Familiaris Podcast for Catholic School Leaders

In this solo episode, Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez offers Catholic school leaders four questions for reflecting on parent partnership before the next school year, structured around the four pillars of the Familiaris Framework. Under each question she shares a few points to consider and a curated set of past episodes worth revisiting over the summer, turning the archive into a playlist for personal re...

Visit familiaris-consulting.com to learn more about consulting, workshops, and speaking engagements. Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez unpacks six practical lessons from Will Guidara’s bestselling book Unreasonable Hospitality , applying the leadership philosophy behind Eleven Madison Park to the world of Catholic school leadership. The episode explores how hospitality can become a driving core value in r...

Visit familiaris-consulting.com to learn more about consulting, workshops, and speaking engagements. Patrick Whalen, Marine Corps veteran, founding headmaster of St. Martin’s Academy, and founder of Iliad Athletics, makes the case that physical education is not peripheral to Catholic school mission but foundational to it. In this conversation with Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez, Patrick explores why a...

Visit familiaris-consulting.com to learn more about consulting, workshops, and speaking engagements ______ Benito Medrano Calderón, Director of the Holy Family Initiative at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, joins Jaime to unpack a free, scripture-rooted family formation program built through years of multi-diocese pilots and to show Catholic school leaders exa...

What if becoming a more effective communicator with parents starts with recognizing the different roles educators must navigate throughout the relationship? In this episode, Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez shares four educator personas that represent the mindsets and practices that shape family partnerships in Catholic schools. The personas of The Public Servant, the Coach, the Toast, and the Doctor eac...

What can the history of homeschool teach us about the future of Catholic schooling? Historian and educator Dr. Dixie Dillon Lane joins Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez to discuss her new book, Skipping School: A History of American Homeschooling and How It Went Mainstream . Drawing on extensive research and interviews, Dixie traces homeschooling’s journey from a small and often hidden movement in the mid...

Speech and debate do far more than prepare students for competition; they shape how young people think, listen, argue, and engage as citizens. Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez sits down with Ethan Tong, Jonathan Peele, and Anne McClure to explore how Catholic schools and families can enter this space and use it as a vehicle for whole-person formation and parent partnership. Guests: * Ethan Tong, League A...

What does it look like to help parents grow in skill and in love for family life itself? Leticia Rodriguez, Director of Family Enrichment for the International Federation for Family Development (IFFD), joins Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez to share how the Family Enrichment case study method (currently used in 68 countries) equips couples to communicate better, grow in friendship, and become more united...

In this follow-up conversation, Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez and guest co-host Anne McClure move into practical and hopeful insights for families in the recent Vatican document, Quo vadis, humanitas ? Together they unpack how memory, rootedness, and a culture of vocation can shape Catholic education, and what it truly means to educate in genuine freedom rather than fear. Guest: Anne McClure – Mother...

In this episode, Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez and guest co-host Anne McClure explore the Vatican’s recent document Quo Vadis Humanitas , examining what Christian anthropology means for Catholic educators and parents partnering in the formation of children. They discuss the tension between being and doing, the reality of human vulnerability, and how vocation grounds us in relationship with God and one...

What does it mean for a Catholic school to truly welcome every child, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities? Mark Bradford, Fellow for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at Word on Fire, brings a deeply Catholic anthropological vision to that question, rooted in his own experience as the father of a son with Down syndrome. This conversation gives le...

What does it look like to welcome families into a faithfully Catholic school community? In this episode, Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez sits down with two Catholic school leaders to explore how mission-driven admissions can form lasting partnerships with families from the very first tour. Guests * Tyler Deschamps, Head of School, Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh , Gibsonia, Pennsylvania * John Rocha, Prin...

Susan Mangels, PhD, Senior Vice President of Consulting Services at AC Fitzgerald, joins Jaime to unpack what it really means to build a culture of giving in a Catholic school, and why it’s far more than hitting a dollar goal. What We Cover: * Why “fundraising happens at the speed of trust” and how reframing donor relationships transforms the ask * The unique challenges and opportunities of develo...

The school office shapes the first and last impression every family has of a Catholic school, yet these roles are often underhired and undertrained. Jeremie Solak of Sol Recruiting, Coaching and Consulting joins Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez to explore what it takes to find, onboard, and support the office staff who hold a school community together. Guest Jeremie Solak / Founder / Sol Recruiting, Coac...

Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez sits down with author and educator Ginny Kochis to explore how Catholic school leaders can better understand and support neurodivergent (“quirky”) students and their families. Drawing from her book, Quirky Catholic Kids , and her work with the Quirky Catholic Kids ministry, Ginny offers practical tools, spiritual insight, and a deeply human perspective on formation. What...

In this solo episode, Jaime Madison Vasquez introduces the Familiaris Framework—the organizing vision behind all of her consulting work and this podcast. Drawing on over two decades of experience as a teacher, literacy researcher, and head of school, Jaime walks through all four quadrants of the framework and explains how each one supports the Catholic school’s mission of partnering with parents a...

In this Leader Insights panel, host Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez sits down with two experienced school leaders to explore how principals and heads of school can equip their teachers to build extraordinary, mission-centered relationships with parents. Guests * Faustin Weber, President, Prince of Peace School , Plano, TX * Mike Kendrick, Senior Ministry Advisor, Felician Sisters , Chicago, IL * Follow...

What does a thriving marriage have to do with running a Catholic school? More than you might think! In this episode, Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez draws on the landmark relationship research of John Gottman to offer Catholic school leaders a practical, mission-rooted framework for building deep, lasting partnerships with the families they serve. The Seven Principles: * Create Shared Meaning * Get to K...

In this episode, Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez sits down with a team from Midtown Metro who provide after school and summer enrichment programs serving low income youth in Chicago. With more than 60 years of experience both centers have robust parent formation programming. The conversation goes beyond logistics into what it takes to build a shared language around character education and the fruits bor...

Guest: Patrick Whalen, Founder of Iliad Athletics — former Marine infantry officer, founding headmaster of St. Martin’s Academy, and father In this episode, we discuss: - Why a serious physical encounter with reality is a necessary prerequisite for almost any other educational work and what schools are losing when they neglect the body - Why parents are the most decisive factor in a child’s physic...

Guests : - Katie Elrod, Head of School at Montrose Schoo l in Medfield, MA - Mary Keenley, Principal at St. Theresa School in Palatine, IL - Kevin Powers, Head of School at St. Thomas More Academy in South Bend, IN In this episode, we discuss: - What parent formation looks like across three very different Catholic school contexts: from an independent classical school, an all-girls independent scho...

In this episode, we discuss: - Why Catholic schools must fundamentally rethink their relationship with parents - Why you should stop treating parents like customers or obstacles - Why parents can’t be replaced, according to Familiaris Consortio - The rights and duties of parents - How to change your approach to work with parents more effectively Q&A Questions Covered: - “How can I convince my prin...

Introducing the flagship podcast from Familiaris Consulting ! This podcast provides mission-first professional formation designed specifically for Catholic school leaders who want to forge extraordinary relationships with families. Each month, we’ll explore timely themes through the four pillars of the Familiaris Framework: * How partnership is integrated into infrastructure * How teachers and lea...