Catholic Schools: Developing Hearts and Minds

Every time I visit one of our Catholic schools, I remind the teachers and students that they are indeed blessed. They are able to speak freely of Jesus Christ and the Church without apologizing to anyone. It is a great gift to fully incorporate faith life with a child’s learning environment. Catholic schools reinforce the teaching being done in our homes and in our parishes.

Archbishop Flynn teaches children about Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at Holy Family Catholic Church in St. Louis Park.

My memories of elementary school, St. Columba school in Schenectady, New York, are warm ones. It had a tremendous atmosphere of nurturing and discipline. The Sisters knew us and were our friends. I have nothing but happy memories and gratitude for those who taught me.

Catholic schools nurtured my vocation to the priesthood because of the atmosphere of prayer. For instance, during Lent we would go to Mass every morning. On Friday afternoons we would have Stations of the Cross. And somehow before leaving for the day, we would find ourselves in the Church, making a visit to the Blessed Sacrament before proceeding home.

I echo John Paul II: “A special effort should be made to strengthen the Catholic identity of schools, whose specific character is based on an educational vision having its origin in the person of Christ and its roots in the teachings of the Gospel.” (Ecclesia in America, 71)

I am encouraged by what I see in our own Archdiocese. Many parish schools are adding classrooms, upgrading their facilities or opening their doors to those in poverty. I thank parents, all who support Catholic education, as well as, the wonderful lay teachers and the religious for continuing to teach and pass on the faith. You have my heartfelt gratitude.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Harry J. Flynn, D.D.
Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

First printed in The Archbishop's Update, Spring, 2006

Catholic Schools: Our promise, hope and challenge

The Director of Education for the Archdiocese, Dr. Lori Glynn, recently sat down with Rhonda Sunnarborg to talk about the commitment to and funding for parish Catholic schools.

Why do many Catholic parishes have Catholic schools?

It’s always been part of the Church’s mission to offer Catholic education—to teach the doctrine of the faith and educate people, especially the poor, as a way out of poverty. We are all interconnected—we can create a better future through our children.

Catholic schools exist today because of the faithful work of the religious—it’s their legacy to us. Since the early ‘70s, a shift from religious to lay people has occurred, and now it is our turn to deliver excellent education, pass on the faith, and support schools financially.

Why do Catholic elementary schools require Archdiocesan funding?

Father Mike Anderson, Pastor of St. Bernard Catholic Church and Jennifer Cassidy, President of St. Bernard School meet with Dr. Lori Glynn, Director of Education (R) to review their subsidy application.

Historically, the ministry of our parishes has included Catholic education whenever possible and the cost for adequate funding for the school has been primarily the parish’s responsibility. In the last few years, however, the gap between education costs and parish support has widened for several reasons:

  1. Education costs have increased. Lay salaries continue to need improvement, serving students with special needs incurs costs, curriculum continues to evolve, and staff development is ongoing.
  2. Poor and immigrant populations have grown. We have a commitment to keep schools in our inner cities, even though the sponsoring parishes are getting poorer. (If a parish once had reserves, the reserves are now gone.) The demographics of the parishes mirror the changing face of neighborhoods and the schools mirror the same changes.
  3. Rural areas have lost many family farms and/or jobs due to businesses closing or moving out of the area.

Students at Blessed Trinity Catholic School (St. Richard, St. Peter and Assumption Parishes) in Richfield

I began working with Archbishop Flynn when he first arrived and his number one priority has been to keep Catholic education affordable and accessible. His commitment is to assist the parishes and families as much as possible through Archdiocesan funding.

What criteria are used to determine Archdiocesan subsidies?

Archbishop Flynn formed an Archdiocesan subsidy review task force in 2004 to review the criteria and funding for schools in our Archdiocese. It was his desire to create a process that was open, transparent, and would truly address the needs of the poorest of the poor.

After a year-long review, the task force submitted their recommendations and we began implementing them in January 2005.

St. Timothy School, Maple Lake

The current criteria used to determine the level of elementary school need:

  1. Poverty and need of applying families—number of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.
  2. Changing demographics of the neighborhood—more diversity, such as an increase in the number of Hispanic children or qualitative data shared by the parish in the annual visit.
  3. Information regarding the financial condition of the parish(es) supporting the school, such as income, resources, debt load, etc., as reflected in its annual report to the Chancery.

Which elementary schools are currently funded?

Currently, 23 Catholic elementary schools receive Archdiocesan subsidies: 12 urban and 11 rural. Each of these schools falls within four categories:

  1. Schools with which the Archdiocese has legal agreements through a merger, or to which the Archbishop has made specific commitments.
    • Merged schools in which the Archdiocese is named a partner in the bylaws:
      • St. Elizabeth Seton School in Northeast Minneapolis
      • Trinity Catholic School in St. Paul.
    • Schools to which the Archbishop has made a funding commitment:
      • St. Bernard School in St. Paul
      • Pope John Paul II Catholic, the merged 11-parish school in Northeast Minneapolis.
    • A restricted gift through a special grant that requires an ongoing Archdiocesan commitment: a foundation grant of $500,000 given over a five-year period to Ascension School and Risen Christ School requires that the Archdiocesan funding remain stable or increase during this time.

    St. Matthew School, St. Paul

  2. Schools experiencing a variety of changes, such as a shift in demographics or an increased student population with greater financial need, as demonstrated by students qualifying for free or reduced lunches:
    • Blessed Trinity Catholic, Richfield
    • Most Holy Redeemer, Montgomery
    • St. Agnes School, St. Paul
    • St. Anne School, Le Sueur
    • St. Francis-St. James, St. Paul
    • St. Matthew School, St. Paul
    • St. Michael School, W. St. Paul
    • San Miguel Middle School, Minneapolis
  3. Schools that had required a short-term commitment and are now experiencing growing enrollments:
    • St. Bernard School, Cologne
    • St. John the Baptist School, Jordan
    • St. John the Baptist School, Vermillion
    • St. Timothy School, Maple Lake
  4. Schools that have survived their time of crisis and have turned the corner due to growing enrollments and stronger marketing and development programs:
    • Academy of Ss. Peter and Paul, Loretto
    • Divine Mercy Catholic School, Faribault
    • Holy Cross LNMV Catholic, Webster
    • St. Peter’s School, Delano
    • St. Wenceslaus School, New Prague

For schools in categories one and two, it is our goal to keep the funding consistent or to increase it as much as possible each year. For schools in categories three and four, it’s our goal to begin to decrease the Archdiocesan commitment as they become self-sufficient. This money then can be redistributed to those who are more needy.

Are there any other circumstances by which schools could receive funding?

In addition to these four funding categories, schools may receive some assistance for special circumstances, such as receiving monies to provide matching grants for Hispanic student tuition. This year, two rural schools received funding for just this purpose.

It would be ideal if schools did not need Archdiocesan subsidies. Our goal is to create healthy schools—to get them through the tough times, turned around, and stabilized. Our goal is to save our Catholic school presence whenever possible so that our schools are available to parents as demographics and needs shift.

Why are so many of the Category 1 and 2 schools urban schools?

For years, Archdiocesan support helped rural schools keep their doors open. Now that the population is growing in many of the rural areas, these schools are ready to embrace Catholic students as their enrollments increase.

St. Timothy School, Maple Lake

Monies go to the poorest of the poor. The commitment of the Archbishop aligns with the long-standing commitment of the Church to “…continue to provide a Catholic education to the poor and marginalized in society. It will never be possible to free the needy from their poverty unless they are first freed from the impoverishment arising from the lack of adequate education.” (Ecclesia in America, 71)

The entire Church is responsible to serve the poor as clearly defined in our Catholic social teaching, just like the immigrant Church did years ago—to help families out of poverty. We do this through education—a long history of Catholic education.

The Church has always believed Catholic schools are a vital part of the teaching mission of the Church. They continue to teach the Gospel and evangelize our society.

The ongoing commitment of the teachers and administrators is to make Jesus known and loved to all families and children—to see the person of Jesus in each and every one.

What is the application process for elementary school subsidies?

Holy Cross LNMV Catholic School, Webster

Every year, the pastor and the principal of schools requesting or currently receiving funding meet with Sharon Brennan, Director of Financial Planning, and me (Lori Glynn). They complete a subsidy application and present their financial situation and needs. We respect their leadership—we try to be good listeners.

Having a more formal process has given us better data and information about each school. Plus, it gives each of the schools an opportunity to tell their story. These stories are rich with the history of Catholic education continuing to serve families who desire Gospel-based education which is affordable, available and accessible.

Note: There is an ongoing appeal process that is available for dramatic changes in demographics or a crisis (Glynn works through the need with the Archbishop, school and parish leadership).

Holy Cross LNMV Catholic School, Webster

What are the Archdiocesan sources of funding for elementary and secondary Catholic education?

2005-2006 School Year Subsidy Sources:

  1. Appeal/Investment Income/Bequests, $2.5 million
  2. Family of Faith Endowment Campaign, $326,000
  3. Growing In Faith Capital Campaign, $91,000

These three sources of funding, totaling $2.9 million, are given directly to elementary schools in the form of institutional grants.

Note: In addition, parishes receive an Annual Catholic Appeal refund of at least 25% each year, which is to be used for education and formation. (If parishes exceed their goal, they can receive up to 33% of what is collected.)

What is the difference between funding for elementary and secondary schools?

Elementary schools subsidies are institutional grants given directly to the elementary schools.

St. Matthew School, St. Paul

Secondary school grants are individual awards given directly to parents of high school students based on assessed need. In 2005-2006, the maximum grant awarded per high school student was $2,500. A total of $914,000 in Archdiocesan tuition aid was granted to high school students. (Even so, this represents approximately 8% of the demonstrated need.)

Are we exploring other options for funding Catholic schools?

It really takes a multi-faceted approach to continue to secure adequate funding for our schools today and into the future.

Blessed Trinity Catholic School, Richfield

  1. We stay politically active in order to access available state funding and push for more funding so all parents can have the opportunity to choose Catholic education. Full tuition is currently not allowed to be included in the tax credit. We want this available to all families who meet the criteria of a tax credit.
  2. Each school needs to foster its own development efforts through fund raising and endowments.
  3. FOCUS, Friends Of Catholic Urban Schools, is a business initiative spearheaded by Jerry Sexton and Bill Makens to create new sources of funding for inner city schools to complement existing sources.

What does the future hold?

St. Bernard School, St. Paul

The future has great promise and great hope, but it comes with great challenges. Anyone who works in this field asks, “Where will the money come from?”

Four years ago, the presidents of our high schools were so concerned about the feeder schools’ survival they gave up 10.5% or $108,000 of their funding of $1,025,000 in order to help stabilize some of the subsidized elementary schools that needed more funding.

I would love to be able to replace all of that funding and begin to add more to it in order to help the parents who desire Catholic high school education for their children.

Risen Christ School, Minneapolis

Our goal is to build healthier parishes and school systems—schools that can continue to provide access for families, provide Catholic education that is accessible to all regardless of income, and are accredited by the state of Minnesota.