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August 22, 2024By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press
Catholic schools play a key role in helping people draw close to God and serve others. It’s important to help people see that in today’s society filled with moral and economic challenges. David Perda, superintendent, talked about these issues as the new academic year approaches.
Each school is unique, but there are some important commonalities, he said.
“The most important commonality is our mission,” he explained. “We want to help people get to heaven. ... We want to be with God. ... That includes the kids that we directly serve, and the families entrusted to our care. ... We have potential, through our Catholic schools, to really grow our faith. … We have to keep our eye on our mission ... and work along with parents on getting our young people close to Jesus Christ.”
Catholic schools focus on the development of the whole person, which is missing in public schools and in private schools that aren’t religious, the superintendent said.
“Our academics need to be second to none” in Catholic schools “because we’re charging tuition,” he said. Schools that work with his office follow a common set of curriculum standards, which provide expectations for what students should know and be able to do as they progress through the grades.
Catholic schools’ educational mission is unique in that faith is integrated into all subjects, Superintendent Perda said; “we talk about Jesus” when teaching science and social studies.
He said this is helpful in grappling with complex issues of the day, such as abortion and immigration, because Catholic schools can ask, “What would Jesus do?”
The superintendent also noted, “We ... move beyond the academics” and emphasize service and community, a worldview that enriches students’ ability to give back to their schools and other places in a variety of ways, now and in the future. He described this worldview as “a general mindfulness of moving beyond self.”
“Our reason for being” as Catholic schools connects with what students are doing in and outside of school, “setting the foundation so kids have their eyes on the prize” (heaven), while giving them strategies for getting there, he maintained.
Those who know they’re headed for heaven are less likely to succumb to temptations, and “minefields that have been normalized,” such as gender ideology, Superintendent Perda said. Educators must help students through adolescence, where they encounter such minefields. If young people do make – and suffer from - bad decisions, they need to be given the hope that they can be forgiven; “if you walk ... with the Lord by your side, you’ll get to the right place” – on earth and in heaven.
“We need everyone to know what makes a Catholic school different,” so “families understand the value of a Catholic education,” he said.
“We do everything we can to keep tuition low and to provide a fair and equitable process” of distributing student aid based on need, he said. But tuition costs and aid must be balanced with attempts to provide a “top-notch education” and a living wage for teachers. The diocese can’t fully meet all families’ scholarship needs, but some schools and parishes offer aid too.
Enrollment brings in the revenue for schools, and generally the only costs that increased enrollment incurs are hiring additional teachers and purchasing more materials and equipment, the superintendent said.
“I’m worried about a few schools,” he said, but 12 of the 15 he works closely with have a projected enrollment higher than or about equal to last year’s.
In response to declining enrollment and financial concerns, in 2020 Holy Name and St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic Junior-Senior High schools merged to form St. Paul Diocesan Jr./Sr. High School. Superintendent Perda said 600 students signed up.
“The merged school did a good job of retaining students,” but not as good a job of bringing in new ones, he said. This year there is a projected enrollment of 375.
“We needed to cast a wider net,” he said. The growing population of ethnic groups in the community provides much opportunity for more diversity in Catholic schools.
The superintendent expressed hope that St. Paul’s will increase diversity and enrollment with the help of a couple of new leaders: Father José F. Carvajal, head of school, who grew up in Colombia, and Francesca Canessa, director of enrollment and marketing, who grew up in El Salvador, has lived in various countries, speaks five languages, and has experience in contemporary online marketing strategies to use for drawing more students.
“They’re going to help us make connections … with Latino families” and others, Superintendent Perda said of these leaders. He also raved about the passion for the faith that he saw when worshipping with Africans – a population with a “contagious” passion he wants in the Catholic schools.
He also said he believes the Holy Spirit sent Ms. Canessa for the job. After a search firm proposed four other people, she contacted Father Carvajal, whom she knew from attending St. Mary Parish in Shrewsbury, where he was associate pastor. He recommended her.
Speaking of the other diocesan school – St. Peter Central Catholic Elementary – Superintendent Perda said, in reference to the principal, “What a blessing it has been to this diocese to have Meg [Kursonis] lead that school for such an extended period,” to bring people to Jesus or a closer relationship with him.
Enrollment there this year is projected to be 362 students, up from 357 last year and the highest since the 2015-2016 school year.
“There’s no one right formula” for achieving a healthy enrollment, the superintendent said. But, “I would start with mission and excellent academics.” Financial aid for families, and schools sharing their strategies with each other, also help. Meeting with principals, he acknowledged that there is much hard work behind their schools’ increased enrollments, he said.
Another challenge is that the diocesan Catholic Schools Office staff has been reduced.
The smaller staff is due to diocesan budget cuts and a reduction in diocesan schools from four to two, the superintendent said. (In 2020 St. Bernard Central Catholic High School became a private school and Holy Name and St. Peter-Marian merged.) These diocesan, or central Catholic, schools paid a per-student fee that helped fund the Catholic Schools Office, which “brought in a significant amount of money,” he said. Trying to keep tuition low and not drain the two diocesan schools, the office dropped the fee and asked the schools to eliminate it from charges to families this year.
“We haven’t figured out how to replace that,” the superintendent said. (Partners in Charity and individuals’ contributions also fund the office.)
The cut-backs require a different model – more autonomous schools, with strong leaders who know when to make their own decisions and when to seek his office’s help.
He said there are some very talented school leaders, and some have led their schools for years. Some are getting additional education in Catholic school leadership from Boston College and, internally, from administrator meetings where they share their problems and solutions.
There are also four professional development days for administrators and teachers each academic year – a religious enrichment one and a more academically oriented one on the diocesan level and in individual schools.
The current situation is challenging, the superintendent said, but “we’re blessed to have people who care so much about Catholic education that they’ve given up their down time” to serve on boards on the diocesan and school levels.
“Working collaboratively has many benefits,” including getting others’ perspectives, but also takes time and the ability to get and keep people involved, so they will embrace the schools’ mission, he said.
“I think there’s a role for everybody ... who wants to help out, and it’s the responsibility of the school leader to create the right mix and to take advantage of those helping hands,” he said.
Superintendent Perda wants all the Catholic schools to thrive.
“We’re just coming into that,” with most schools doing well, he maintained. “How high can we go?”
