This past week I (Bro. Stanley) attended the introductory meeting of the Catholic School Advantage Campaign. Launched by the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame as an outcome of a national Task Force on the Participation of Latino Children and Families in Catholic Schools, the goal of the Campaign is to improve educational opportunities for Latino children.
Among the many dismal statistics describing the educational status of Latino children in the United States is that only 3% (273,000) are enrolled in Catholic schools. One of the objectives is to double this figure to 6% within the next few years. The presenter, Rev. Joe Corpora recalled many other frightening statistics such as the level of education, the dropout rate and the poverty of Latinos.
The proposed goal of the Catholic School Advantage Partnership is to maximize the number of Latino children enrolled in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of San Antonio. To accomplish these objectives, the Notre Dame team will work in partnership with the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Additionally, Notre Dame will serve as an ongoing base of operations for research and project development, educate teachers and leaders, and strengthen private and publicly funded scholarship programs throughout the country.
The next session, a working session is planned for late November. Stay tuned!