Educators trained to Protect Young Eyes

By Sheri Dahl, Superintendent of Catholic Schools 

On Tuesday, April 18, Catholic school leaders, parish religious education leaders, and compliance officers gathered at the Bishop Kicanas Pastoral Center to learn about the integration of two safe environment programs: Protect Young Eyes and Circle of Grace.    

The Diocese of Tucson has been utilizing the Circle of Grace curriculum in its parishes and schools since 2018 in response to the USCCB’s Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Circle of Grace was created by the Archdiocese of Omaha “to educate and empower children and young people to actively participate in a safe environment for themselves and others,” the website states. “It serves the dual purpose of prevention/safety education, and informing children and youth about the value of positive relationships with God and others. Through Circle of Grace, adults assist children and youth in recognizing that each of us lives within a Circle of Grace. Children and youth are taught to identify and maintain appropriate boundaries; recognize when boundary violations are about to occur; and demonstrate how to take action when boundaries are threatened or violated. Circle of Grace is clinically sound and grounded in the Catholic tradition. Its strong parent component means parents can actively participate in their children's education and formation.” 

To enhance the lessons with much-needed digital awareness and discipleship content, the Department of Catholic Schools partnered with Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes, to create companion lessons and resources to complement Circle of Grace. “Working with the Department of Catholic Schools over the past year to explore even more effective ways to fulfill the mandates of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People has been a wonderful journey of collaboration and discovery,” said McKenna. Protect Young Eyes helps to “create safer digital spaces for kids.” McKenna also spoke at St. Thomas the Apostle Preschool the day prior to educate parents on the effect of social media on young minds and ways to keep their children safe online. 

During the educators’ training, McKenna said, “There was genuine excitement among leaders for this new material and I'm so thankful for their commitment! I'm confident that our efforts will increase the confidence of young people in the Diocese of Tucson to conduct themselves safely in both physical and digital spaces.” 

Additionally, we rely on our parents to be the first and primary teachers of their children in all things, including how to prevent children from being victimized by those who would do them harm. The parent components for Circle of Grace and Protect Young Eyes will support parents in this effort. 

In his promulgation for the use of these two programs in all of our parish religious education programs and Catholic Schools, Bishop Edward Weisenburger stated, “I am most grateful for the hard work done in the parishes and schools to ensure that all mandates of the USCCB Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People are effectively fulfilled. I am also grateful to the hundreds of volunteers who have been so gracious in their cooperation with these requirements. Without their generous stewardship of time and talent, we would not have the resources to facilitate the programs in our parishes and schools. I am also grateful to all whose dedication to the Catholic education of our children has allowed us already to have reached so many children with personal safety education. I am confident this updated curriculum and companion program will be beneficial in furthering our efforts in teaching our young people about personal boundaries and safety.”