Together with the family, the parish, and each other, we will FORM EACH STUDENT INTO A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST who seeks the Truth, grows to love It, and learns to live It.
1) Together with the family, the parish, and each other…
The Catholic school can be successful only if it works with the parents (the Child’s primary educator), in the context of the parish (the basic unit of the Church family) united as one system under the Bishop.
2) We will form each student...
Catholic Schools must go beyond instruction to shape the total person and foster a mature adult faith capable of living out one’s baptismal promises.
3) Into a Disciple of Jesus Christ…
The definitive aim of Catholic education is to form Disciples of Christ. Christ is the foundation of the entire Catholic educational process. Jesus is the Master Teacher, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
4) Who seeks the Truth, grows to love It, and learns to live It...
The Catholic school reaches beyond religion class to emphasize the application of Gospel values to all subject areas at every stage of life. Lifelong faith, not mere memorization, is the ultimate goal of the Catholic educational process. To seek Truth demands teacher and learner alike to think critically, creatively, and deeply. To grow to love Truth requires a relentless pursuit after the true meaning of life. To learn to live Truth requires a commitment to apply moral principles to the changing and challenging issues of everyday life.
The Catholic School Vision
Catholic schools will assist parents in forming their children to be disciples of Jesus Christ by addressing the following critical directions:
1) Insofar as is possible, make schools available to families who are active stewards.
2) Support and communicate with parents in their role as their children’s primary educator.
3) Offer students a quality Catholic education that forms the total person and prepares them for post-secondary education and their vocation in life.
4) Involve parents in supporting higher academic standards.
5) Promote the parish as the community of the faithful that is committed by stewardship to nurture the family as the “domestic church.” Therefore, invite all parishioners to become more involved in Catholic schools.
6) Cultivate the habit of prayer, the practice of the faith, and participation in liturgical life.
7) Recruit educators who practice their faith and hold themselves to high moral and professional standards.
8) Retain and recognize outstanding teachers and principals.
9) Investigate ways to improve equity among educator’s salaries.
10) Coordinate parish and school efforts to utilize technology effectively and efficiently.
11) Establish a special services coordinator to assist schools in meeting student needs.
12) Pursue public policy that helps all parents.
13) Support a diocesan development effort for schools, especially for high schools and schools that serve the poor.
Our Philosophy
God is the beginning and the end of human existence because He created all human beings with a divine life and purpose, and therefore, infinite dignity. The purpose of human existence is to discover God’s will for us and gain salvation. The purpose of education is to teach students to seek this Truth, to grow to love It, and to learn to live It.
Education is fundamentally a moral endeavor which must first teach youth about right and wrong, a better and a worse way to live our lives, by infusing moral norms and experience into into daily living. Students must learn to think critically as a means to learn about and practice resolving the moral dilemmas of life. “Education… must make (a person) not only clever but also good…” (Baltimore Council, 1884)
Parents are the primary educators of their children because they are their co creators with God, and, therefore, are morally obliged to God to provide for the education of their children. The Church, the State, and other human agencies offer from their resources educational services to assist parents.
Catholic education has as its specific duty the total formation of the human person, not merely the transmission of academic content. Curriculum and instruction is the vehicle by which teachers craft a culture that communicates the purpose and goals of human existence. Teachers then teach students, not subjects, because their profound respect for and love of youth outweighs any other consideration.
To teach in a Catholic school is to form a covenant with the family to model the teacher-student relationship after the relationship that Jesus, the Master Teacher, had with His disciples. Effective teaching in the Catholic school molds the pupil’s intellect and will by touching the soul.
To exercise authority, the principal of a Catholic school must be a person of virtue, schooled in human nature, who knows and loves humanity for what it is and what it is called to be. It is the principal’s virtue, mediated through prudent judgments, which ultimately persuades the school community’s members to put aside their individual self-interests and devote themselves and their efforts to fostering the common goal, that is, the formation of the total person.
Catholic Elementary School Standards
Catholic schools seek, with God’s grace, to form the total person in the image of Christ. This goal cannot be confined to the classroom but will only be achieved through the totality of the student’s activities, experiences, lessons, and relationships. Accordingly, the school’s resources must be directed to the fulfillment of the following standards:
Elementary Catholic School Students are expected to…
1) Know Church teaching, practice Christian virtue, and participate in their parish faithfully; moreover receive the sacraments all of which were instituted by Christ and each of which has its own vital place in Christian living.
2) Demonstrate a reverence for life and respect for self, family, authority, and all cultures. 3) Have an informed conscience, distinguish right from wrong, and know how to make choices based on Catholic/Christian values.
4) Be respectful and responsible, compassionate and just toward others.
5) Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and desire to continue to learn successfully in middle school or high school.
6) Be independent, responsible, and self-disciplined decision-makers who set priorities and boundaries, lead, and work on teams, make sacrifices to achieve goals, monitor progress, and apply creative and critical thinking skills.
7) Have the reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills needed to communicate effectively.
8) Read at or above grade level unless there is a handicapping disability.
9) Master basic knowledge of religion, language arts, mathematics, geography, history, civics, science, and fine arts.
10) Utilize appropriate technology to access and communicate information.