As Superintendent of a system of Catholic schools, I am disheartened by the struggles faced by the schools in my diocese, particularly those in disadvantaged neighborhoods. What is even more frustrating, though, is the attitude I sometimes find in laity and clergy that this an irreversible trend and it is fine that schools close if they can’t sustain themselves through parents’ tuition.
I decided some time ago was that I needed to go back to basics and articulate for myself and others why we are doing this. The following link is to the first draft of this case statement for Catholic schools in my diocese, and in a broader sense throughout this country. This article will be used in a variety of publications and a variety of forms
The Case for Catholic Education in the Diocese of Orange
I would welcome your comments.
Michele, thanks for your comment (and for sharing this link on FB), and I definitely agree. I don’t know enough about your diocese, but the approach I’m using is to work on the schools as a system, rather than individuals. For example, my biggest initiative this year was to switch parish funding of schools from individual parishes to every parish in the diocese, based on the logic that every parish benefits from Catholic schools. I don’t know if I can get this through, and even if I do, it’s only one part of the problem.
I want to be really careful talking about RE. Many heroic people give generously of their time to these programs, and many RE programs are quite good. As you say, I mainly want to emphasize the contrast in time between the two. It is also important that in many parishes of the diocese, RE is available only as sacramental preparation with no real program to get them from one to another.
In terms of public schools, I also don’t want to disparage, but it isn’t the same. And the undeniable reality is that schools that are in danger of closing are almost always in the areas of poorest public schools.
Thanks again!