From Catholic Schools to Charters: What's Left?

[buffalo]

From Catholic Schools to Charters: What’s Left?

he bottom line is clear, says Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl: The Catholic Church can no longer afford to run a full complement of inner-city parochial schools serving a population that is, by an overwhelming majority, non-Catholic. So, facing a deficit of about $50 million over the next five years, the church is moving to convert at least seven D.C. elementary schools into secular, taxpayer-funded charter schools.
“We simply don’t have the resources to keep all those schools open,” Wuerl said in an interview with Washington Post reporters and editors the other day. “We have exhausted the resources available to us.”

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[buffalo]

If Catholics gave to advance the mission of Catholic Education there would not be this problem.

The Diocese of Wichita is a fine example of stewardship.

 

[KathleenElsie]

If Catholic Schools were for Catholics then many more of us would be willing to send our children to them.

 

[nobeerinheaven]

Many of the Catholic schools are marginally Catholic anyway - so in many dioceses kids aren’t sent to those schools *because *they are Catholic (and don’t want the faith screwed up by misinformation). The issue is far more complicated than mere lack of stewardship on the part of the laity.

 

[buffalo]

Many of the Catholic schools are marginally Catholic anyway - so in many dioceses kids aren’t sent to those schools *because *they are Catholic (and don’t want the faith screwed up by misinformation). The issue is far more complicated than mere lack of stewardship on the part of the laity.

Agreed.

 

[puzzleannie]

If Catholics gave to advance the mission of Catholic Education there would not be this problem.

The Diocese of Wichita is a fine example of stewardship.

the stewardship model of funding Catholic education is primarily about educating Catholics. Bishop Wuerl is talking about using resources of the Church to educate non-Catholics.

 

[vern_humphrey]

the stewardship model of funding Catholic education is primarily about educating Catholics. Bishop Wuerl is talking about using resources of the Church to educate non-Catholics.

From the letter to Arsacius:

The fifth part of these I order to be expended on the poor who serve the priests, and the rest must be distributed from me to strangers and beggars. For it is disgraceful when no Jew is a beggar and the impious Galileans [the name given by Julian to Christians] support our poor in addition to their own;

We impious Galileans are not here merely to take care of our own – our mission of social justice extends to all.

We have forgotten that – we should re-read the letter to Arsacius, particularly its prophetic opening sentence:

The religion of the Greeks does not yet prosper as I would wish, on account of those who profess it.

And now the religion of the impious Galileans does not prosper as we would wish, on account of those who profess it.

 

[Nohome]

We impious Galileans are not here merely to take care of our own – our mission of social justice extends to all.

You know Vern, had it been said that way (and done that way) in my Church, I’d have been the first to contribute.

Nohome

 

[puzzleannie]

am at a loss to understand Vern’s post in light of Catholic schools closing due to lack of funding, because they are serving a non-Catholic population whose contribution in terms of tuition is far below the cost of running the schools.

 

[vern_humphrey]

am at a loss to understand Vern’s post in light of Catholic schools closing due to lack of funding, because they are serving a non-Catholic population whose contribution in terms of tuition is far below the cost of running the schools.

Consider it in the light of Lazerus, who lay at the rich man’s door, and the dogs licked his sores.

When the rich man wound up in hell for ignoring Lazerus’ plight, did he say, “I didn’t help him because his contribution would be too small?”

When we give to the poor, do we expect a material return?

 

[puzzleannie]

i must have had too much chocolate, I am still not getting it. Washington DC has a public school system, why should the diocese be using its resources to educate non-Catholic children?

 

[vern_humphrey]

i must have had too much chocolate, I am still not getting it. Washington DC has a public school system, why should the diocese be using its resources to educate non-Catholic children?

Because the public school system is not educating those children.

 

[KathleenElsie]

Consider it in the light of Lazerus, who lay at the rich man’s door, and the dogs licked his sores.

When the rich man wound up in hell for ignoring Lazerus’ plight, did he say, “I didn’t help him because his contribution would be too small?”

When we give to the poor, do we expect a material return?

The added costs to the parents of the Catholic children has made it impossible for many a family with a stay at home traditional mother. So when do we remember that our Catholic children need a good education also. Or is it just the underprivileged inner city non-Catholic children that deserve a good Catholic education?

 

[KathleenElsie]

Because the public school system is not educating those children.

Ours are not being educated in the public schools and we have been out priced in the Catholic schools that are still open. Our and four others closed to create a regional private school. So we homeschool. Our kids are well rounded and well educated. I just pray that someday Catholic families can afford Catholic schools so they have options.

 

[vern_humphrey]

Ours are not being educated in the public schools and we have been out priced in the Catholic schools that are still open. Our and four others closed to create a regional private school. So we homeschool. Our kids are well rounded and well educated. I just pray that someday Catholic families can afford Catholic schools so they have options.

The answer is, the Catholic Bishops have not made Catholic schools their Number 2 priority (Number 1 being right to life). They have not seen a need to keep these schools open.

We are somehow able to maintain a nationwide system of Catholic hospitals. With some emphasis by the Bishops, we could have a nationwide system of Catholic schools, too.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

In looking at the $50 million that the schools will cost I think it’s prudent for the bishop and others to decide what the best use of that money is. One possible use is to run schools. But it might be better used for other works (feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, providing medical care for the needy, etc.). I hope that all the options were considered before the archdiocese decided to turn the schools into charter schools and use their money elsewhere. In my own mind I don’t think that running schools is necessarily the best use of money.

 

[vern_humphrey]

In looking at the $50 million that the schools will cost I think it’s prudent for the bishop and others to decide what the best use of that money is. One possible use is to run schools. But it might be better used for other works (feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, providing medical care for the needy, etc.). I hope that all the options were considered before the archdiocese decided to turn the schools into charter schools and use their money elsewhere. In my own mind I don’t think that running schools is necessarily the best use of money.

If we educate the hungery, they can get jobs and feed themselves. They can even become contributors – helping the rest of us carry the burden.

There’s a brand new study released by Coliin Powel’s group, that found that the 50 largest cities in the US had a combined high school dropout rate of 51%. In other words, more than half of the children in public schools in our largest cities are simply being thrown away, left uneducated and unemployable.

Those figures are a disgrace on the United States and a disgrace on us – we had a thriving school system, and we have let it go to ruin.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

If we educate the hungery, they can get jobs and feed themselves. They can even become contributors – helping the rest of us carry the burden.

And I hope that this would be one of the factors considered in deciding whether to spend $50 million on schools or on something else.

However, I think it’s fair to note that usually people supporting Catholic schools aren’t doing so because they’re good at educating people to avoid poverty, but as a way of passing on the Catholic faith. So it’s a little bit of a “bait and switch” to ask people to donate money for Catholic schools with the purpose of avoiding future poverty.

There’s a brand new study released by Coliin Powel’s group, that found that the 50 largest cities in the US had a combined high school dropout rate of 51%. In other words, more than half of the children in public schools in our largest cities are simply being thrown away, left uneducated and unemployable.

To me that says we should be examining what’s wrong with public schools (for which we are all paying) and holding educators accountable for the work they do.

 

[vern_humphrey]

And I hope that this would be one of the factors considered in deciding whether to spend $50 million on schools or on something else.

However, I think it’s fair to note that usually people supporting Catholic schools aren’t doing so because they’re good at educating people to avoid poverty, but as a way of passing on the Catholic faith. So it’s a little bit of a “bait and switch” to ask people to donate money for Catholic schools with the purpose of avoiding future poverty.

We don’t bait and switch – our Bishops get up on their hind legs and tell us we have a duty to support Catholic schools, and explain that those schools are for everyone – especially for the poor trapped in the worst schools in the nation.

Remember Julian the Apostate’s Letter to Arsacius:

The fifth part of these I order to be expended on the poor who serve the priests, and the rest must be distributed from me to strangers and beggars. For it is disgraceful when no Jew is a beggar and the impious Galileans [the name given by Julian to Christians] support our poor in addition to their own

That is our calling – we must support everyone’s poor.

To me that says we should be examining what’s wrong with public schools (for which we are all paying) and holding educators accountable for the work they do.

It’s over 50 years since the Russians launched Sputnik and we made an effort to do just that. It’s over 25 years since “A Nation at Risk” was published.

Frankly, we cannot fix the public schools and we cannot hold educators accountable – they have accumulated too much political power. The system is too rotten to repair.

And answer this – assuming it can be fixed, how long will it take? As I pointed out, it’s been 50 years since Sputnik.

What do we do with the children in the meantime, put them in the freezer and thaw them out in fifty or a hundred years when the schools have improved?

 

[sojo]

SInce you are all concerned about our children, could you please say a prayer for Catholic home schoolers in California? We are at risk of losing our right to home school due to a judge’s decision on an unrelated (child abuse) case, and now the nation’s best home school attorneys are pitching in to try and save the day. As California goes, so follows the country. Google Home School California and you’ll see the mess we are in.

Our family home schools using Kolbe Academy, classic Catholic curriculum. There is no Catholic school within 1-1/2 hours drive of our home, and with no 2nd vehicle, and a special needs child that most likely would not be accepted in most Catholic Schools anyway, homeschooling is our only option. My little boy has Down syndrome, but thanks to one-on-one attention, he can read, write and knows his Catechism (adapted to his level).

Our public school pretty not only represents the worst case scenario as far as Christian values, but they have proven cases, repeatedly, of abuse to special needs children. My husband is a retired public school teacher himself and worked in the district for a while (retired out of moral considerations), so we aren’t just a bunch of crazy reactionists.

Back to the regular discussion, but everyone, please say a prayer for all Christian home schoolers in California.

sojo