Our schools pass the test
As our Catholic schools in the Diocese of Tucson enter their summer break, I share with you some thoughts about just how important our Catholic schools are to our Diocese and to the communities they serve.
Our 21 pre-kinder through grade eight Catholic schools and our six Catholic high schools do two very important things very well.
They educate children. They form them in our faith.
They provide solid academic preparation that results in the vast majority of our high school students entering the college of their choice. I marvel at the artistic and athletic abilities of our young people as they discover their talents and develop their abilities in our schools.
All of that is what a parent might expect of any school.
The unique value and benefit of our Catholic schools is grounded in the intentional efforts to create community, to transmit faith values and to introduce the young to Jesus Christ. Those are the most important gifts we can give our children. They are gifts that make for a life worth living.
Just after Easter, it was my privilege to speak at the National Catholic Education Association convention held in Anaheim, California.
Among the thousands who attended were many principals, teachers and staff from our Diocese. I felt so proud knowing first hand the efforts they make to hand on the faith to the young. I welcomed the opportunity to express to our people and all present the gratitude I feel for the good and hard work they do in our Catholic schools throughout the country.
I am convinced that Catholic schools make significant contributions to our communities and to the Church. Despite those contributions, our Catholic schools in our Diocese and throughout the country are facing two formidable challenges.
The first is accessibility, especially for the poor. While well-to-do families can choose schools for their children, the poor do not have that option.
However, in Arizona, we are blessed to have school choice legislation to help the poor access private education, thanks to the vision and commitment of our legislature and Governor. They have realized that school choice does not weaken public schools, but results in enhancing educational opportunities for all.
The individual and corporate tax credit opportunities through tuition support organizations in Arizona and (even though their legality has been called into question) vouchers for children with special needs and foster children are among the most innovative opportunities for the poor to access the best education. Only 10 other states have such programs like ours in Arizona at this time.
Tuition support organizations give families – especially poor families – access to private education. Clearly, private schools, including our Catholic schools, save the state and the taxpayer significant amounts of money each year. Parents get choices. Public schools are not over burdened and over crowded. Private schools can continue to provide quality education.
We need to keep advocating for school choice legislation and to help taxpayers and corporations to see the value of their participation and involvement in our Diocese of Tucson Catholic Tuition Support Organization. We need to form political action groups in our parishes and schools to be advocates and to lobby legislators on the value of Catholic schools.
Another blessing in our Diocese that makes access to Catholic education for the poor a reality is San Miguel High School in Tucson, one of the Cristo Rey schools. These schools look to the business sector for support that makes it possible for low-income families to send their children to a Catholic school.
In a similar way, many of our schools work hard to garner scholarship monies through people’s generosity.
Recently, we heard of the immense generosity of an anonymous donor who so believes in Catholic education that he has put significant resources for scholarships and projects at St. Augustine Catholic High School in Tucson.
Other generous donors have stepped forward for Salpointe Catholic High School and Immaculate Heart High School in Tucson, for Lourdes High School in Nogales and for Yuma Catholic High School.
Our schools work very hard not to turn away students whose families cannot afford the tuition. We have made advances, but even more needs to be done through public financing and through individual support.
A second formidable challenge is the need to better market our schools. We need to make known the benefits of Catholic education, especially the benefits to children, families and society that result in transmitting the values that make all the difference for a life well lived.
Many people have commented to me that they liked the television ad that aired in May in Pima, Pinal, Cochise and Santa Cruz counties promoting the benefits of Catholic schools. Many felt that we need to do more to toot our own horn and help more parents to realize and recognize the value of our Catholic schools.
Marketing is telling one’s story. Our best marketing for Catholic schools can be found in the faces and lives of our young people present in our schools.
I remember holding gatherings for donors to our two new Catholic high schools, San Miguel and St. Augustine. They were not so interested in seeing the buildings or hearing the talks that community leaders Jim Click and Buck O’Reilly and I were making.
What moved them was meeting the students, listening to their hopes and dreams, seeing first hand the effect the school was having on them.
It is important that Catholic families meet the students and see the benefits the school will have for their child. It is important for young people to meet peers who can convince them that there is something special for them at this school.
Parents want the best for their children. Parents expect the school to partner with them to develop and augment the gifts of their children. That is important.
Moreover, we need to help parents to realize that the greatest gift they can give their child is the faith in which we believe. They have the best chance to hand on that faith in the day-to-day environment of a Catholic school.
Financing and marketing our Catholic schools remain a challenge but as the school year ends I want to say a great big “Thank you!” to our Diocesan School Office, pastors, principals, teachers, staff, parents, and students of our Catholic schools. They deserve our gratitude for work well done.