​Catholic Schools Week 2020

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Catholic News Agency

Catholic Schools Week 2020

This week marks the 46th anniversary of celebrating Catholic Schools Week. All across the Archdiocese of San Antonio, schools will be taking time out of their normal schedules to show their appreciation and celebrate people who help to make Catholic schools strong — parents, faculty and staff, clergy and religious, students, and our benefactors.

It is no secret that we are facing many challenges in Catholic schools as it relates to enrollment and affordability. With the school choice movement in Texas that has supported non-faith based alternatives to public education, we have witnessed an explosion of charter schools throughout our region. There are many quality public and charter schools available to parents.

So why invest in a Catholic school? Why sacrifice financially to send your child to a Catholic school? The answer is quite simple and clear: the formation and expectations.

Our children are going to learn from those they are surrounded by. In a Catholic school, they will learn what it means to have a personal relationship with our Lord. They will learn what it means to pray for each other, as well as having others pray for them. They will learn about service and treating others with dignity and respect. And they will learn what it means to be a leader and our responsibility as Christians to have a moral compass guiding all decision-making.

All schools are obligated and required to meet an expectation of academic excellence and to offer extra-curricular activities to enrich the learning environment. Catholic schools maintain that same expectation of quality academics and consistently demonstrate test scores in Math and English Language Arts above the national average on the College Board PSAT and SAT. Catholic schools also have many state championships in athletics and academic competitions. And the fine arts are thriving on our campuses!

What separates Catholic schools from all others is the holistic formation of our students — socially, emotionally, and spiritually. With a robust and comprehensive counseling program that uses a vertically aligned guidance curriculum from our youngest three year old students through high school seniors, we are able to meet the social and emotional needs of our students. This has become a critical need in this time of social media and cultural challenges. Embedded in this social/emotional formation are the teachings of Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of all we do from the morning drop-off until the students’ return home each day. Our students spend each day in a community of shared values and because of this, they make a difference in the community in which they live.

We invite you to come see the difference in Catholic schools! We encourage you to consider investing in a Catholic education, partnering with our schools, in the formation of your child. Our church teaches us that parents are the primary educators of their children. We want to assist you in this most important work! Together we will continue to make a difference in this world, as so many Catholic school graduates have done in the past.