National Catholic Schools Week • Jan. 31-Feb. 6
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A special supplement of THE MONITOR January 14, 2016 National Catholic Schools Week • Jan. 31-Feb. 6 Across the Diocese of Trenton and throughout the nation, Catholic schools are celebrating what makes them GROWING, IN FAITH • Schools unique: values-based, well- find creative ways rounded education that forms to serve more students • S-8 sound minds and healthy Joe Moore photo bodies, centered around our Catholic faith. This year, we celebrate the ‘Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service,’ which are passionately pursuing COLD CASH • excellence in all aspects, Nearly 1,000 plunge into receiving local and national Atlantic to awards and shaping the leaders - support Catholic schools • S-10 and saints - of tomorrow. Jeff Bruno photo ALSO INSIDE: Bishop O’Connell, JoAnn Tier share ‘Good News’ of Catholic education • S2-3 Schools plan events to celebrate week • S4 Asbury Park school introduces peer-led virtue program • S12 Schools incorporate Holy Year of Mercy into activities • S16 Feature section: Catholic schools ‘Achieving It All’ • S25 Photo courtesyPhoto of Our School Lady of Mount Carmel S•2 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK THE MONITOR • JANUARY 14, 2016 A MESSAGE FROM BISHOP DAVID M. O’CONNELL, C.M. Ministrare Non Ministrari Our Catholic schools: ‘Fruit that will last’ ver 50 years ago, the Second Vatican Council described the purpose of last (John 15: 16):” a community of faith, knowl- edge and service that reaches far beyond classroom the Catholic school as creating “for the school community a special at- doors. mosphere animated by the Gospel spirit ... (Vatican II, “Declaration on As Bishop, I cannot thank parents enough for O their sacrifice and trust in making Catholic educa- Christian Education, 8”).” tion possible for their children. I cannot thank par- A half-century later, the National Catholic the Catholic school community. ish priests enough for their support of Catholic edu- Educational Association has as its recurring theme In the Diocese of Trenton, our Catholic primary cation. I cannot thank teachers and staff enough for for Catholic Schools Week 2016, “Catholic Schools: and secondary schools pursue this three-fold mission their work and witness to all that Catholic education Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.” as a means to evangelize the young people entrusted can and does offer. I cannot thank enough the Those three aspects of Catholic education to our care in close collaboration with parents. The benefactors without whose generosity our Catholic always find their source in Jesus Christ. “Ev- family is the first Catholic school, and parents, the schools might not be able to keep their doors open. erything that happens in Catholic schools ... first and most important teachers of the Catholic It is all of you, along with our students, who should lead to an encounter with the living Christ faith. Pastors and parish priests work generously with create and sustain the Catholic school communi- (Congregation for Catholic Education, “Educat- dedicated teachers and staff in the Catholic school to ties mentioned earlier, communities animated by ing Today and Tomorrow: A Renewing Passion, hand on and deepen the seeds of faith planted within the Gospel and leading to Christ. I cannot imagine III,” 2014).” Such an encounter gives rise to faith, the family home. Those seeds are watered and nur- the Catholic Church without its schools. I hope we permeates knowledge and inspires service within tured in our Catholic schools producing “fruit that will never have to! ‘Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service’ Catholic schools provide benefits to society and Church Patrick T. Brown in Catholic schools impact our nation and Associate Editor its future leaders in ways too innumer- able to count. atholic schools have it all, as the slogan That impact is being recognized in goes, but ‘having it all’ takes on an added this year’s National Catholic Schools Cdimension when you look at the national Week, running from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, scope, impact and benefits of the Catholic school which will focus on the theme “Catholic community across the United States. Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowl- According to statistics provided by the Na- edge and Service.” tional Catholic Educational Association, a vol- Many states throughout the union untary association representing Catholic school recognize Catholic Schools Week in educators and institutions, there are just under a special way, including New Jersey. 6,600 Catholic schools across the nation, including In years previous, Gov. Chris Christie nearly 5,400 elementary and middle schools and signed a proclamation celebrating Catho- nearly 1,200 secondary schools. lic schools for educating “millions of Together, they provide $24 billion in financial New Jerseyans in preparation for their savings for the country, based on the average pub- responsibilities as residents of this State lic school per pupil cost. But beyond the strictly and as members of society,” and he is ex- pecuniary benefits, the virtues and values formed pected to proclaim something to similar effect this year as well. In addition to graduat- ing leading members of civic society, Catholic schools and national communities, Catholic schools do face also are prime sources for future lead- the challenges of declining family size and the ongo- ers in the Church – a 2012 study from ing impact of the recession of family income and Georgetown University’s Center for school tuition. Applied Research in the Apostolate found For example, CARA found more than 213,000 that 26 percent of male Catholics born students enrolled in the fourth grade in Catholic after 1982 (so-called “Millennials”) who schools across the United States in 2000. By 2013, attended Catholic primary or secondary that number had fallen to just above 140,000. school had considered becoming a priest. But in the face of these challenges, Catholic For those with no history of attending schools continue on their mission of building com- a Catholic school, only nine percent had munities of faith, knowledge and service. Parents contemplated a vocation to the religious clearly see the value of a Catholic education. life. A national poll in 2006 found that Catholic par- Additionally, Millennial Catholics ents listed the following factors as “very important” who attended a Catholic secondary factors in convincing them to choose a Catholic school were eight times more likely to at- school for their children: quality religious education, tend weekly Mass than those who never a safe environment, quality academic instruction, attended a Catholic school. discipline and order, a sense of community, and Despite these benefits to local, state, See Families • S-6 JANUARY 14, 2016 • TrentonMonitor.com CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK S•3 A MESSAGE FROM JOANN TIER Moderator of Catholic Education, Superintendent of Catholic Schools Investing in the Future Accreditation process brings value to Diocese, schools, students eaching is an art. Teachers look into the eyes of a child to The Diocese of Trenton exceeded Tdetermine understanding. In the average of all schools in the so doing, they make a connection far beyond conveying basic instruction. The child knows the teacher cares and AdvancED Network in areas of : is invested in him. Whether teaching bouncy 4-year-old preschool students Teaching and Learning or imparting knowledge to graduate Impact • DOT: 276 • students, making a connection, mo- AdvancED: 269 tivating, inspiring and delivering the educational concepts are all part of this Leadership Capacity • DOT: respected pedagogy. Catholic school teachers, invested 325 • AdvancED: 293 in the students whom they teach, are relentless in their pursuit of providing Resource Utilization • DOT: an exceptional 21st century educational 300 • AdvancED: 283 experience. With this end-result as a goal, school communities in the Diocese The AdvancED Network of Trenton completed a year and a half AdvancED Accreditation Study and average composite score: 284 hosted a team of educators from Nov. GREAT TEAMWORK • JoAnn Tier, dioc- 1-4, as part of the accreditation process. esan superintendent of Catholic schools, Index of Education Quality AdvancED is an internationally rec- shares the results of the AdvancED Accredi- tation Study with school representatives (IEQ) for the Diocese of ognized accreditation agency that incor- Nov. 4 at the Chancery. Joe Moore photos porates a standards-driven and student- Trenton: 295 centered approach with an emphasis on increasing student performance and growth as well as school improvement. tive. AdvancED accreditation provides the “Catholic school • The Diocese demonstrates effec- tools to nurture and support individual tive use of available resources to sup- school improvement while aligning teachers...are relentless port its schools including a comprehen- school improvement with diocesan in their pursuit of sive marketing program, the services of improvement goals. AdvancED has a grant writer and the Catholic Alumni accredited over 32,000 institutions in providing an exceptional Partnership, which provides a strong 71 countries and serves over 20 million alumni database for its schools. students worldwide. 21st century educational • The Department of Catholic Educationally, there are no silos HIGH MARKS • Eddie Krenson, chair- experience.” Schools raises awareness among adminis- in which teachers or schools operate man of the AdvancED external review team, trators to secure all services and resourc- distinctly, independently and detached noted the