Task Force on the Participation of Latino Children and Families in Catholic Schools
On December 12, 2008, Rev. John Jenkins, CSC, president of the University of Notre Dame, commissioned the Notre Dame Task Force on the Participation of Latino Children and Families in Catholic Schools to explore the issues surrounding the Latino achievement gap, the Catholic school advantage, and the demographic imperative to improve educational opportunities for Hispanics. Ultimately, the task force considered one central question: What can be done to narrow the achievement gap by extending the Catholic school advantage to more Latino children?
The Task Force Report, To Nurture the Soul of a Nation, published on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12, 2009, outlines a road map for making a high-quality Catholic education accessible to as many Latino families as possible, while simultaneously revitalizing American Catholic schools. The strategy proposed by the task force relies on a combination of developing demand, building capacity, and transforming institutions to fill empty seats, increase capacity in existing schools, reopen closed schools, and build new Catholic schools in areas that have seen the greatest growth in the Latino population.
The following are links to download the PDF of the final report “To Nurture the Soul of a Nation” in English or Spanish:
Executive Summary of the report:
