Priest: Catholic Education Provides Priceless Gifts

EDITOR'S NOTE: This letter was sent to parishioners of Saint Eugene Catholic Church by Father Joseph A. Jacobi, Pastor.

Dear friends in Christ,
Another school year is quickly drawing to an end. Our 8th grade students will soon graduate and many of them will go on to Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School.

Our graduates have informed me that our parish school prepared them very well for the academic rigors of McGuinness. (The annual report sent from McGuinness on class rank confirms this, revealing our graduates to be in the upper levels of achievement.) Plus, the spiritual formation our students receive at St. Eugene School helps them with the pressures and challenges of high school.

Since I work closely with our school principal, Suzette Williams, and interact on a regular basis with our faculty and students, I am not surprised to hear these good reports from graduates of our school. What does surprise me is that some parents will transfer their children out of our school during their 6th-8th grade years to enroll them in a public school. With the opening of the new John Marshall school this August (6th-9th grade), some of our school parents are tempted to enroll their children at this new school. An education at John Marshall is an attractive option: no tuition payments, more electives, and a big sports program. However, there are a number of advantages to keeping a child in a Catholic School through 8th grade. The beginning of adolescence is a time when a child needs more than ever to have the values of a Catholic education instilled on a daily basis and receive the support of a Catholic community. With specialized schools (6-7th grade middle schools and 8-9th junior highs), our culture treats children as adults long before children are ready to leave childhood behind and also removes older children from daily regular contact with younger children. Studies have shown the positive effects of having children in grades K-8 on the same school campus and interacting on a regular basis. The students in our upper grades know this to be true as they escort their younger “buddies” to School Mass and experience the admiration of these younger children for their “elders.”

Though we have a good athletic program at our school, one reason parents move their children to public schools is for sports. I have enjoyed sports all my life and know the value of sports, but in our culture, sports have become a “god” even taking the place of the true God as more and more games are played on Sunday mornings. Parents push their child to excel in a sport, re-living their own childhood in and through their child. Some parents even think if they can just get their child in the right sporting environment and have enough specialized attention and training, their child will be the next  Lebron James or Adrian Peterson. But statistics show otherwise. An article on sports in Parade magazine last year stated that only 2 percent of high school athletes will ever receive a college athletic scholarship and only 1 in 13,000 high school athletes will ever receive a paycheck from a professional team.

The 7-year accreditation team gave our school some advance notice on the strengths that will be emphasized in its official report this summer: our school is well-supported by our parish, has an excellent faculty and staff led by a dedicated principal (Suzette recently was named “Catholic Educator of the Year” for our archdiocese), and has many parents actively involved in helping our school carry out its mission of spiritual growth and academic excellence. Recommen-dations made were to more actively publicize our school to the wider community and to strengthen our reading remediation program by helping children who speak Spanish to learn English better.

Our school is not perfect (no school is) but it is an excellent place to receive a Catholic education. The value of a Catholic education cannot be measured: kindergarteners enacting the Last Supper, 8th graders putting on a “live” Stations of the Cross, students reverently praying in the chapel during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Several students, parents, and teachers have suffered from serious illness this school year and some have mourned the deaths of their loved ones. During these trials, I have witnessed the incredible support that only a community of faith can so lovingly provide.

 The gift of a Catholic education calls for a sacrifice from parents. But everything that is worthwhile in our life demands a sacrifice from us. Plus, our parish does everything possible through our Stewardship program for school parents and our Tuition

Assistance program to make sure that any parent who wants their child to receive a Catholic education at our school can do so. Life-long values and a solid spiritual foundation cannot be measured-they are the priceless gifts of a Catholic education.

               In the peace of Christ,
Rev. Joseph A. Jacobi, Pastor