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From the Office of Academics
Why Choose a Catholic school?
Among some of the reasons why parents choose a Catholic school for their children is “strong moral values.” This statement backs a report by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.
Another study by the University of Pennsylvania reveals “success is not the number-one priority for most parents. We’re much more concerned about our children becoming kind, compassionate, and helpful.” These are just a couple of reasons to choose Catholic schools, but there is more to Catholic education than remarkable character-building.
Catholic schools prepare students to be faithful disciples of Christ. Catholic education addresses the development of the whole person – spirit, mind, and body – through spiritual and academic formation based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Unique to Catholic schools are these principles:
- Catholic schools operate as communities rather than bureaucracies
- Catholic schools are committed to academic excellence
- Catholic schools incorporate spirituality into every aspect of the curriculum
- Catholic schools teach that service to others is a basic tenet of the Catholic faith
- Catholic schools are diverse and inclusive
- Catholic school teachers and leaders say they believe the ministry of Catholic education is their calling
According to the U.S. Department of Education, Catholic school students consistently score higher on advanced assessment tests than public and other private and religious schools. Notably, on a national level, high school graduation rates are 99 percent for Catholic school students compared to 82 percent for public school seniors. Catholic schools work!
In addition to the measured academic successes of Catholic schools, we know they also help build a better society and communities:
· Catholic school students are more likely to pray daily, attend church more often, retain a Catholic identity as an adult, and donate more to the Church.
· Students who attend Catholic high schools are approximately twice as likely as students who attend public high schools to graduate from college.
· Nearly 62 percent of Catholic high school students earn a bachelor’s degree or higher by the time they are eight years out of high school. By contrast, only 31 percent of public school students go on to earn a bachelor’s degree or higher in the same time frame.
· The achievement gap between students of different racial or socioeconomic backgrounds is significantly smaller in Catholic schools than in public schools.
· Catholic school graduates enjoy higher earning potential than public school graduates.
· Catholic school graduates are more civically engaged, more likely to vote, more tolerant of diverse views and more committed to service as adults, and less likely to be incarcerated than their public school peers.
These are some of the answers to the question “Why Choose Catholic Schools?” The real question might be, “What do I want for my child?” The likely answer is “a Catholic school education.”
(taken from NCEA parent newsletter)
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