ACE Advocates News

Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. Mark 9:37

Reflection 
At the end of the day, Catholic schools are about children.  Jesus had a tender heart towards children and eagerly blessed them.  That is our mandate as his body in the world: to welcome children as if welcoming Christ himself.
 
Prayer
Christ our Teacher, forgive us when our work on behalf of children fails to bless them.  Enable us to see them as your image-bearers.  Give us servant hearts that love as you love.  In the power of the Spirit we pray, Amen.

In early March, the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences released what is referred to as a “What Works Clearinghouse Quick Review” of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Evaluation.  The original study of this voucher program, completed by Patrick Wolf and colleagues, was released during summer 2010 (Wolf et al., 2010).  Its goal was to assess whether winning a lottery for the Opportunity Scholarship Program improved reading and math achievement among low-income students, and their probability of graduating from high school.
 
Highlights from the recent Quick Review and the overall evaluation include the following:

I grew up in Southern California, not too far from the Anaheim Convention Center where the 2011 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress took place. Servite High School, where I spent my teenage years, is actually no more than a ten minute drive from the Center. Without diving into the history books, I bet it’s safe to say that this event was taking place just down the road every year I was at Servite, and every year, I had no idea it even existed.
 
It turns out the LA Congress is a big deal and I had been missing out on quite a bit.
 
40,000 people. Hundreds of exhibitors. Culturally diverse Masses and prayer services at every hour. Bright lights, brilliant colors, joyous people. Mitres here, habits there, clergy everywhere. This is the pinnacle of all religious education events, bringing people together on a massive scale to share their faiths and to celebrate their passion for their Church.
 
How was it possible that I knew absolutely nothing of this larger than life, annual festival? I think that part of this disparity can be attributed to my relatively late conversion to Catholicism. It’s difficult to gain exposure to a foreign way of life when you’re a foreigner, even when you live next door. The other part of the disconnect probably lies somewhere between the sunny beaches and the beautiful mountains. With so much to do, so many people and so much Hollywood-style wealth, Southern California doesn’t scream “Catholic Holy Land” any more than South Bend screams “great winter vacation spot.”

April 2011

Dear ACE Advocates for Catholic Schools,
 
A debate is raging in the United States Congress over educational access.  The DC Opportunity Scholarship, which would provide vouchers for a small number of low-income Washington, DC families to send their children to the school of their choice, recently passed in the House of Representatives.  Whether or not it will pass in the Senate is now the question.
 
Before this program was terminated in 2009, over 3,300 DC students had the opportunity to attend higher performing schools, and the results were dramatic.  A Department of Education-funded study--summarized in this issue by Professors Frabutt and Holter--found that reading scores and graduation rates significantly improved for participants.  Polls found broad support for the program amongst DC residents and parents.

Christian, mother, wife, businesswoman—these are just some of the adjectives that capture the spirit of  Joann Wagner, our Catholic school champion this month.  The Bethesda, Maryland-bred woman attended St. Jane deChantal through middle school, going on to the Academy of the Holy Cross for high school.  Husband Mike obtained his bachelor’s degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and his doctor of medicine from Georgetown University.

Since that time Joann and Mike have moved to Norfolk, Virginia, where Mike serves as a physician in the Navy (and has just returned from 8 months in Afghanistan!), Joann runs a business, and together they raise their three children, all of whom have graduated from or currently attend Catholic schools, K-12. 

When asked, “Why Catholic schools?” Joann is clear: “Catholic faith is the key to all we hold dear.” She continues, “My children are attending Catholic schools to hopefully receive the same gift of faith through the Holy Spirit that my husband and I did. That’s the most important gift we can give our children. Catholic schools reinforce all the values we cherish, from seeing Christ in everyone and treating them accordingly to having a personal relationship with Jesus through prayer and the sacraments.  It is our mission statement, if you will, for our family.”