Catholic School Advantage

There is arguably no relationship more integral to the vibrancy of a Catholic school than that between the pastor and the principal. While it has become somewhat of a mantra in the Latino Enrollment Institute (LEI) that the “principal is the single most important lever for change in a school,” the pastor often plays an equally important role, especially in the endeavor to recruit and better serve Latino families.

Located in The Dalles, Oregon, a rural farming community along the shores of the Columbia River, St. Mary’s Academy serves as a compelling example of the growth and vitality that can result from the shared vision of a committed school leader and an engaged pastor in responding to a changing community.

“In a world of fake news, you are proclaiming the Good News!”

So said Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of the Diocese of Yakima to a group of over 80 pastors at the summer’s first edition of the School Pastor’s Institute (SPI), a leadership formation symposium for pastors of a Catholic school.

“When I say, ‘The future of the Church is Latino,’ I try to correct myself,” said Fr. Joe Corpora, C.S.C., ACE’s director of university-school partnerships, at the inaugural Adelante conference. “The present of the Church is Latino.”

“It is a lie, when we talk of a God that doesn’t comfort us,” Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, told the ACE community last week. “And so we go to the margins, and we imagine a circle of compassion, and we imagine nobody’s standing outside that circle.”

When Jeanne von Feldt went to promote All Saints Catholic School after Mass at a local parish, she witnessed excited reactions from Latino families when they saw her t-shirt. It read “Yo [amo] las escuelas Católicas”—“I love Catholic schools”—a message of appreciation for Latino culture that von Feldt, principal of All Saints in Davenport, Iowa, and hundreds of other Catholic school leaders working with ACE’s Latino Enrollment Institute, are trying to share with families nationwide.