Haines, Schmidt bring decades of experience as Department of Catholic Schools pursues missionary realignment

DETROIT — Two new faces have joined the Archdiocese of Detroit's Department of Catholic Schools, as the department continues its missionary realignment in light of Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron's pastoral letter, Unleash the Gospel.

Vincent de Paul Schmidt, Ed.D., joined the department Oct. 11 as associate superintendent for the archdiocese's Central and South region schools, while Jill Haines, J.D., C.P.A., was introduced Oct. 18 as assistant superintendent for school finance and government programs, a newly created position.

The two joined three other fresh hires: Steve Wasko, assistant superintendent for strategic planning and accreditation; Laura Knaus, associate superintendent for the archdiocese’s Northeast and Northwest regions; and May Bluestein, Ph.D., assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment. The Department of Catholic Schools is headed by superintendent Kevin Kijewski.

For Schmidt, accessibility is heart of Catholic education

Schmidt has dedicated his life to making Catholic education more accessible.

Now he has a chance to do so in the Archdiocese of Detroit’s central and south regions, which cover schools in Monroe and Wayne counties, excluding the Grosse Pointe communities.

Schmidt most recently was the senior director of Catholic education and head of school for Cardinal Stritch High School in the Diocese of Toledo.

Schmidt told Detroit Catholic he was drawn to the Archdiocese of Detroit because the archdiocese “is living the Catholic mission in the Catholic schools as you would hope and dream a diocese would.”

“It’s truly a Catholic environment for Catholic kids — (you) can’t beat that,” Schmidt said. “I have a tremendous respect for (Kijewski) as superintendent, who has a master plan that will move the archdiocese forward the way other dioceses can only dream about.”

“It’s exciting for me that more schools are offering opportunities to get Catholic education to children with special needs. The better our Catholic schools include special needs students, the better our Catholic schools will be. And this is in the foundation of the strategic planning for the archdiocese’s Catholic schools.”

Schmidt and his wife, Danna, have been married for 25 years. They have three children and a foreign exchange student Schmidt says is “now part of the family.”

Before Cardinal Stritch, Schmidt served as superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va., and assistant superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo.  

Schmidt has served as director of academic affairs, school principal and chief operating officer at the high school, middle school and elementary levels. He earned a bachelor of business administration degree from Southern Illinois University and a master of arts, educational specialist and doctorate in education leadership from St. Louis University.

Schmidt became involved in special needs education early in his career because he had a child with Down syndrome. He is executive director of the Jensen-Schmidt Tennis Academy for Down Syndrome, a nonprofit that provides tennis instruction in cities across the country. And in 2017, he was recognized by the National Catholic Education Association with the Edward M. Shaughnessy III Serving All God’s Children Inclusion Award.

“It was a national recognition, and to be in that conversation was really humbling,” Schmidt said. 

Schmidt said he is aware of the inclusion program at St. Mary Catholic Central High School in Monroe, which is now in his region, and hopes to emulate the school's success in other parts of the archdiocese.

“I’m glad the program is in my region of the archdiocese,” Schmidt said. “It’s exciting for me that more schools are offering opportunities to get Catholic education to children with special needs. The better our Catholic schools include special needs students, the better our Catholic schools will be. And this is in the foundation of the strategic planning for the archdiocese’s Catholic schools.”

Schmidt said he hopes to use his business acumen and experience at various levels in education leadership to shape the archdiocese’s schools in the mold of the local Church's blueprint for Catholic education, Unleashing Our Catholic Schools: A Strategic Vision for the Future of the Archdiocese of Detroit.

“I think Unleash the Gospel goes hand and glove with what (the schools office is) trying to do,” Schmidt said. “To have the whole support of the archbishop in getting the resources needed to change the paradigm of our schools, to make them fundamentally better — that’s huge. ... To have that mission document, a path to follow, what more can you possibly ask?”

Haines brings real estate, financial experience

Haines is a familiar face in the archdiocese's Chancery, where she’s worked since 2010 as parish support services coordinator and later as associate director in the Office of Real Estate. 

In her new role as assistant superintendent for school finance and government programs, Haines will be responsible for overseeing the financial health and sustainability of the archdiocese’s 56 elementary schools and nine high schools, excluding religious-affiliated schools.

Haines views her role as helping “to assess schools' needs, finances and fiscal stability,” she said. “This is a combined position that will look into new and existing government programs that we haven’t tapped into in the past and hopefully bring more resources to the schools.”

Given Michigan’s constitutional ban on state aid for private schools, Haines’ position involves reaching out to federal programs and exploring different variable-rate tuition models to create a structure in which any family that wants to send a child to a Catholic school is able to do so.

Haines said her experience in the Department of Finance with the Office of Real Estate will help bridge the gap between supporting the mission and giving more children access to a Catholic education.

“I have the ability to bring in a history, context and background to the schools office,” Haines said. “It’s wonderful to jump into a mission part of the challenge, coming from the support side for so many years. Finance supports the mission, and schools are very much part of the mission and near and dear to Archbishop (Vigneron’s) heart.”

Haines herself is a product of 12 years of Catholic education. She graduated from Regina High School in Warren before earning a bachelor of business administration in accounting from the Detroit College of Business and a doctorate of jurisprudence from Wayne State University Law School. A member of the Michigan Bar Association and holder of a Certified Public Accountant designation from the state of Michigan, Haines practiced law for 18 years in Metro Detroit before joining the archdiocese.

“School principals and pastors with schools will want to know they are supported,” Haines said. “We see their struggles, and they don’t feel all the time they are getting the help and resources they need to accomplish their mission. We’re supporting those who do the work, through prayer, through our talents, through what we do in our day-to-day business lives.”

“Even though my family is Catholic, having that grounding in a Catholic school gave me a wider sense of the community, and that is where I think a little seed was planted in me,” Haines said. “My time at Catholic school led me on my career and where I’m planted today.”

Haines acknowledges the financial aspect of Catholic education looks much different today than it did decades ago, when Metro Detroit was graced with many high-paying jobs for middle-class families and Catholic schools were subsidized by parish tithing and religious teachers.

But her experience with the Office of Real Estate has given Haines a good grasp of the task at hand.

“We have worked with parishes and schools on the physical state of our structures, making sure that those who come to Catholic schools do so in a safe, comfortable environment,” Haines said. “I don’t think it will be too much to look at the structure we have in place now and say, ‘Let’s make this so it can financially happen for more people.’ The interest is already there; the love is already there.”

Haines said she is looking forward to supporting the mission of Unleashing Our Catholic Schools and working with pastors, principals, presidents and parents, along with anyone else who wants to make Christ-centered education a reality in Metro Detroit.

“School principals and pastors with schools will want to know they are supported,” Haines said. “We see their struggles, and they don’t feel all the time they are getting the help and resources they need to accomplish their mission.

“We’re supporting those who do the work, through prayer, through our talents, through what we do in our day-to-day business lives,” Haines added. “We’re called to be missionaries by making sure these programs, schools, parishes and ministries have the resources they need to bring Christ to others.”