Symposium on Catholic schools

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

FITCHBURG – Catholic schools are needed, and they are entitled to billions of dollars that they don’t access, principals and other leaders were told Oct. 18 at a symposium at St. Bernard Elementary School. 
St. Bernard’s organized the symposium, which drew several dozen people, for the purpose of sharing ideas about ways to help Catholic schools to stay viable. Many came away with hope for more collaboration among Catholic and other private schools.
Christopher Sinacola, co-editor of A Vision of Hope: Catholic Schooling in Massachusetts, and former Worcester Catholic Schools Superintendent Stephen Perla, a contributor to the book, spoke and answered questions. The book was published last year by the Boston-based Pioneer Institute, a public policy think tank.
Mr. Perla, also a former superintendent for the Fall River Diocese who now lives in Maine, is co-founder and president of ADAC Inc., which provides educational and philanthropic services to private schools. 
Mr. Sinacola, of St. Brigid Parish in Millbury, said he has worked on Pioneer Institute books about charter schools and vocational-technical schools as well as Catholic schools, all of which give parents a choice about where to send their children. There is increased recognition that choice in education matters, he said.
Another of Mr. Sinacola’s points was that autonomy, including the freedom to believe in God, is essential, and historically was accepted. The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution says Congress shall make no law regarding religion and free speech and the press, he said. But it is equally important that the educational community also adhere to the spirit of the First Amendment and not ban free speech on college campuses or in the public square.
He called for bearing witness to the great work being done in Catholic education, presenting good stories to the media, such as how “underserved communities” are well represented in Catholic schools.
Choice, autonomy and telling our stories matter because what is at stake is Western Civilization itself, he said.
Mr. Perla said Catholic identity must be the mission and focus of Catholic schools; even parents who don’t practice the faith send their children to Catholic schools to get a foundation. He asked, “Where are these kids going to encounter Jesus Christ,” except in Catholic schools?
He said Catholic schools’ strengths include community and good academic quality. Challenges include tuition costs, limited resources and teacher recruitment. 
Enrollment is increasing, aided by the coronavirus pandemic, during which many public schools were closed, and parents opted for Catholic schools, he said. 
Catholic school enrollment increases when parents have access to public tuition assistance, but Massachusetts does not have government resources for private schools, mainly because of the state constitution’s anti-aid provision, and lack of political support, he said.
In his PowerPoint presentation Mr. Perla said there are education savings accounts in six states, 27 voucher programs in 16 states, and 24 scholarship tax credit programs in 19 states.
The Massachusetts Constitution anti-aid provision dates back to the 1850s and disallows public funding for private schools, Mr. Perla explained. He said that advocates for private schools in Massachusetts believe that recent United States Supreme Court decisions allowing public money to be used for private schools in other states have legal principles that can be used to argue against the Massachusetts prohibition. 
However, historically, there has not been a lot of political support here for private school choice, Mr. Perla said.
He suggested to symposium attendees that passing a private school choice program in Massachusetts could be done by building support within the Catholic school community, developing a broad-based coalition with other private schools, including faith-based ones; establishing a diverse parent-based organization, creating a multi-media campaign and raising funds for that campaign and to support a grassroots effort.
This will take much work, he said, but he has found the Massachusetts Catholic bishops to be very supportive. 
Worcester Catholic Schools Superintendent David Perda said that getting vouchers would be a “game-changer,” but will take a while and require broad-based support.
He said he sees an increased awareness of “unappealing” things – including sex education and exclusion of religion – happening in public schools and he thinks parents are giving more thought to where to send their children. If they had help paying tuition, they might opt for Catholic schools, he said.
Mr. Perla said Catholic schools in Massachusetts already have access to federal public funding; however, many schools have not fully taken advantage of it. 
Historically, Catholic schools nationwide have “left on the table” about $1 billion per year that they could have received through the Every Student Succeeds Act; and more than $2 billion per year from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, he said.
Also allocated to all schools is $4.27 billion per year from the Universal Service Program for Schools and Libraries, which makes telecommunications and information services more affordable; and $14.2 billion from the National School Lunch Program, he said. And still available to some schools is money from the Emergency Assistance to Non-public Schools II to address educational disruptions resulting from COVID-19.
For fiscal year 2023 there are state funds available for Catholic and other schools for: dual enrollment, school nursing and mental health services, transportation, special education, early education, after-school and summer school programs, and school breakfast and lunch, Mr. Perla said.
Mr. Perla said his company, ADAC, helps private schools and dioceses access such funds. He contends that many local public school districts that are supposed to help private schools access the funds do not have a good understanding of how the system works.
St. Bernard’s principal, Deborah W. Wright, closed the symposium by saying she hoped that Catholic schools can move forward with the leadership of Mr. Perla and the Council for American Private Education (CAPE), which has a Massachusetts affiliate.
Mr. Perla explained that CAPE is broader than the now-defunct Parents Alliance for Catholic Education (PACE), which the Massachusetts Catholic bishops established in 1994 and for which he was the first executive director. CAPE includes other private schools besides Catholic schools. Rick Lukianuk, head of school at Whitinsville Christian School, is secretary for the Massachusetts affiliate of CAPE.
Eileen O’Leary, director of development at St. Leo Elementary School in Leominster, said it was helpful to attend PACE’s advocacy days at the Massachusetts Statehouse, to show legislators that thousands of people are involved in Catholic schools. This helped get private schools expanded public school bus service, she said. She would like to see Catholic and other faith-based schools work together to access public funds. The CAPE website says it is made up of many member organizations to be “a coherent voice for private schools in the educational community.”
The symposium was helpful, a great start for discussion and collaboration, said Colette Goguen, principal of Holy Family Academy in Gardner.
Superintendent Perda said the symposium speakers made the case for why it is worth fighting for funding for Catholic schools and created a vision of hope. He said the good attendance demonstrated the passion and excitement people have for Catholic education.
 Mr. Perla offered individual schools or groups of schools help from his organization to “navigate the system” so they can access the maximum amount of money. The cost of the services depends on the scope of the work, he said; there is no charge for help with a small matter. He can be contacted at steveperla@theadac.com or 574-309-0386.