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A Catholic Education Instills HONESTY, INTEGRITY & RESPECT—And It’s Not Just for Catholics, Either!
By Jared Brey

When two elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia closed earlier last year, citing declining enrollment, it disappointed their local parishes, but didn’t exactly surprise them. These schools, St. Casimir and St. Charles Borromeo of South Philadelphia and Drexel Hill respectively, were forced to deal with problems familiar to many schools around the country: rising tuitions and sharp drops in enrollment. Locally and nationally, Catholic education is facing serious challenges, the biggest of which is enrollment decline, to some extent a byproduct of rising tuitions. Student tuition payments have traditionally been a sufficient source of funding for the schools, but as these rates go up, enrollment goes down and the schools lose money.

But despite the seemingly grim scenario, the Catholic Church is resilient. Its uncanny ability to adapt and thrive through the tumult of history and current affairs has been a trademark of the Church since its inception. Furthermore, the Catholic education tradition is one of academic and social excellence, and its schools continue to implement new programs and policies and expand curriculums in an effort to maintain their relevance and eminence in today’s world.

The focus of a Catholic education has always been aimed squarely at the individual child and his or her personal, academic and spiritual development. The practice of this “total person” approach to teaching has made Catholic education an attractive option to many, Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

The President of Trenton Catholic Academy, Sister Dorothy Payne, said the main priority of Catholic education has never changed: it has always been the effort to produce “spiritual students,” students instilled with the core values of honesty, integrity and respect. In this endeavor, Catholic schools don’t take a narrow-minded approach. These days, Catholic schools are as diverse as the populations that surround them, and their educational atmospheres have adapted.

The student body at Trenton Catholic, for example, currently includes more non-Catholics than Catholics. Catholic students are taught in the usual gamut of non-religious subjects—science, math, history—with outstanding results; their test scores and percentages of college-bound graduates are consistently and substantially higher than those of public schools. And while the religious aspect of this education is steeped in the Catholic faith, children of all backgrounds are afforded an equal amount of attention, respect and compassion.

What it comes down to, really, is a matter of values and priorities. Children who go to Catholic school do not learn the same way as children who go to public school. And, academically speaking, this is generally for the better. Their peer communities are tighter, their academic discipline is stricter, and their grades are higher. Sister Dorothy Payne said a priority of the Catholic teaching method is “showing students how to be critical thinkers, socially as well as scholastically, thereby preparing them for whatever their futures might hold.”

By keeping up with academic trends, but presenting them in a religious context, Catholic schools give their students a multi-faceted, multi-layered learning experience. Catholic schools also continue to lead the way in parent and community involvement.

Childhood education is a hotly debated topic these days, as is the role of the Catholic Church in American life. Combine the two issues and you have an even more volatile debate. But while the proponents and opponents of the Catholic education system argue, Catholic schools soldier on, striving to live up to their historical standards.

Plus, Jan. 27–Feb. 2 is Catholic Schools Week. The 2008 theme is “Catholic Schools Light the Way.” It focuses on the leadership that Catholic Schools provide to our nation, producing graduates who light the way to a brighter future for all humankind. For more information, visit www.catholicschoolsweek.com.