Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli has this week announced the appointment of Jim Miles as the new Executive Director of Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM).
Mr Miles said he was thrilled to step up to this responsibility at this time, and helping Catholic schools to embrace the four missionary priorities of the Archdiocese: families, young people, local communities, the poor, and the broken.
In both CEM and the Catholic Education Commission Victoria, Mr Miles has strongly advocated on behalf of families across our state who value a strong Catholic education for their children.
“It’s an honour to be appointed to serve and lead over 150,000 students and nearly 20,000 teaching, support and office staff who make up the Catholic Education Melbourne community,” Mr Miles stated.
“Catholic education has a transformative power, grounded in faith, and committed to shaping the minds of our young people as they become vibrant and active contributors within our society.
“I look forward to strengthening the educational opportunities of the students entrusted into the care our schools.”
Mr Miles joined CEM in 2015, and has served as the Acting Director since November 2018.
“During this time he has displayed a firm commitment to the common good in the life of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, enhancing subsidiarity and solidarity in school communities, and shown himself to be a humble and thoughtful faith leader,” Archbishop Comensoli said.
“We cast the net widely and received first class applications from Australia and overseas. Jim has stood out as the leader for us into the future.”
The Executive Director of Catholic Education Melbourne leads a school system larger than some public school systems in Australia, and one of the largest globally.
“At heart he is a man of faith, and I am looking forward to working closely with Jim as we make our schools centres of excellence in the Gospel and in education.
“As a husband and parent with his own involvement in parish and Catholic school communities, Jim has proved himself as a thoughtful listener to everyone involved in education, including principals and teachers, clergy and parents,” Archbishop Comensoli added.
“Jim has already shown calm and resolve in steering Catholic schools through the COVID-19 situation and the rapid changes in learning environments this created, and serves on the School Governance Steering Committee overseeing governance reforms across Catholic schools in Melbourne.”
The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) welcomed the appointment of Jim Miles as Executive Director of CEM on 18 May.
NCEC Executive Director Jacinta Collins congratulated Mr Miles, saying she looked forward to continuing to work with him.
“Jim is currently the acting Executive Director for Catholic Education Melbourne – which is the largest Catholic school system in Australia – and has been an NCEC commissioner as part of that role,” Ms Collins said.
“His extensive experience in educational administration and leadership, both in the Catholic and public education sectors in Victoria, as well as his work at state and national levels, has not only benefitted the students and families in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, but across Victoria and Australia.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the state and territory commissioners have come together and provided a considered and collaborative approach to the significant challenges facing school communities during this time,” she continued.
“Jim has made an important contribution to those discussions and the direction for Catholic schools.
“I look forward to continuing to work with Jim and his team as students transition back to classroom learning, and on the ongoing priorities for Catholic education in Australia.”
Nationally, Catholic schools educate more than 764,000 students – or one in five Australian students – in 1746 schools, the vast majority of which are low-fee schools.