New Life for Aquinas Catholic Academy

Two years ago, if you had asked Principal Sr. Nancy Gannon, SFCC, about the future prospects of Aquinas Catholic Academy, she wouldn't have been able to hide her worries. This school in rural Kankakee, Illinois had been watching enrollment decrease by ten to twenty students per year for nearly twenty years. When the 2011-12 year began, Sr. Nancy knew the situation had become dire. She looked at her books and quickly estimated the school would operate at a loss of over $50,000 that year alone.

Around the same time she heard about the Hispanic Initiative, a movement within the diocese of Joliet led by Fr. Jeremiah Lynch, SJ to better minister to the Latino population by educating more of their children in Catholic schools. She attended an annual meeting hosted by the Catholic Schools Office, at which Fr. Joe Corpora, CSC, of ACE's Catholic School Advantage (CSA) campaign, was the featured speaker. Little did she know as she listened that her school was about to walk down a path of remarkable transformation.

With the help of CSA strategies, Aquinas Academy began the challenging and rewarding work of becoming a school where Latino families felt at home and valued. "The first thing I did was reach out to a madrina, a respected and influential woman in the community. I knew Lorenia Lara was just the right person. Her daughters had been students at Aquinas, she served on the school board, and she knew the ins and outs of the school. We had often called on her to help struggling Hispanic families and she always did it with such a gracious spirit."

Lorenia embraced the call and was soon out in her community with her laptop and financial aid forms. Largely because of her efforts, 26 new Latino kids were enrolled that year. "Fr. Joe's idea of filling empty desks was very important," says Sr. Nancy. "Not all the kids had the money, but that's how we started. With the Hispanic Initiative, we have good scholarships offered by the Catholic Educational Foundation, our school discounts tuition, and families pay a portion of tuition. All have 'skin' in the game." She continues, "We made it that year and, when it was all said and done, we finished with $60 in the black."

Since those bleak days just two years ago, Aquinas Catholic Academy has more than doubled its number of Latino students and, for the first time in decades, enrollment has grown instead of declined. Going into the 2013-14 school year, 67 students from the Hispanic Initiative are registered. "We've experienced such renewal, Sr. Nancy says. "These families have enriched our community. They've given with such a spirit of generosity. From painting parts of the school on the weekends to donating a magnificent statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe that travels from one classroom to classroom, this community has brought new life to us and we are the better for it."

Meanwhile, Sr. Nancy realizes Aquinas Catholic Academy's process of transforming its school community has just begun, and she recognizes the need for increased teacher training for her faculty. She has been collaborating with ACE's English as a New Language (ENL) Program to help her teachers meet the unique academic needs of their increasingly diverse student population. Clare Roach, coordinator of the ENL program, adds, "It's a blessing to help support Sr. Nancy and her school. We're in awe of their grace-filled transformation and are so happy they're experiencing the many gifts of a culturally and linguistically rich community. We hope more Catholic schools are able to walk their path."