling in Janus v. AFSCME
FACTSHEETS:
June 5, 2019 Paid Family and Medical Leave – Racial Justice Implications
April 26, 2019 Letter to the National Association of Forensic Economics regarding the use of race, ethnicity, and gender by forensic economists in modeling future earnings (co-signator)
REPORTS BY THE LAWYERS' COMMITTEE:
REPORTS BY OTHERS:
Federal #MeToo: Examining Sexual Harassment in Government Workplaces
POWERPOINTS BY THE LAWYERS' COMMITTEE:
Promoting Tolerance and Preventing Discrimination in the Workplace: A Presentation for Business Forward


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LPIG goes Hollywood
Leave a Comment / LPIG / By JCC President / October 29, 2016 November 1, 2016
Hollywood Glamour at LPIG
Hollywood lighting
The amazingly beautiful glamour pictures that came out of Hollywood in the 30's to 50's have never lost their attraction. There was something about the portraits that those talented photographers produced that, in spite of the handicaps that they had by not having the fancy equipment that we have today, were perfectly composed, produced, and gave them an air that has attracted many books, theories, and attempts at duplication.
Hollywood Portraits was the theme at the October LPIG workshop. Some of the data presented at that meeting will be shared here along with some of the resulting "Hollywood" shots and some candids.
Irene by Darrel
Kristin by Brian
Kristin by Gordon
Kristin by Irene
What made the pictures from that era different? This is what we tried to answer. Remember that this was 60-80 years ago. There was no digital, no strobes, computers, or Photoshop…just gorgeous movie stars and very talented artists behind the camera.
Let's start out with the camera. They mostly used the 8×10 studio camera, with 8×10 black and white sheets of film negative which were kept in individual film holders for each shot. This meant that after the model in posed and the exposures determined, the film holder is inserted in the back of the camera; the dark slide is removed so that the sheet of film in the holder is exposed to the front and the now-closed lens. After the film is exposed, the dark slide is re-inserted and the film holder removed. This all takes time during which the model has to hold still and stay in the same position so that the light doesn't change. In spite of all the trouble, according to our current standards, 20-30 shots may be taken in one session. One stand may have 45 film holders.
The camera lenses until after WWII were not coated and gave a certain "flary glow", but otherwise they were fairly good lenses. The limiting factor in the final picture was the type of film that was available at the time.
Before 1930 Kodak Ortho film was used. This produced a very soft picture without much contrast and was not sensitive to red, plus being very grainy. The next film that became available was Kodak's Super Sensitive Pan, which slightly improved some of the previous problems. This was called SS Pan. Then in the late 30's Kodak came out with the Super XX that was more sensitive, had more contrast, recognized the red color and was less grainy.
Post processing was done manually directly on the 8×10 negative itself. There were more retouchers employed by the movie studios than photographers. This was a very specialized occupation. The negative was carefully altered with the use of soft lead pencils, a scraping knife, and the air brush. Some photographers preferred their models use no makeup, because they thought that this was too shiny, all of the makeup was applied by the retouchers. This was one of the distinguishing features of the famous old movie stills from Hollywood. There were no pores and absolutely no freckles or blemishes..
The lighting that they had was also quite different, and this is a large part of what the LPIG project is about. With no strobes, no fluorescence. and no LED lights, they only had their tungsten and arc lights which were very hot and in the case of the arc lamps, caused retinal damage to the models eyes. The direct light that came from their large studio lights was "hard", and produced sharp shadows, and bright highlights. This has been mostly corrected in modern times with the soft boxes and umbrellas that we use with strobe lights.
In order to copy the characteristics of their old lighting characteristics at the LPIG, we are using some Fresnel lights which have steady light (not strobes), a Fresnel lens in the front that can be focused, and LED bulbs so that the heat factor is eliminated.. Teamed up with barn doors, these lights give a close rendition of those used in the past.
Because of the slow film, (ASA 8-10), exposures had to be fairly long and the apertures were wide open, they had a quite shallow depth of field. Also because the film had little tonal depth, there was little detail in the darks and the highlight were usually blown out. This contrasty effect was further encouraged by the way that they exposed the picture and developed the film.
BUT, when it got down to taking the picture, the techniques were almost identical to the lessons this year taught at the LPIG workshops. They used the same methods of lighting the faces as we do now….loop, Rembrandt, butterfly (or Paramount), etc., with main, fill, hair, and kicker lights.
What they also had were some very talented artists exploring the new field of still glamour photography and developing new photographic techniques that were constantly changing, and frequently kept secret by the different Hollywood studios. Reading about these times is quite interesting and trying to re-create some of the magic that they produced with their movie stars is our current challenge at LPIG.
Lecture Time
Motley Crew By Don
Dreamer by Don

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Pontifical Council for Social Communications, The Church and Internet, 22 February 2002.
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS
THE CHURCH AND INTERNET
II. Opportunities and challenges
III. Recommendations and conclusion
1. The Church's interest in the Internet is a particular expression of her longstanding interest in the media of social communication. Seeing the media as an outcome of the historical scientific process by which humankind "advances further and further in the discovery of the resources and values contained in the whole of creation,"1 the Church often has declared her conviction that they are, in the words of the Second Vatican Council, "marvellous technical inventions"2 that already do much to meet human needs and may yet do even more.
Thus the Church has taken a fundamentally positive approach to the media.3 Even when condemning serious abuses, documents of this Pontifical Council for Social Communications have been at pains to make it clear that "a merely censorious attitude on the part of the Church … is neither sufficient nor appropriate."4
Quoting Pope Pius XII's 1957 encyclical letter Miranda Prorsus, the Pastoral Instruction on the Means of Social Communication Communio et Progressio, published in 1971, underlined that point: "The Church sees these media as 'gifts of God' which, in accordance with his providential design, unite men in brotherhood and so help them to cooperate with his plan for their salvation."5 This remains our view, and it is the view we take of the Internet.
2. As the Church understands it, the history of human communication is something like a long journey, bringing humanity "from the pride-driven project of Babel and the collapse into confusion and mutual incomprehension to which it gave rise (cf. Gen 11:1-9), to Pentecost and the gift of tongues: a restoration of communication, centered on Jesus, through the action of the Holy Spirit."6 In the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, "communication among men found its highest ideal and supreme example in God who had become man and brother."7
The modern media of social communication are cultural factors that play a role in this story. As the Second Vatican Council remarks, "although we must be careful to distinguish earthly progress clearly from the increase of the kingdom of Christ," nevertheless "such progress is of vital concern to the kingdom of God, insofar as it can contribute to the better ordering of human society."8 Considering the media of social communication in this light, we see that they "contribute greatly to the enlargement and enrichment of men's minds and to the propagation and consolidation of the kingdom of God."9
Today this applies in a special way to the Internet, which is helping bring about revolutionary changes in commerce, education, politics, journalism, the relationship of nation to nation and culture to culture — changes not just in how people communicate but in how they understand their lives. In a companion document, Ethics in Internet, we discuss these matters in their ethical dimension.10 Here we consider the Internet's implications for religion and especially for the Catholic Church.
3. The Church has a two-fold aim in regard to the media. One aspect is to encourage their right development and right use for the sake of human development, justice, and peace — for the upbuilding of society at the local, national, and community levels in light of the common good and in a spirit of solidarity. Considering the great importance of social communications, the Church seeks "honest and respectful dialogue with those responsible for the communications media" — a dialogue that relates primarily to the shaping of media policy.11 "On the Church's side this dialogue involves efforts to understand the media — their purposes, procedures, forms and genres, internal structures and modalities — and to offer support and encouragement to those involved in media work. On the basis of this sympathetic understanding and support, it becomes possible to offer meaningful proposals for removing obstacles to human progress and the proclamation of the Gospel."12
But the Church's concern also relates to communication in and by the Church herself. Such communication is more than just an exercise in technique, for it "finds its starting point in the communion of love among the divine Persons and their communication with us," and in the realization that Trinitarian communication "reaches out to humankind: The Son is the Word, eternally 'spoken' by the Father; and in and through Jesus Christ, Son and Word made flesh, God communicates himself and his salvation to women and men."13
God continues to communicate with humanity through the Church, the bearer and custodian of his revelation, to whose living teaching office alone he has entrusted the task of authentically interpreting his word.14 Moreover, the Church herself is a communio, a communion of persons and eucharistic communities arising from and mirroring the communion of the Trinity;15 communication therefore is of the essence of the Church. This, more than any other reason, is why "the Church's practice of communication should be exemplary, reflecting the highest standards of truthfulness, accountability, sensitivity to human rights, and other relevant principles and norms."16
4. Three decades ago Communio et Progressio pointed out that "modern media offer new ways of confronting people with the message of the Gospel."17 Pope Paul VI said the Church "would feel guilty before the Lord" if it failed to use the media for evangelization.18 Pope John Paul II has called the media "the first Areopagus of the modern age," and declared that "it is not enough to use the media simply to spread the Christian message and the Church's authentic teaching. It is also necessary to integrate that message into the 'new culture' created by modern communications."19 Doing that is all the more important today, since not only do the media now strongly influence what people think about life but also to a great extent "human experience itself is an experience of media."20
All this applies to the Internet. And even though the world of social communications "may at times seem at odds with the Christian message, it also offers unique opportunities for proclaiming the saving truth of Christ to the whole human family. Consider … the positive capacities of the Internet to carry religious information and teaching beyond all barriers and frontiers. Such a wide audience would have been beyond the wildest imaginings of those who preached the Gospel before us. … Catholics should not be afraid to throw open the doors of social communications to Christ, so that his Good News may be heard from the housetops of the world."21
5. "Communication in and by the Church is essentially communication of the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is the proclamation of the Gospel as a prophetic, liberating word to the men and women of our times; it is testimony, in the face of radical secularization, to divine truth and to the transcendent destiny of the human person; it is witness given in solidarity with all believers against conflict and division, to justice and communion among peoples, nations, and cultures."22
Since announcing the Good News to people formed by a media culture requires taking carefully into account the special characteristics of the media themselves, the Church now needs to understand the Internet. This is necessary in order to communicate effectively with people — especially young people — who are steeped in the experience of this new technology, and also in order to use it well.
The media offer important benefits and advantages from a religious perspective: "They carry news and information about religious events, ideas, and personalities; they serve as vehicles for evangelization and catechesis. Day in and day out, they provide inspiration, encouragement, and opportunities for worship to persons confined to their homes or to institutions."23 But over and above these, there also are benefits more or less peculiar to the Internet. It offers people direct and immediate access to important religious and spiritual resources — great libraries and museums and places of worship, the teaching documents of the Magisterium, the writings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church and the religious wisdom of the ages. It has a remarkable capacity to overcome distance and isolation, bringing people into contact with like-minded persons of good will who join in virtual communities of faith to encourage and support one another. The Church can perform an important service to Catholics and non-Catholics alike by the selection and transmission of useful data in this medium.
The Internet is relevant to many activities and programs of the Church — evangelization, including both re-evangelization and new evangelization and the traditional missionary work ad gentes, catechesis and other kinds of education, news and information, apologetics, governance and administration, and some forms of pastoral counseling and spiritual direction. Although the virtual reality of cyberspace cannot substitute for real interpersonal community, the incarnational reality of the sacraments and the liturgy, or the immediate and direct proclamation of the gospel, it can complement them, attract people to a fuller experience of the life of faith, and enrich the religious lives of users. It also provides the Church with a means for communicating with particular groups — young people and young adults, the elderly and home-bound, persons living in remote areas, the members of other religious bodies — who otherwise may be difficult to reach.
A growing number of parishes, dioceses, religious congregations, and church-related institutions, programs, and organizations of all kinds now make effective use of the Internet for these and other purposes. Creative projects under Church sponsorship exist in some places on the national and regional levels. The Holy See has been active in this area for several years and is continuing to expand and develop its Internet presence. Church-related groups that have not yet taken steps to enter cyberspace are encouraged to look into the possibility of doing so at an early date. We strongly recommend the exchange of ideas and information about the Internet among those with experience in the field and those who are newcomers.
6. The Church also needs to understand and use the Internet as a tool of internal communications. This requires keeping clearly in view its special character as a direct, immediate, interactive, and participatory medium.
Already, the two-way interactivity of the Internet is blurring the old distinction between those who communicate and those who receive what is communicated,24 and creating a situation in which, potentially at least, everyone can do both. This is not the one-way, top-down communication of the past. As more and more people become familiar with this characteristic of the Internet in other areas of their lives, they can be expected also to look for it in regard to religion and the Church.
The technology is new, but the idea is not. Vatican Council II said members of the Church should disclose to their pastors "their needs and desires with that liberty and confidence which befits children of God and brothers of Christ"; in fact, according to knowledge, competence, or position, the faithful are not only able but sometimes obliged "to manifest their opinion on those things which pertain to the good of the Church."25 Communio et Progressio remarked that as a "living body" the Church "needs public opinion in order to sustain a giving and taking among her members."26 Although truths of faith "do not leave room for arbitrary interpretations," the pastoral instruction noted "an enormous area where members of the Church can express their views."27
Similar ideas are expressed in the Code of Canon Law28 as well as in more recent documents of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.29 Aetatis Novae calls two-way communication and public opinion "one of the ways of realizing in a concrete manner the Church's character as communio."30 Ethics in Communications says: "A two-way flow of information and views between pastors and faithful, freedom of expression sensitive to the well being of the community and to the role of the Magisterium in fostering it, and responsible public opinion all are important expressions of 'the fundamental right of dialogue and information within the Church.'"31 The Internet provides an effective technological means of realizing this vision.
Here, then, is an instrument that can be put creatively to use for various aspects of administration and governance. Along with opening up channels for the expression of public opinion, we have in mind such things as consulting experts, preparing meetings, and practicing collaboration in and among particular churches and religious institutes on local, national, and international levels.
7. Education and training are another area of opportunity and need. "Today everybody needs some form of continuing media education, whether by personal study or participation in an organized program or both. More than just teaching about techniques, media education helps people form standards of good taste and truthful moral judgment, an aspect of conscience formation. Through her schools and formation programs the Church should provide media education of this kind."32
Education and training regarding the Internet ought to be part of comprehensive programs of media education available to members of the Church. As much as possible, pastoral planning for social communications should make provision for this training in the formation of seminarians, priests, religious, and lay pastoral personnel as well as teachers, parents, and students.33
Young people in particular need to be taught "not only to be good Christians when they are recipients but also to be active in using all the aids to communication that lie within the media. … So, young people will be true citizens of that age of social communications which has already begun"34 — an age in which media are seen to be "part of a still unfolding culture whose full implications are as yet imperfectly understood."35 Teaching about the Internet and the new technology thus involves much more than teaching techniques; young people need to learn how to function well in the world of cyberspace, make discerning judgments according to sound moral criteria about what they find there, and use the new technology for their integral development and the benefit of others.
8. The Internet also presents some special problems for the Church, over and above those of a general nature discussed in Ethics in Internet, the document accompanying this one.36 While emphasizing what is positive about the Internet, it is important to be clear about what is not.
At a very deep level, "the world of the media can sometimes seem indifferent and even hostile to Christian faith and morality. This is partly because media culture is so deeply imbued with a typically postmodern sense that the only absolute truth is that there are no absolute truths or that, if there were, they would be inaccessible to human reason and therefore irrelevant."37
Among the specific problems presented by the Internet is the presence of hate sites devoted to defaming and attacking religious and ethnic groups. Some of these target the Catholic Church. Like pornography and violence in the media, Internet hate sites are "reflections of the dark side of a human nature marred by sin."38 And while respect for free expression may require tolerating even voices of hatred up to a point, industry self-regulation — and, where required, intervention by public authority — should establish and enforce reasonable limits to what can be said.
The proliferation of web sites calling themselves Catholic creates a problem of a different sort. As we have said, church-related groups should be creatively present on the Internet; and well-motivated, well-informed individuals and unofficial groups acting on their own initiative are entitled to be there as well. But it is confusing, to say the least, not to distinguish eccentric doctrinal interpretations, idiosyncratic devotional practices, and ideological advocacy bearing a 'Catholic' label from the authentic positions of the Church. We suggest an approach to this issue below.
9. Certain other matters still require much reflection. Regarding these, we urge continued research and study, including "the development of an anthropology and a theology of communication"39 — now, with specific reference to the Internet. Along with study and research, of course, positive pastoral planning for the use of the Internet can and should go forward.40
One area for research concerns the suggestion that the wide range of choices regarding consumer products and services available on the Internet may have a spillover effect in regard to religion and encourage a 'consumer' approach to matters of faith. Data suggest that some visitors to religious web sites may be on a sort of shopping spree, picking and choosing elements of customized religious packages to suit their personal tastes. The "tendency on the part of some Catholics to be selective in their adherence" to the Church's teaching is a recognized problem in other contexts;41 more information is needed about whether and to what extent the problem is exacerbated by the Internet.
Similarly, as noted above, the virtual reality of cyberspace has some worrisome implications for religion as well as for other areas of life. Virtual reality is no substitute for the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the sacramental reality of the other sacraments, and shared worship in a flesh-and-blood human community. There are no sacraments on the Internet; and even the religious experiences possible there by the grace of God are insufficient apart from real-world interaction with other persons of faith. Here is another aspect of the Internet that calls for study and reflection. At the same time, pastoral planning should consider how to lead people from cyberspace to true community and how, through teaching and catechesis, the Internet might subsequently be used to sustain and enrich them in their Christian commitment.
10. Religious people, as concerned members of the larger Internet audience who also have legitimate particular interests of their own, wish to be part of the process that guides the future development of this new medium. It goes without saying that this will sometimes require them to adjust their own thinking and practice.
It is important, too, that people at all levels of the Church use the Internet creatively to meet their responsibilities and help fulfill the Church's mission. Hanging back timidly from fear of technology or for some other reason is not acceptable, in view of the very many positive possibilities of the Internet. "Methods of facilitating communication and dialogue among her own members can strengthen the bonds of unity between them. Immediate access to information makes it possible for [the Church] to deepen her dialogue with the contemporary world. … The Church can more readily inform the world of her beliefs and explain the reasons for her stance on any given issue or event. She can hear more clearly the voice of public opinion, and enter into a continuous discussion with the world around her, thus involving herself more immediately in the common search for solutions to humanity's many pressing problems."42
11. In concluding these reflections, therefore, we offer words of encouragement to several groups in particular — Church leaders, pastoral personnel, educators, parents, and especially young people.
To Church leaders. People in leadership positions in all sectors of the Church need to understand the media, apply this understanding in formulating pastoral plans for social communications43 together with concrete policies and programs in this area, and make appropriate use of media. Where necessary, they should receive media education themselves; in fact, "the Church would be well served if more of those who hold offices and perform functions in her name received communication training."44
This applies to the Internet as well as to the older media. Church leaders are obliged to use "the full potential of the 'computer age' to serve the human and transcendent vocation of every person, and thus to give glory to the Father from whom all good things come."45 They ought to employ this remarkable technology in many different aspects of the Church's mission, while also exploring opportunities for ecumenical and interreligious cooperation in its use.
A special aspect of the Internet, as we have seen, concerns the sometimes confusing proliferation of unofficial web sites labeled 'Catholic.' A system of voluntary certification at the local and national levels under the supervision of representatives of the Magisterium might be helpful in regard to material of a specifically doctrinal or catechetical nature. The idea is not to impose censorship but to offer Internet users a reliable guide to what expresses the authentic position of the Church.
To pastoral personnel. Priests, deacons, religious, and lay pastoral workers should have media education to increase their understanding of the impact of social communications on individuals and society and help them acquire a manner of communicating that speaks to the sensibilities and interests of people in a media culture. Today this clearly includes training regarding the Internet, including how to use it in their work. They can also profit from websites offering theological updating and pastoral suggestions.
As for Church personnel directly involved in media, it hardly needs saying that they must have professional training. But they also need doctrinal and spiritual formation, since "in order to witness to Christ it is necessary to encounter him oneself and foster a personal relationship with him through prayer, the Eucharist and sacramental reconciliation, reading and reflection on God's word, the study of Christian doctrine, and service to others."46
To educators and catechists. The Pastoral Instruction Communio et Progressio spoke of the "urgent duty" of Catholic schools to train communicators and recipients of social communications in relevant Christian principles.47 The same message has been repeated many times. In the age of the Internet, with its enormous outreach and impact, the need is more urgent than ever.
Catholic universities, colleges, schools, and educational programs at all levels should provide courses for various groups — "seminarians, priests, religious brothers and sisters, and lay leaders … teachers, parents, and students"48 — as well as more advanced training in communications technology, management, ethics, and policy issues for individuals preparing for professional media work or decision-making roles, including those who work in social communications for the Church. Furthermore, we commend the issues and questions mentioned above to the attention of scholars and researchers in relevant disciplines in Catholic institutions of higher learning.
To parents. For the sake of their children, as well as for their own sakes, parents must "learn and practice the skills of discerning viewers and listeners and readers, acting as models of prudent use of media in the home."49 As far as the Internet is concerned, children and young people often are more familiar with it than their parents are, but parents still are seriously obliged to guide and supervise their children in its use.50 If this means learning more about the Internet than they have up to now, that will be all to good.
Parental supervision should include making sure that filtering technology is used in computers available to children when that is financially and technically feasible, in order to protect them as much as possible from pornography, sexual predators, and other threats. Unsupervised exposure to the Internet should not be allowed. Parents and children should dialogue together about what is seen and experienced in cyberspace; sharing with other families who have the same values and concerns will also be helpful. The fundamental parental duty here is to help children become discriminating, responsible Internet users and not addicts of the Internet, neglecting contact with their peers and with nature itself.
To children and young people. The Internet is a door opening on a glamorous and exciting world with a powerful formative influence; but not everything on the other side of the door is safe and wholesome and true. "Children and young people should be open to formation regarding media, resisting the easy path of uncritical passivity, peer pressure, and commercial exploitation."51 The young owe it to themselves — and to their parents and families and friends, their pastors and teachers, and ultimately to God — to use the Internet well.
The Internet places in the grasp of young people at an unusually early age an immense capacity for doing good and doing harm, to themselves and others. It can enrich their lives beyond the dreams of earlier generations and empower them to enrich others' lives in turn. It also can plunge them into consumerism, pornographic and violent fantasy, and pathological isolation.
Young people, as has often been said, are the future of society and the Church. Good use of the Internet can help prepare them for their responsibilities in both. But this will not happen automatically. The Internet is not merely a medium of entertainment and consumer gratification. It is a tool for accomplishing useful work, and the young must learn to see it and use it as such. In cyberspace, at least as much as anywhere else, they may be called on to go against the tide, practice counter-culturalism, even suffer persecution for the sake of what is true and good.
12. To all persons of good will. Finally, then, we would suggest some virtues that need to be cultivated by everyone who wants to make good use of the Internet; their exercise should be based upon and guided by a realistic appraisal of its contents.
Prudence is necessary in order clearly to see the implications — the potential for good and evil — in this new medium and to respond creatively to its challenges and opportunities.
Justice is needed, especially justice in working to close the digital divide — the gap between the information-rich and the information-poor in today's world.52 This requires a commitment to the international common good, no less than the "globalization of solidarity."53
Fortitude, courage, is necessary. This means standing up for truth in the face of religious and moral relativism, for altruism and generosity in the face of individualistic consumerism, for decency in the face of sensuality and sin.
And temperance is needed — a self-disciplined approach to this remarkable technological instrument, the Internet, so as to use it wisely and only for good.
Reflecting on the Internet, as upon all the other media of social communications, we recall that Christ is "the perfect communicator"54 — the norm and model of the Church's approach to communication, as well as the content that the Church is obliged to communicate. "May Catholics involved in the world of social communications preach the truth of Jesus ever more boldly from the housetops, so that all men and women may hear about 0the love which is the heart of God's self-communication in Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and for ever."55
Vatican City, February 22, 2002, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle.
John P. Foley
Pierfranco Pastore
1 John Paul II, encyclical letter Laborem Exercens, n. 25; cf. Vatican Council II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, n. 34.
2 Vatican Council II, Decree on the Means of Social Communication Inter Mirifica, n. 1.
3 For example, Inter Mirifica; the Messages of Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the World Communication Days; Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Pastoral Instruction Communio et Progressio, Pornography and Violence in the Communications Media: A Pastoral Response, Pastoral Instruction Aetatis Novae, Ethics in Advertising, Ethics in Communications.
4 Pornography and Violence in the Communications Media, n. 30.
5 Communio et Progressio, n. 2.
6 John Paul II, Message for the 34th World Communications Day, June 4, 2000.
7 Communio et Progressio, n. 10.
8 Vatican Council II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 39.
9 Inter Mirifica, 2.
10 Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Ethics in Internet.
11 Aetatis Novae, 8.
13 Ethics in Communications, n. 3.
14 Cf. Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, n. 10.
15 Aetatis Novae, n. 10.
16 Ethics in Communications, n. 26.
17 Communio et Progressio, 128.
18 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 45.
19 Encyclical Redemptoris Missio, n. 37.
20 ] Aetatis Novae, n. 2.
21 John Paul II, Message for the 35th World Communications Day, n. 3, May 27, 2001.
22 Aetatis Novae, n. 9.
24 Cf. Communio et Progressio, n. 15.
25 Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, n. 37.
26 Communio et Progressio, n. 116.
27 Ibid., n. 117.
28 Cf. Canon 212.2, 212.3.
29 Cf. Aetatis Novae, n. 10; Ethics in Communications, n. 26.
35 John Paul II, Message for the 24th World Communications Day, 1990.
36 Cf. Ethics in Internet.
37 John Paul II, Message for the 35th World Communications Day, n. 3.
38 Pornography and Violence in the Communications Media, n. 7.
40 Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 39.
41 Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Bishops of the United States, n. 5, Los Angeles, September 16, 1987.
43 Cf. Aetatis Novae, nn. 23-33.
45 Message for the 24th World Communications Day, 1990.
50 Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, n. 76.
52 Cf. Ethics in Internet, nn. 10, 17.
53 John Paul II, Address to the UN Secretary General and to the Administrative Committee on Coordination of the United Nations, n. 2, April 7, 2000.
54 Communio et Progressio, n. 11.
55 Message for the 35th World Communications Day, n. 4.
Pontifical Council for Social Communications, The Church and Internet, 22 February 2002. English accessed 4 January 2020 at: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_20020228_church-internet_en.html


text:
Gary Abraham (born 8 January 1959) is a male English former competitive swimmer.

Swimming career
Abraham represented Great Britain in the Olympics and FINA world championships, as well as England in the Commonwealth games, during the 1970s and early 1980s.  Abraham was an Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games medallist. As a 17-year-old, Abraham represented Great Britain at the 1980 Summer Olympics in  Montreal, Quebec.  He competed in the 100-metre backstroke, and swam the backstroke leg for the British team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4x100-metre medley relay.

Abraham represented England at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, winning two silver medals in the 100-metre backstroke and the 4x100-metre medley relay. At the ASA National British Championships he won the 100 metres backstroke title six times (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981) and the 200 metres backstroke title in 1978.

At the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, he earned a bronze medal by swimming the backstroke leg for the third-place British team in the 4×100-metre medley relay.  He was the first swimmer to utilize the rule permitting swimmers to swim 15 metres underwater at start of certain events.

Abraham retired from competitive swimming in 1983.  He currently coaches at Eastleigh Swimming Club.

Personal bests
 Long course (50 m)

 Short course (33m)

 Short course (25 m)

See also

 List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)
 List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)

References

External links

1959 births
Living people
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England
English male swimmers
Male backstroke swimmers
Miami Hurricanes men's swimmers
Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain
Olympic bronze medalists in swimming
Olympic swimmers of Great Britain
Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 1980 Summer Olympics
World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming
Swimmers at the 1978 Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Be thoughtful. Think about loved ones for whom gifts are important. What do they really need but can't give themselves? It's not the grandeur of a gift that counts but the gesture of truly seeing someone and helping them move toward an important, perhaps forgotten, part of themselves. Did your mother paint when she was younger and give it up when she had children? Perhaps art lessons, or a new set of paints, can help restore a long-submerged creative desire.
Give presence, not presents. Once you've perfected meaningful gift giving, you're ready for the next step: transcending tangible gifts. Give intangible gifts such as time and energy to those you love. It doesn't matter if you give material things or nonmaterial things, as long as you have awakened the spirit of generosity.
Nurture nature. Plant a tree, or a group of trees, to show your generosity for the planet.
Give to those you don't know. Let your generosity extend far beyond your social circle, to people for whom the holidays tend to be difficult, lonely times. Volunteer at a homeless shelter, for instance.


All S.H.E.E.P staff must go through an interview process with both the church and the school. Staff members are selected based on their experience and vision of education. All staff have gone through an extensive background screening process.
Open staff positions are posted on the bottom of this page.
Prior to the beginning of the school year, the director, teachers and teaching assistants receive training in policy, procedure, curriculum and instructional strategies. Their training continues throughout the school year. Training includes CPR and first aid, "Safeguarding God's Children," and child-centered, developmentally appropriate instructional practices.
All teachers are evaluated on their overall performance during the school year.
Education: I graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. I worked on a Master's Degree program in Administration at Our Lady of the Lake University and graduated from the University of Texas in Arlington with a Masters degree in Reading Specialization. Before coming to SHEEP, I taught at Lackland ISD.
Family: I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Jeff, for over 15 years. We have 4 children (Ty, Makenna, Shane and Jake) and enjoy living way out in the country.
Why I am at SHEEP: I have been at St. Helena's Early Enrichment Program since 2008, the beginning. Watching the program grow and meeting the wonderful children and families coming through has been a huge blessing in my life!
Education: I have a Bachelor's degree from McMurry College, with a specialization in English and Writing. I taught for 17 years: 10 in Northside ISD and 7 in Boerne ISD classrooms. I also spent 3 years as the Elementary Writing Specialist for BISD.
Family: I have been married to Patrick for over 25 years. We have two sons, Matthew and Sean.
Why I am at SHEEP: As the children and youth minister, I was part of a team of 7 women who visioned our school. We were excited to build an innovative and Christ-centered program to serve the children of Boerne and the hill country.
Education: I pursued my love for education and graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Special Education. I taught for 7 years in NEISD. I taught PPCD for 4 years and then taught Kinder inclusion for 3 years. I was so blessed to join the St. Helena's family in the summer of 2018 as the Minister for Young Families.
Family: My husband, James, and I were very blessed to welcome our first baby, Weston James, in November of 2018.
Why I am at SHEEP: My heart and calling is towards serving and lifting up young children as well as families. I love being able to connect with children by inspiring them, teaching them about God and strengthening their family unit to grow and deepen in their faith. St. Helena's is a community that has been such a blessing for my family and continues to be for so many!
Education: I have a bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in English from the University of Texas at Austin. After 9 years in the corporate world, I became a stay at home mom and realized my desire to pursue a career in early education.
Family: My husband Orion and I have two sons, Jayce and Archer. We spend most of our free time with my brother, his family, and my parents. My mother Phyllis is also a part of the SHEEP family.
Why I am at SHEEP: For years, the only people we trusted to watch our boys were my parents. My mom, Phyllis, had been working at SHEEP for some time and she always sang the school praises. We decided to enroll our oldest son Jayce, and within weeks he had completely blossomed. I loved his teachers and the SHEEP community was so welcoming and encouraging. When it came time for me to re-enter the work force, I could not think of a better place to work. My goal is to be just as loving and reassuring to the children in my classroom as the SHEEP teachers continue to be for my boys.
Education: I have a bachelor's degree in Art Education from the University of Maine and a master's in Child Development from the University of Rhode Island. I taught prekindgarten and kindergarten in Austin, San Antonio, and at St. Boniface in Comfort.
Family: My husband, Mike and I live outside of Comfort and have three children and five grandchildren. The oldest grandson just graduated from high school and is attending college at Fresno State University!
Education: I graduated from Tivy High School in Kerrville. Then, I went to Baylor University and got my degree in elementary education with a specialization in early childhood.
Family: I have been married to my husband Andy for over 15 years. We have four kids- 2 through 12 years old.
Why I am at SHEEP: I love to teach preschool age kids, and I love the SHEEP school. My 5 year old has been at SHEEP the past three years, and the school has been such a blessing to our family.
Education: I moved to Boerne in 1992, spent my Junior and Senior years Boerne High School, and graduated in 1994.
Family: I am a divorced mother of three children; Emma, Luke, and Kate - plus my fur baby; an ornery old pupper named Solo (yes, after the equally grumpy and beloved Star Wars character!). Together, we share a deep love of Star Wars and superhero movies, music, and spending lazy days in our jammies.
Why I am at SHEEP: After years of parenting my own kiddos, and volunteering countless hours at their schools, I realized that my tremendous love for children was, in fact, a calling.
When I started teaching preschool back in 2013, at St. Helena's Early Enrichment Program as a Teaching Assistant in the Step 2 classroom, I instantly knew that I was in the right place.
I feel that my optimism, and ability to make children (and their parents!) feel loved and safe is a gift, and a blessing - because when a child feels safe and loved, their brain is relaxed and ready for optimal learning!!
Education: I grew up in Kansas and graduated from high school there.
Family: I married my high school sweetheart and we have been married for over 20 years. I have 3 children and 2 grandchildren.
Why I am at SHEEP: I love teaching children and being around 2 and 3 year olds.
Education: I have worked in early childhood.
Family: I have been married to my husband, Scott, for over 30 years. We have two children: Luke and Mindy.
Why she is at SHEEP: I enjoy working with children. I love teaching them new things and watching them grow.
Degree. I have taught Pre-K, Kindergarten, First Grade, Third Grade, Fourth Grade and Fifth Grade.
Family: I am married to my husband Glenn and we have two children, Justin and Hunter.
Why she is at SHEEP: We moved to Boerne in the summer of 2018. My husband retired from the Army after 28 years. We moved around a lot. We are now settled and I can continue to do what I love. I love working with children. I heard so many wonderful things about the SHEEP program and since my boys are older now, it was time to get back to my passion of teaching.
I attended John Marshall HS in San Antonio. After graduating high school, I attended Texas Tech University, where I received my Bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a minor in Math.
Family: I have two children: Malory and Bryce. We moved to Boerne and absolutely love it. The schools and community are so welcoming and friendly.
Why I am at SHEEP: My daughter attended SHEEP for the two years. I was always amazed at what she was learning and the depth of her understanding. The teachers are so amazing. The kids learn so many different concepts, themes, and activities. Everything is taught and presented in a fun, engaging, and age- appropriate way. I was able to see how learning and fun can work hand in hand. I am thrilled at the opportunity to work with the staff and the amazing kids at SHEEP.
Education: I graduated from the University of Texas Pan American with a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a second major in English. I worked in the Real Estate industry for 11 years as a Realtor and an assistant real estate appraiser. I took a step away from my career to stay at home with my children for 6 years. The past two years, I have been a substitute teacher for BISD.
Family: I have been married to my awesome husband Ray for over10 years, and we have two children, Trenton and Tristan.
Why I am at SHEEP: My children attended SHEEP, and I knew from the moment I stepped into the school when I registered them to attend and I got that "warm and fuzzy" feeling that this school and the people in it are truly amazing. I am excited to be a part of this God-centered, loving, and fun school! I love seeing the world through the eyes of children as they discover and learn.
I have a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from UTSA. I also taught for 7 years in NEISD. I spent 2 years teaching 3rd grade and 5 years teaching kindergarten.
Family: My husband Michael and I have three children, Mason, Mitchell and Maggie.
I am so excited to work with young children in a loving environment, and I love to see the excitement and passion in every learning opportunity. God has blessed me with another chance to work in early childhood education, while at the same time I get to see my two boys grow at this wonderful school.
Education: High school graduate with a little college and 18 years of being a stay at home mom (Where everyday is a learning experience).
Family: My husband, Wesley, works at USAA. We have 4 children that we are very proud of. Sydney, Sierra, Skyleigh, and Fischer (who attended SHEEP).
Why I am at SHEEP: Now that all my children are in school I am ready to regain a little independence. Working with children has always been my passion for as long as I can remember. I visited SHEEP. They won me over right away. I believe in all that SHEEP has to offer and it is just a bonus to be able to work along side all these amazing teachers and staff that made my son's last year before grade school a memorable one.
Education: I have been involved in the education of young children for over 40 years as a teacher and then administrator.
Family: I married Max (Bud) Schwarz. We have three grown children: Tracy, Max III, and Erica. We have 6 awesome grandchildren ranging in ages from 10 to 28.
Why I am at SHEEP: I was one of first three teachers at SHEEP over 10 years ago.
Education: I have a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I first began teaching preschool in 2016 at my home church in Cary, NC.
Family: I have been married to my wonderful husband Jason for over 10 years and God has blessed us with two amazing, energetic boys Walter and Arthur.
Education: My teaching career began in 1970, and with the exception of four years in the public arena, my teaching experience has been in Episcopal schools. Moving to Boerne in 2012, I was fortunate to secure a position with SHEEP, and what a blessing it has been!
Family: The remainder of my time is spent spoiling my three grandchildren and exploring this beautiful hill country.
Why I am at SHEEP: The reason I am at SHEEP is because it is an educational paradise that promotes the teaching of the whole child.
Interesting tidbit: In my free time I enjoy reading, gardening, playing the flute, piano, and baritone ukulele. I am a diehard Trekkie, and I have never seen a Star Wars movie. Also, my great great great grandmother was Angelina Eberly. There is a statue of her in downtown Austin. She fired the cannon at Sam Houston's men preventing them access to the archives and from changing the capital to Houston.
Education: I have lived in Boerne since I was 8 years old and graduated from Boerne High School. Go Greyhounds!!! I have a bachelor's degree in early childhood education.
Family: I have been married to my husband, Quentin, since 2004 and together we have three girls: Ashley, Hailey, and Paytin.
Why I am at SHEEP: I worked in a few different offices before I stepped out on faith to take on the calling that I knew God had for me; walking alongside families and laying a foundation on which to build their child's educational future, as well as a foundation for their walk with Christ. I am humbled each and every day that I get to come to this school and speak love and life into the future of our community!
Education: I was born and raised in Boerne, as were my parents, grandparents, and generations before us. We are all proud graduates of Boerne High School.
Family: My husband Larry and I are empty nesters. We are the parents of four grown children. Our three girls are all married and have blessed us with eight grandkids. We spend all of our spare time traveling and spending time with them.
Education: I am from a very large family, born and raised in SA, attended parochial school 1-12 grade. I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University at Arlington. I additionally earned a Master's degree in Business from Dallas Baptist University.
Family: I have been married over 35 years to my wonderful husband Tommy. We are truly blessed with two wonderful and talented children: Son Kevin who is a medical student and daughter Keely who attends physical therapy school. Hopefully two Doctors in the near future. We love outdoor adventures, camping, skiing and being together as a family as much as we can.
Why am I at SHEEP: I love meeting and working with children and their wonderful families. Its very rewarding to work with children and to watch them learn and grow. I have always felt like something was missing after working for other companies and running my own business. I realized my greatest accomplishment in my life was raising my children to be successful, educated, responsible adults and that love and support is what I would like to offer my little students.
If interested, please contact the director at tiffany@sthelenas.net or 830-249-8084.


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text:
The reviews are in! CMS Rating of Hospitals Gets 1.5 Stars
Factoring in the sociodemographics of patients might help improve them. But so would more transparency and openness by the hospitals.
Say what you will about the CMS hospital star ratings—and much has been said about them, mostly disparaging—their release accomplished something that's a rarity in Washington these days: Republicans and Democrats in Congress came together to block them. Last April, 225 House members signed a bipartisan letter to acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt to delay the release of the ratings. And CMS did delay the release—but only until July.
The ratings are meant to sum up performance on 64 quality measures with a designation of from one to five stars. That is supposed to give consumers a quick and easy way to assess hospitals on CMS's "Hospital Care" website, like reviewers use stars to rate movies or restaurants. CMS also uses the star system to rate Medicare Advantage plans and nursing homes, but the hospital ratings provoked a backlash that the other ratings haven't—evidence of, among other things, the clout of the hospital lobby. When it finally released the updated ratings last July, CMS said that the methodology had been reviewed "after substantive discussions with hospitals and other stakeholders." But not many of those stakeholders have been happy with the end result.
The problem, say hospitals and some analysts, is that rating hospital quality is not so straightforward. How a hospital delivers care is multifactorial and complex, they argue, so trying to cram all that into a single score is misleading and can end up like rating a restaurant on its parking and signage as much as its food and service.
In an opinion piece in the Nov. 1, 2016, JAMA, Northwestern University researchers Karl Bilimoria, MD, and Cynthia Barnard listed seven concerns hospitals have with the star ratings, from a lack of transparency to a lack of risk adjustment to giving equal weight to elements (such as mortality and readmissions) with "dissimilar clinical significance."
Jonathan Burroughs, MD, who runs a hospital consultancy in New Hampshire, calls the star rating system "a good start," but says CMS has work to do. The agency has been working with the National Quality Forum and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. "Now they need to shore up their methodology so it's accurate," he says.
Jonathan Burroughs, MD, worries the current star system will have the unintended consequence of discouraging hospitals from caring for poor or sick people because that will hurt their star rating.
Therein lies one major complaint about the current version of the star ratings. Burroughs and other critics say they are misleading because they do not take into account the severity or complexity of the case mix a hospital handles. Socioeconomic factors that have a pronounced effect on adherence and other factors that influence outcomes are also missing in CMS's quality calculus. CMS already incorporates socioeconomic factors into the Medicare Advantage star ratings. Says J.B. Silvers, a professor of health care finance at Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University and a former member of the Joint Commission, "There are some adjustments made, so if you have a riskier population you're weighted differently." Accounting for socioeconomic status more transparently and giving that appropriate weighting in the hospital quality calculation could be steps toward resolving these inequities.
1 The Philadelphia story
2 Pulling back the curtain
3 A cacophony of appraisals
4 Audit like the IRS
5 Growing pains
6 A look-see at the star methodology
7 Read Next
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The Philadelphia story
These blind spots mean academic medical centers and safety net hospitals fare poorly under the star system, while hospitals in more affluent areas come out looking good, critics say. Philadelphia is a good example. Paoli Memorial Hospital in the city's tony Main Line suburbs got a five-star rating, while about 20 miles away in the western part of the city, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania garnered only three stars—even though it is a highly regarded academic medical center that shows up on lists of the best hospitals in the country.
Burroughs worries the current star system will have the unintended consequence of discouraging hospitals from caring for poor or sick people because that will hurt their star rating, and that, he says, is counter to the principles of population health.
In an analysis for the American Hospital Association, Francis Vella, chair of economics at Georgetown University, assailed the CMS methodology, saying that while it gives the impression of being rigorous and objective, it depends too much on the choice of measures and the weighting is subjective. And the absence of socioeconomic factors is glaring. "Two (or more) identical hospitals could have very different outcomes depending on the type of patient they have, where they are located, the type of health issues they typically face, and multiple other factors," Vella's analysis says.
Part of the problem with the CMS ratings is that they depend on claims data, says David Baker, MD, executive vice president at the Joint Commission, which does its own rankings of hospitals within service lines like oncology and pediatrics. He uses lung disease as an example. "There's a variety of different tests to measure the severity of the lung disease, and you'd want to adjust for those things, but none of that information is in claims data," he says. Other kinds of important information is also missing—in chronic emphysema and bronchitis, for example, one key factor in determining treatment and outcome is whether the patient is a current smoker. "Many of them are," says Baker, "but we don't have the data to adjust for that."
One way to level the playing field for safety-net organizations would be to factor "nonclinical determinants"—socioeconomic, genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors—into quality metrics and outcomes. "They really are the key determinants on whether someone is going to bounce back into the hospital after discharge or not," Burroughs says. "It has very little to do with what actually happens in the hospital or what's done by the hospital."
Besides employing the risk adjustment that Medicare Advantage ratings use, says Burroughs, "CMS needs to do what health plans do all the time, which is to risk-stratify their populations, identify those in greatest need and at greatest risk and give credit to organizations that care for those high-risk, complex populations."
Silvers at Case Western Reserve calls these "socio-demographic adjustments" and says they are pivotal. Many quality measures are affected by sociodemographic factors such as living conditions and stress, he notes, and that has been clear for decades. Why would we not expect them to affect CMS quality metrics and the star ratings?
Another impediment to getting a clearer picture of how hospitals are doing is the hospitals themselves. Historically, hospitals have wanted to obfuscate what they're doing. They are becoming more transparent, but it's a slow process—and tools like the five-star ratings system can make them more skittish about pulling back the curtain.
"Zero transparency is the tradition, and traditions take a long time to change," says Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group, which reports on hospital quality for consumers and payers. Years ago hospitals had a lot of excuses for their reluctance to open up. One that carried weight was that there were few measures, and those were not very good, Binder says.
"Zero transparency is the tradition, and traditions take a long time to change," says Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group.
But hospital measures started to advance as the internet boomed, changing how consumers shop. "We had a different level of expectation from the public about transparency and the ability to compare providers of services and products, and hospitals were swept up in that," Binder says. "The combination of having these better measures and having these expectations from consumers gave us a much more robust level of transparency, but we're still not where we should be."
To be more forthcoming, hospitals also need to examine their own systems for internal and external reporting. Hospitals frequently report masked outcomes to registries like the American College of Cardiology AFib Ablation Registry and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program. "Is it absolutely necessary that everything in a registry be kept confidential?" Binder asks. "We don't think so." Such data could be used to inform other outcomes tracking tools, and, Binder says, can at least be made available internally to improve quality.
Hospitals can also use validated survey instruments from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Culture of Safety Survey, which Leapfrog administers. "There are a lot of ways hospitals can be more transparent, and they should be looking for those opportunities because that's the next generation of transparency that's coming, and it's not going to be optional much longer," Binder says.
A cacophony of appraisals
Robert Wachter, MD, author of the bestseller The Digital Doctor and professor at the University of California–San Francisco, has long called for improved hospital transparency. He is a member of the Lucian Leape Institute, the think tank of the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF). In a 2009 paper, (link is external) the institute members called transparency "the most important single attribute of a culture of safety." Another report in 2015, Shining a Light: Safer Health Care Through Transparency, offers more than three dozen recommendations for improving transparency.
"Once all the data are digital, then big data can kick in and do the kind of analyses that are not all that different from what Amazon does that tell you how many other people liked the same kind of book," says Robert Wachter, MD.
Greater transparency may also be a matter of time as electronic medical records become more ubiquitous. "Once all the data are digital, then big data can kick in and do the kind of analyses that are not all that different from what Amazon does that tell you how many other people liked the same kind of book," Wachter says. "We just haven't had the data sets to be able to do that work in the past."
One relatively new problem with measuring and rating hospitals is the sheer number of organizations doing it. Besides CMS, the Joint Commission, and Leapfrog, there's Truven, US News & World Report, and Consumer Reports. Each has a different way of gauging hospitals, so the public faces a cacophony of appraisals.
And now Yelp is getting into the game. Last year, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania reported in Health Affairs on the role Yelp hospital reviews play in consumer choice. Maybe CMS could learn something from Yelp. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey is one of seven categories in which CMS evaluates hospitals for the star rating, but the Penn researchers found that HCAHPS doesn't measure or report the things that Yelp reviewers find most relevant to hospital reviews.
"I don't read restaurant reviews anymore; I read Yelp," Wachter says. "In some ways it's going to become more of a Wild West, not less, as ratings of hospital quality become more democratized and more web-inized and more consumer-focused than what we've traditionally had."
Audit like the IRS
Another way to improve transparency and the quality of data hospitals report is to take a page out of the IRS playbook by doing an audit—in this case, of quality data collection and performance, not finances.
"There are certainly ways to audit those data," says Northwestern's Bilimoria. "Other quality reporting programs have instituted audit systems without any issue." They consist of paper audits, remote audits, and targeted audits. "A system of audits, both random and targeted, would certainly improve the quality of the data," he says.
"So we know how to adjust for differences in patients' severity of illness, but it's hard because it's expensive. Medicare doesn't have the ability to spend all the money on this." — David Baker, MD, Joint Commission.
Baker of the Joint Commission says that to accurately adjust for differences in patients' severity of illness across the hospital, chart abstraction is a necessity, and hospitals need to have a system for that. He holds up the Society for Thoracic Surgery as a model for an audit strategy. "They train chart abstractors, and they audit 10% of participating sites," he says. "So we know how to do this, but it's hard because it's expensive. Medicare doesn't have the ability to spend all the money on all this. But without the hammer of the audit, getting valid, reliable data will be difficult."
It could be that the art and science of evaluating hospital quality just needs to grow up. "The problem is that the field of quality measurement is still such a young and immature field that there's that fear that they will be wrong or misleading," Wachter says.
A big step in the maturation process will depend on some standardization of definitions for quality metrics. Adds Wachter: "In some ways the National Quality Forum was organized around the recognized need for that capacity in the health system; a trusted, arms-length party not dependent on funding from anyone with a vested interest to look at potential quality measures and judge them against the evidence. That sounds good. Turns out it's also really hard to do."
The result, in Wachter's estimation, has been "tremendous disagreement among well-meaning people." Until they reach a consensus on meaningful measures, hospital quality will be hard to pin down with stars.
A look-see at the star methodology
The overall Hospital Compare rating summarizes up to 64 quality measures, although not all hospitals have to report on all measures. The rating reflects performance on common conditions like heart attacks or pneumonia, but hospitals may perform more complex services or procedures that the rating does not reflect. The overall rating shows how well each hospital performed, on average, compared to other hospitals in the United States. The most common overall rating is three stars.
The measures are grouped into seven categories: mortality or outcomes, safety of care, readmission rates, the patient experience as measured by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, effectiveness of care, timeliness of care, and efficient use of medical imaging. To be rated, a hospital must report metrics in at least three of those seven areas, so a hospital that reports in only three areas can rank higher than a hospital that reports on all seven categories even though the latter may be performing more advanced procedures on more critically ill patients.
U.S. News & World Report 2016–17 Best Hospital Honor Roll vs. Star Ratings
U.S. News Ranking Hospital Compare Stars
1. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. 5
2. Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland 4
3. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 4
4. Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore NA
5. UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles 3
6. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, New York 4
7. UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco 3
8. Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago 3
9. Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian, Philadelphia 3 / 4*
10. NYU Langone Medical Center, New York 4
*Hospital Compare lists Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center as two separate institutions.
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