Dr. Vader helped Catholic schools here thrive, excel

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Erin Vader Ed.D. knew almost no one in these 38 counties when she arrived in the spring of 2020.

But the Fort Worth, Texas, native soon found herself right at home.

“I moved to the middle of Missouri in the middle of a pandemic and was immediately welcomed and supported by the people I was working with,” said Dr. Vader, the Jefferson City diocese’s former superintendent of Catholic Schools.

“We had to hit the ground running,” she recalled, “and I was so excited to find people who were willing to run with me.”

Dr. Vader recently became the superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, beginning Aug. 1.

She insists she’s a better person because of the six years she spent in the Jefferson City diocese and the people she spent it with.

“It’s been such a tremendous learning experience,” she said. “People have been so gracious with me in helping me learn about Mid-Missouri and about our churches and schools here, and also teaching me about myself and where I’m doing okay and where I need to grow.

“I will be taking a tremendous amount of learning and joyful memories and cautionary tales and so many other things with me,” she stated.

In her time here, Dr. Vader:

• worked with schools to keep alternative instruction going during the pandemic;
• helped Archbishop Shawn McKnight, who led this diocese from 2018 to 2025, and pastors integrate more fully the Stewardship Way of Life into parishes and schools;
• oversaw the reestablishment of the SPIRE fund to expand special-education options in Catholic schools;
• worked to expand the Vogelweid special-education program at St. Peter School in Jefferson City to Helias Catholic High School;
• spearheaded the creation of a Diocesan Advisory Student Council and worked with it to inaugurate the annual diocesan Eighth Grade Mass and Seventh Grade Academic Bowl;
• shepherded the opening of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Child Development Center to provide affordable childcare to families of Catholic school educators and employees;
• helped hire a diocesan director of curriculum and instruction;
• rekindled the formal process of providing ongoing faith-formation to every Catholic school educator and staff member in the diocese; and
• helped establish a diocesan program to help teachers and school administrators continue their education while working.

All the while, standardized test scores throughout the Catholic schools in the diocese remained steady through the pandemic; Catholic school enrollment held or increased in the diocese; and construction began on major expansions of several Catholic schools here.

The inaugural Eighth Grade Mass in 2025 is one of Dr. Vader’s favorite memories of her time here.

“It was really beautiful,” she recalled. “To see students from everywhere in the diocese together and happy, participating at Mass together — it was sort of a microcosm of everything we’re trying to do in our schools.”

Super powers

Collaboration was a pillar of Dr. Vader’s time here. She championed innovation and fought stagnation, but she resolved never to pursue change for its own sake.

“There needs to be a reason behind everything you do,” she insisted. “I’ve been very proud of the fact that everything we’ve done, has had a really good reason for doing it.”

She wondered aloud if people who have spent their life in this diocese realize how beautiful the Church here is and how good the Catholic schools are.

“I’ve visited many other dioceses during my career, and the Diocese of Jefferson City is a gem,” she said. “The fact is, we have some of the most generationally generous and supportive people in our parishes and schools.”

She pointed to the Stewardship Model that has been in effect for Catholic schools here for decades and was bolstered and enhanced during the time of Archbishop McKnight.

Under the Stewardship Model, parishioners make a sacrificial gift back to God of their time, talent and treasure to support the work of their parish, the diocese and the Church.

This allows parishes to enroll the children of active parishioners in Catholic grade schools without charging tuition.

Dr. Vader pointed out that in a diocese with about 76,000 Catholics, “we have 7,000 in our schools, a percentage that’s practically unheard of in our country.”

She credited the bulk of the schools’ success to dedicated parents and grandparents, teachers, administrators and pastors.

“You also have a Chancery staff that is working every day to be more transparent and more supportive and do more for the parishes and for the schools,” she said.

She believes that although Catholic school educators and their families often make big sacrifices, they shouldn’t be seen as martyrs.

“They’re superheroes,” she insisted. “People who decide to go into education are truly amazing, and they have made a decision to do everything in their power to help parents educate their children.”

And it’s more than teaching them their ABCs and 123s.

“It’s about learning about Christ and about the Church,” she stated. “Anyone who makes that choice is more powerful than they can imagine. And I’m always inspired and so very, very proud to work with them.”

She’s convinced that now is a critical moment for Catholic education.

“It’s more important than ever that our kids have a place where they can feel safe, where they can feel known, feel loved, understand how much God loves them, to become friends with Jesus and to understand how powerful the Holy Spirit can move in their life,” she said.

“They need that foundation,” she stated. “They need to recognize what is real and what is true and what is beautiful, so that they can discern and critically think and understand how to move along their path in life, so that they can be God’s hands and feet in this world and serve their brothers and sisters and become all the things God has called them to be.”

Catholic schools wield tremendous power, she insisted.

“And with that power comes great responsibility,” she said. “It’s a remarkable thing to be a part of, and I’m very blessed by that having been my entire life.”

Works in progress

Dr. Vader set about helping Catholic schools welcome children with special needs.

“We saw the need to have more supports in our schools for all the kids, because we want them all to be able to come to our schools,” she said. “But we need to be able to serve them.”

She worked with a committee of parents and educators to revive the diocese’s SPIRE fund to expand special-education opportunities in Catholic schools throughout the diocese.

It began with extending the successful Vogelweid special-education program from St. Peter School in Jefferson City to Helias Catholic.

As more resources become available through SPIRE, the diocese plans to offer specialized training for Catholic school educators and grants for helping schools enhance their special-education offerings.

Dr. Vader also worked with the bishop to establish a Diocesan Advisory Student Council, made up of seventh- and eighth-graders from Catholic schools.

The council meets with the diocesan superintendent four times a year, bringing concerns and suggestions and helping organize the annual Seventh Grade Academic Bowl and Eighth Grade Mass.

“It really gives this office an opportunity to see things through our students’ eyes and give them an opportunity to take responsibility for things, to understand how things work and to communicate that to their classmates,” she said.

Dr. Vader also worked with donors to establish the Immaculate Heart of Mary Child Development Center in Jefferson City, which provides affordable daycare and learning opportunities for infants and small children.

“Childcare is a tremendous need, and affordable childcare is almost impossible to find,” she noted.

Through good timing, generous donors and determination, the center came together quickly to help school and parish employees and the community at large.

“I think this is a model of something that can happen in other parts of our diocese,” said Dr. Vader.

Catholic school enrollment in this diocese has remained steady and grown in some parts of it, bucking national trends.

“The fact that we are able to maintain our schools the way we are is a testament to the commitment of our parishes to our schools, the commitment of our parents and our grandparents to our schools, and the power of the Stewardship Model,” Dr. Vader stated.

That commitment is evident in the major expansions taking place at Helias Catholic in Jefferson City and Holy Family School in Freeburg, the construction of a new Immaculate Conception School in Jefferson City, and projects at schools throughout the diocese.

“You see support from parishes and communities at every level,” said Dr. Vader. “You have that love and commitment and passion for the schools, whether it’s a 650-student high school, a 300-student elementary school or a school in a smaller community.”

She pointed out that thanks to generous benefactors, the diocese provides a continuing education grant to teachers and administrators. It covers 90 percent of the cost of tuition for advanced degrees and special certification.

“It’s phenomenal!” she said. “We now have hundreds of teachers and administrators and staff members who are going back and getting their education and getting trained and committing to using that in our schools.”

This year, the Catholic Schools Office is reinstating a program to help all the teachers in all the schools know and grow in their faith.

“We are ministers of the Gospel, first and foremost,” said Dr. Vader. “We are ministers of faith. So, we’re rebooting the faith formation program for our teachers and staff members and administrators, training them to be more empowered as catechists.”

She helped hire a diocesan director of curriculum and instruction. Kathryn Coulson held that position for two years and is now serving as interim superintendent of Catholic schools.

“She is so accomplished and skilled and knowledgeable and just a wonderful person,” said Dr. Vader. “And I’m very, very grateful she is taking on this role. I think everybody is going to be very impressed.”

“Anything is possible”

Dr. Vader is confident that the Catholic schools in this diocese will continue promoting academic excellence, building up the communion of the Church, enhancing services for children who are struggling, and staying on the cutting edge of innovation.

“I’m pleased and proud that we have a culture here in our schools and in the Catholic Schools Office of being open to learning about the areas where we can be better and to finding ways to do more and grow and improve,” she said. “And we’re doing that together.”

She hopes every student, teacher and administrator in this diocese will remain convinced of his or her own dignity and value.

“You are much more capable than you think you are!” she said. “Anything is possible with God, so don’t sell yourself short.”

She asks for prayers as she begins her work at a larger diocese with more schools, most students, more staff and more complex responsibilities.

“Please pray for me to keep an open mind and an open heart,” she said. “And for me to allow the Holy Spirit to inspire me to do what I need to do, and to have the courage to do what I need to do, and for me to continue to be of service to the people of the Church.”