Catholic school educators participate in the Face to Faith program in Washington, D.C.

Intermountain Catholic

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Form left to right: Social studies/yearbook faculty Clay Jones, Theology faculty William Trentman, Ian Jamison, an educator from the UK who was the instructor for the Face to Faith training, Marianne Rozsahegyi, and Chris Petrone.

DRAPER – Three schools from Utah participated in a unique faith program sponsored by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation in conjunction with Global Nomads. Among the participants were four Juan Diego Catholic High School faculty members.

The Face to Faith program’s goal is to improve young people’s religious literacy – a vital skill in an increasingly complex global society.

"We are so excited about this program," said Christine Petrone, head of the theology department of Juan Diego. "It is an opportunity for our students to connect with students all over the world through an online community as well as through video conferencing."

For the conference, Petrone went to Washington, D.C. with Juan Diego colleagues William Trentman, Clay Jones and Marianne Rozsahegyi.

"It was great; it was a really awesome program," said Jones, a social studies teacher who is on the yearbook faculty. "I am hoping that we will be able to get the ball rolling here at Juan Diego as far as implementing the program and getting started."

The Face to Faith program offers an environment in which students can develop key 21st-century skills such as collaboration, communication, critical thinking and problem-solving. It was developed by a team of international educational experts, including leading academics and teachers, drawing on the latest pedagogical thinking and practice. Schools in India, Pakistan, Lebanon, Jordan, the Palestinian Territories, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the UK, the US and Canada are already engaged in the program.

Currently offered free to schools, Face to Faith is a global educational program that includes a series of facilitated video conferences, giving students an online community for sustained relationships between schools as well as opportunities to link with a wide range of schools; teacher training and support; and a team of facilitators who moderate discussions and ensure that schools can find appropriate linking partners.

"The program is a great program for young high schools and even middle school," Jones said.

Face to Faith is designed to enhance existing curriculum at schools not to replace them. "The Tony Blair Faith Foundation understands that there is a deep yearning amongst the vast majority of people of all faiths to make real their most enduring principle - to protect and enhance the God-given gift of life," said Dr. Eboo Patel, founder and executive director of Interfaith Youth Core, on the Faith to Face web page. "The Interfaith Youth Core and I are proud to partner with the foundation to apply this principle in a campaign to end deaths from malaria. Together, we will ensure that the 21st century is remembered not as a time of inter-religious violence, but as a period when people of all faiths cooperated to stop one of the giant ills afflicting humankind."