Can Catholic schools save the Church?
Thomas Carroll is the superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Boston, and he believes they can. In the last year, the schools he oversees have seen a surge in enrollment after historic struggles in prior years.
In a recent interview, he discusses what happened, and his belief that not only can Catholic schools save the Church — school choice can save Catholic schools.
He says public schools in Massachusetts stayed closed for so long during the pandemic that many have become “remediation factories, because they lost an entire year of instruction.” But, as soon as it was safe, Boston’s Catholic schools “decided early, and quite loudly, that we were going to be open. … That message resonated with parents.” The former public-school parents who switched to Catholic schools during the first year of COVID-19 decided to stay — and, in the second year, many of their neighbors followed suit.
You see, Catholic schools offer hope for the future — to countless families who would have no other options.
But in communities across the country, families simply have no options. They can’t afford to pay for an education their children need, and too many schools can no longer afford to make up the difference.
School choice offers the solution.
Catholic schools serve many critical needs for students across the country. In communities small and large, parochial schools allow students to live a fulfilled and successful life.
And as Superintendent Carroll points out, Catholic schools can have much larger significance for our community and our world.
You can be a part of keeping them around for the next generation.
Click here to let us know you want to join the cause.
Over the last few years, Catholic schools — and the communities they serve — have faced unprecedented challenges, but they are rebounding quickly. Especially in states with school choice programs, enrollment is going up.
But there’s a long way to go.
You can make sure the progress continues.
Thank you for standing with students.
| PS: Ny’Reon Shuman has a blueprint for his future. Read on to hear how school choice is helping him make it a reality. |
| Ny’Reon Shuman has a blueprint for his future. The 17-year-old has designs on being an architect. He wants to own an architectural firm, one with offices around the world. He wants to design a big house for his grandmother, Katherine Shuman, who adopted him when he was an infant. He calls her “Mom.” “She’s made sacrifices after sacrifices to get me to be here,” Ny’Reon said. “She’s literally the person I do everything for. I know once I make it, there is nothing in the world she can’t have, because that’s my mom.” Once I make it. To the teachers and staff at Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, Ny’Reon is making it now. “To me, he’s outside of the mold,” said Jackie Hardin, who has been Ny’Reon’s guidance counselor for the past four years. Ny’Reon, a senior at Bishop Kenny, attends the Catholic school on a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, which is provided by corporate tax contributions to Step Up For Students. Ny’Reon has used the FTC Scholarship to attend a private school every year beginning with kindergarten. “It’s been amazing,” Katherine said. “Can you see me drawing social security, trying to work and take care of him without a scholarship? Would have been no way I could have done it. It’s been a blessing to us because it paved the way for him.” Read Ny’Reon’s full story: https://blog.stepupforstudents.org/education-choice-scholarship-helps-nyreon-create-blueprint-for-his-future/ |