Leaving a legacy with Catholic education

By Susan Bailey | CFP Correspondent

“Catholic education is a beacon of hope. We have to be creative and find as many ways as we can to make this possible for everyone,” said Deborah O’Neil, principal of St. Bernadette Elementary School, Northborough. The Diocese of Worcester, consisting of 20 elementary and nine junior/senior high schools, is facing growing challenges with rising costs and declining enrollment.

This is what the Legacy of Hope Capital Campaign seeks to address, by growing the Catholic Schools Endowment Fund by $4,000,000. The desired goal is to provide tuition assistance to approximately 150 to 200 new students. 

The Legacy campaign literature states that “today’s Catholic schools follow a rigorous standards-based curriculum that addresses the moral, spiritual, academic, artistic, social and physical development of the students.” Some 98 percent of graduates from Catholic high schools go on to higher education. There is a crucial element in Catholic education not found in the public schools. Robert Blanchard, former principal of St. Bernard Central Catholic High School in Fitchburg said it best: “Here we can talk about right and wrong; we can talk about God.”

Father Nicholas Desimone, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Uxbridge, serves on the advisory board of Our Lady of the Valley Elementary School, a regional school located on the campus of St. Mary’s. He believes that Catholic education is of vital importance. 

“It helps to form the whole person according to the image of Christ,” he said. 

At the beginning of the school year, Father Desimone asks the students to recite the school’s mission statement: “Our Lady of the Valley’s mission is to create an atmosphere of peace, love, and justice that will inspire students to continue to build the Kingdom of God through service to others, in imitation of Christ.” 

When asked which part of the statement is most important, students without fail point out the last lines that read “in imitation of Christ.” “This kind of formation sets Catholic schools apart from other schools,” Father Desimone said.

Meg Kursonis, celebrating her 20th year as head of St. Peter Central Catholic Elementary School in Worcester, first became involved in Catholic education when she was 7 years old. 

“My parents removed me from public school and sent me all the way across the city on two buses because they wanted me to be in Catholic school as an extension of our faith,” she said. 

She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Worcester State University in education and taught in the public schools, both in South Windsor, Connecticut, and Hudson. Before long, she was called back to the school of her youth. 

“In 1987, the Sisters of Saint Joseph (the order that taught at St Peter’s (Worcester Central Catholic, as it was known then) approached me as a parent and asked if I would consider setting up the first Catholic preschool in the diocese,” she said. “My career at St. Peter’s began as a preschool, kindergarten and first grade teacher until I took the administrator’s post in 2000.” 

Mrs. Kursonis believes her work is a mission. “I am blessed beyond measure to be where I am,” she said.

With that in mind, she is committed to finding solutions for the many difficulties St. Peter’s faces, which are common to Catholic schools in the diocese. First among these is declining enrollment, in part due to cost; the tuition at St. Peters totals $5,000 per year, per student.     “In some cases, these people are making $25,000 a year, and with a $5,000 tuition we do the simple math and realize that you can’t pay the rent and send your child to Catholic School,” she said.

There are other challenges as well.     

“Our students are presenting more issues around anxiety and depression, and it is difficult to meet their needs with limited staffing due to budget constraints,” she said. “Our families are in transition resulting in multiple single-parent homes. Our population is quite diverse and therefore there is the challenge of not having roots in the area or in a church. Our families are more transient as a result of this.” 

Attracting good teachers who are committed to their faith is an ongoing problem since Catholic schools offer lower compensation than their public school counterparts. 

In the past, Catholic schools have proven to be a primary source of vocations to religious life. Mrs. Kursonis is well aware of the effect that the current crisis in the Church, along with priest shortages, has had on enrollment. 

“Building trust in the Church is important, but emphasizing the faith is of the utmost importance,” she said.

She foresees a two-fold benefit from the Legacy of Hope campaign. 

“The statement for the Legacy emphasizes the importance of Catholic schools, which I think will help spread the word that we are all still alive and welcoming,” she said, adding, “The financial kickback to our schools will do much to help with many of our issues.”

Father Desimone agrees that enrollment is the greatest challenge facing Catholic schools today.     

“Because the cost of education continues to increase, it’s becoming more difficult for families that desire a Catholic education for their children to afford it,” he said. “We must find ways to make Catholic education accessible to all who want it. The endowment that will be created through the Legacy of Hope Capital Campaign will help make the dream of a Catholic education a reality for more students and families.”

Mr. Blanchard, who was principal of St. Bernard's when the Legacy video was filmed, asks the question: “What would Jesus Christ say if someone was sitting on the other side and I had to make a decision whether he could afford to come to St. Bernard’s High School? I think that he would say, ‘We’ll find a way to make it happen.’”

The Legacy of Hope Capital Campaign is an important part of the solution, one where the diocese can come together to ensure a Catholic education for those who wish it.

For more on the campaign go online to legacyofhope.worcesterdiocese.org