MINNESOTA CATHOLIC EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

The Minnesota Catholic Education Association (MCEA) has been providing leadership and service to Minnesota Catholic educators and students since 1954.  Today, the MCEA is a professional organization that serves Catholic educators in schools, religious formation and youth programs of the Church.

The MCEA serves as:  

The Minnesota Catholic Education Association was set up in 1940 to provide a Catholic state basketball tournament since, at that time, only public schools could participate in the state-wide tournaments.

By 1946, high schools saw the need to cooperate on behalf of academic and administrative issues. They formed the Minnesota Catholic Association of Secondary School Principals and hired a part-time secretary.

The Bishops of Minnesota disbanded both organizations in 1954 and created the Minnesota Catholic Education Association (MCEA) whose primary focus was Catholic high schools.  Many projects were formulated from the MCEA and by 1962 the organization employed a full-time executive secretary.

The Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) was established by the Catholic Bishops of the State of Minnesota on June 2, 1967. Its purpose was to provide the bishops with a central agency through which they could achieve their main goal, that of promoting the material and moral well-being of the people of Minnesota.  The structure of the MCC included the Board of Directors, and executive director and three departments: Education, Social Action/Social Welfare, and Legal.  While the major concern of the Education Department was to be both the academic and religious subjects of schools, it was also to have a concern for total Catholic education, not solely schools. There was a decrease in MCEA activities during the ensuing years while the MCC Education Department became more active and visible.

The distinct identity of MCEA was clarified in 1994 when it was incorporated as a Minnesota non-profit corporation and determined that it would integrate faith formation and professional development of Catholic educators. Early discussions in 1995 resulted in an initial list of possible MCEA activities such as leadership programs, a certification process and inter-diocesan sharing of resources.

 The MCEA Corporate Board and the six diocesan superintendents made a decision in March 1995 to create a Leadership Forum. A Mission Statement was developed and primary stakeholders identified as: diocesan leadership, bishops, youth ministers, campus ministers, teachers, principals and religious educators.

Current MCEA activities include development of a certification process for lay ministers, school improvement process tool enhancement and state-wide convention planning.