Catholic Schools Could Become Ivory Towers of the Elite - Like Magnet, or Lab Schools

And now, therefore, I say to you, refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this council or this work be of men, it will come to nought; 39But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps you be found even to fight against God. And they consented to him. Acts of the Apostles 5: 38-39

The longer I live the more I learn about how things should not be done.  At one time government was a help; now it is cross-dressing Spendaholic Nanny Uncle with truth issues. At one time Mainline Protestant Denominations were the home to Progressive Babbitry; now, they are segment of Bill Moyers-in-Drag on Sharia Law.

Catholic schools used be very economical, because Brothers, Priests and Nuns comprised a good percentage of the work-force; now, Catholic schools are either doomed to close, or be ivory bell-towers for elites.

It is the in-between  that tells the tales.  Government became a soup-kitchen, tent-city and Circus maximus from the late 1960's - 1990's.  Mainline Protestant Denominations squeezed out the bible-thumpers between Billy Graham and Rev. Barry Lynn while jumping ship from the tepidly pro-abortion Rockefeller GOP to the mad-dog infanticidal maniacs of the DNC.

Catholic schools are run and staffed by lay-persons with very few exceptions ever since Vatican II.

During the 1970's smart Catholic school leaders began to tap private foundations as sources of money that could help make up the gap between revenue and expense, due to declining vocations.  By the 1980's wormy creatures named Development Directors oozed from charity swamps - this slug is one.

 I first heard the term Director of Development in the mid 1980's and the school I worked for hired one.  He lasted about ten months, brought in no new revenue, but he had a stunning wardrobe and golfed like he jumped off the The Tour.

 He had come from the world of business, sales - radio sales to be exact.  He did not understand, or like high school kids very much as I recall, but he liked teachers even less. He drew a pretty handsome salary, but never wrote to Alumni, sent out grant proposals and seemed unable to adequately articulate the history, culture and mission of the school.

He was let go and went on to run a United Way Campaign in Central Illinois for three times what he made in a Catholic school.  This Fund-raising Professional was replaced by a sweet, funny and seventy year old Sister of the Congregation of Notre Dame.  Sr. Madeline Lamar, CND.  She went through the records of the schools and developed the first Alumni Directory, followed by a raffle-calendar, a Spring Event with Dinner and Auction, a wonderful Alumni News letter, and the first annual direct mail campaign.

Prior to that Sr. Lamar worked in the offices answering phones, taking attendance, teaching religion and making students feel good. That was where I learned fundraising.  Watching a sweet-natured little French woman 'Try" stuff.  When Sr. Lamar approached with a her eyes popped in excitement, you were in for some work, " Hey, Pat!  You're Irish . . .and you are so good with words . . .You know what would be fun?  Designing our Raffle Calendar and writing up an Irish Theme for it. . . .AND you get a band going!  Yeah, your Irish band from Chicago . . .and you and Kenny, Jack, Rick, and Joel could do a rock'n roll show for the kids and . . . ! "

Scads of fun.  Months of fun!  Who needs weekends sucking up Rhinelanders and tossing horseshoes?  She had me hooked through the gills and my big mouth!


School fundraising can be brutally disappointing, exhilarating, flattering, embarrassing, rewarding and confusing all on the same day. You can help raise more than million dollars to aid a budget of $ 1.2M and find that it is not enough.  That's the job. . .read the fine print.

Catholic schools and families who need Catholic schools need substantial support.  Public schools hijacked many of the larger private and corporate  foundations by dint of political favors and intimidations.   Catholic politicians have done more to help public education, than they have to help the schools that educated them.
In the 1990's, my neighbor and friend Paul Vallas was CEO of CPS.   Kidding on the square, I often refered to the big talented Greek as the Prince of Darkness - Paul took Peoples Gas, Quaker Oats, Polk Brothers and other charities out of the reach of Catholic, Dutch, Jewish and Lutheran schools and established a Chicago Public Education Reform Foundation headquartered in . . .Evanston.

Leo had big hearted and heroic Bob Foster's name as 501 (c) 3 cache, but Paul Vallas had the crabby little guy who tossed tantrums and people under the CTA wheels with the bat of an eye-brow. Any business in Chicago became enthralled to padding millions of more dollars on to the hundreds of millions of tax-dollars being incinerated hourly by Chicago Public Schools.

School Choice? Vouchers?  Nope! Choice boiled down to Charters (Catholic Schools without God) or CPS havens for teachers without skills, or Magnet Palaces for the skilled and enthusiastic teacher and children of privilege.  That's Reform, folks.

Catholic schools, elementary and secondary, shuttered with regularity under Joseph Cardinal Bernardin - Joseph the Closer and continued until Cardinal George stopped the bleeding and appointed Sister Mary Paul McCaughey. However, the damage had been done.  Elementary feeder schools that had at one time been the recruitment pools for Catholic high schools.  The closer a high school happened to be to the inner city ( read South and West sides) the tougher the draw for students. Not only the fact that black Catholic parishes had been closed, but also the African American middle class Diaspora to the 'Burbs. Black flight had replaced White flight.

On top of that, Chicago City Hall saw the potential for a real estate boom and quickly shut down Chicago Housing Authority and the Projects.   With no affordable housing available families with Section 8 vouchers   took residence in formerly Black middle class apartments and houses.  The crime that had once been isolated along the east side Dan Ryan between 54th Street and Archer Ave. was now knocking on the doors of Ernie Terrell in Roseland and retired physicians and CPD Commanders in Pill Hill.

Through all of this, the economy tanked and layoffs became the order of the day.

A few Catholic high schools closed or were converted to Charter schools and the once powerful support by private foundations began to dry up almost as fast as the tuition payments slowed down.

Foundations, with boards dominated by lawyers, businessmen and accountants, do not want to fund schools that are doomed to close. They want schools run like like businesses - cut here, profit there. At the same time,Catholic schools that put    $10,15, or 25 thousand a year from grants into the budget were now seeing letters that said, " While our decision to longer fund your school is final, we continue to honor and value the very good and important work you continue without our annual support." Concern over that state of schools that might be closed, leads bottom-line sensible boards to pull funding from schools that really need it.
Now, that is a paradox.

Some of these foundations decided money would be better spent funneled through a university "Mentoring Program for Inner City Students Attending Inner City High Schools."

Catholic schools that operate like businesses have no trouble maintaining vigorous business and private support.  Those schools tend to be schools with a very competitive enrollment and placement program, provide competitive teacher salaries, sport magnificent campus, library and athletic facilities and students willing to travel many miles to earn the cache of association with that school.  These schools can demand       $ 8,000, 9,000 and up 15,000 per year, as well as a fund-raising commitment based upon family income.

Now, more working class and middle class families are finding the pink slip in the pay envelope.  An accountant formerly making $ 85,000 in a smart-sized City, or County Department awakens in his heavily mortgaged and taxed Chicago bungalow and struggles the thought of selling his home and taking his two daughters out of Queen of Peace High School.  A highly skilled cement finisher is no longer in demand to fix sidewalks, stairs and porches must wonder if ' Tommy, Mary and Liam will be happy at Clissold CPS on Western Ave. after so many years at St. Cajetan?'

Catholic schools should be only for those who can afford nose-bleed tuitions.  Catholic schools were established for poor and working class families.  The Office of Catholic Schools and the heroic Big Shoulders Fund are working 24-7 to maintain this historical mission.

Leo High School is and has always been a working man's school.  With Tuition set at $ 7,500 for next year, we know that very few of families can meet that cost.  Likewise, Leo High School wants families to know that a Catholic education is available for young men.  President Dan McGrath invites families to qualify for the Leo Advantage.

We'll see, as Gamaliel told the lads of the Temple who wanted to close down the first Christians,  " if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it."

Catholic Schools - It Ain't Just About the Bucks

Catholic schools operate on tuition ( which is brutal to budget and, in this economy, for families to meet) and on fund-raising.  The cost of educating a student in a Catholic high school runs in the pricey neighborhood of $15,000.  Most Catholic schools set tuition for families in the still burdensome area of $ 8,500.  Many schools will have a tuition exceeding $ 10,000 per year including books, fees and the bells and whistles like transportation.

Most people who send their children to Catholic schools are church going, religious Catholics, or church going, religious non-Catholics.  They are accustomed, or rather acculturated, to obligations of time, talent and treasure beyond the immediate necessities and desires of their family.  They give from the pew and write checks to charities and the schools their children attend over and above the required tuition payments.  Not only that they, as citizens of Chicago, Cook County and Illinois, pay the highest taxes in the United States in support of the sad and expensive public schools.

Many of these same tax-payers work for the very government agencies that vacuum their checking and savings accounts as well as provide a modest salary.  Many of these people are being down-sized.  I know of scores of Dads in my neighborhood who have been forced out of work in the last eight years and more who expect to be let-go in the next few months.  The other day, I spoke to one of my daughter's classmates at Mother McAuley, whose father is now entering his first year as an apprentice tradesman, after being a five-figure accountant for Cook County from the time he had gotten out of college twenty-five years ago. His bride works at Jewel on 103rd Street and has done so since he was 'smart-sized.'

His daughter will graduate in June and go on to college after being educated in Catholic grammar and high school.  They are blessed.

Other families with children still attending Catholic grade school are not so fortunate.  How will a family of modest income and monstrous taxes afford a Catholic education for its children?

We work on it.  This Sunday, the Catholic New World, reported on two initiatives that have been on-going these last three years. One is the strategic plan developed by the Cardinal, Sister Mary Paul McCaughey and the School Board and the other is the Big Shoulders Assistance Initiative. The Strategic Plan is a common sense setting of viability parameters and expectations for best practices.  The Big Shoulders Commitment is much sexier, because it answers the demands of the strategic plan -

The March 6 announcement was precipitated by donors calling and asking about the future of Catholic schools in the lower income communities that the Big Shoulders Fund serves.
“In contrast to what is happening to innercity Catholic schools nationally, enrollment has grown in our schools for three consecutive years through concerted efforts focused on marketing and need-based scholarships, while fundraising has increased each year,” the statement said. “This growth is evidence of increasing interest in the success of our schools and students.”
The Big Shoulders Fund currently provides $12 to $14 million in annual support for 93 inner-city Catholic schools educating nearly 24,000 children in Chicago. This support includes renewable and emergency scholarships coupled with strategic investments in marketing and development, in academic programs and resources and in enrichment programs for students. This year, Big Shoulders Fund will provide $6 million in scholarships to more than 5,000 children in preschool through 12th grade.
The amount of money Big Shoulders Fund provides for schools has grown to its current level from $5 million to $6 million a year only seven or eight years ago, Hale said. The new commitment relies on a continued increase in its fundraising capacity.
“We’re already out there raising the money,” he said.
The statement said the Big Shoulders Fund will invest directly in several schools to help them become more viable.

As I mentioned most Catholic schools are attended by the children of Catholics who have had a tradition of paying tuition.  Leo High School is not most Catholic schools.  Most of our students come from families who had opted for Chicago Public Schools to educate their boys in CPS elementary schools.  Our families found CPS to be most disappointing and the entrance scores of in-coming Leo students who attended CPS schools reflect that opinion.

Leo High School. like other Catholic schools in the African American neighborhoods of Chicago, is refered to as a "Pay School."  That is the CPS anti-marketing meme, I believe. e.g. - "If Raheem does not attend CVS, or South Shore, Mrs. Smith, you'd need to send him to a Pay School!"

Mrs. Smith is more than willing pay for a Catholic School.

Read the articles on the two initiative by committed people and the means by which families trying to keep their noses above the mortgages, taxes, repairs, expenses and tuitions can get a Catholic education.

I will be telling you how Leo High School is going to offer a very sexy opportunity for a Leo Catholic Education over next couple of weeks.  We are going to show a bit more ankle than our pals Jim O'Connor, Tommy Zbierski and Josh Hale of the Big Shoulders.  As Leo President Dan McGrath says, "This is how we roll!"

Catholic schools keep God in play.  Catholic schools teach core values of family and citizenship without blush.  Catholic schools teach the consequences and rewards of behavior.    Our students behave in a manner that reflects credit on their families, their race and their religion -Catholic, Evangelical, Muslim, or Jewish.  

Catholic schools are not only about the costs, they are about the values.

CPS Strike? No Problem. Send the Kids to Catholic Schools

Hey, Folks!  Which Chicago educator is in it for the money?

The Chicago Teachers Union filed a 10-day strike notice Wednesday that moved the city closer to its first teacher walkout in 25 years and left the district racing to finalize a plan if more than 402,000 students are locked out of the classroom. 

Parents also were left wondering what they'll do if their children have no classroom to go to.

Do what thousands of Chicagoans do already!  Send your kids to Catholic Schools.

Karen Lewis and the CTU waited to set the strike order so that CPS can get the enrollment count set for State funding.  All about the children?  I think not.

Catholic Schools are tuition driven -some folks call them "Pay Schools."  You bet.  You get what you pay for. For the last three years, every Leo graduate was accepted at the colleges of choice and then some - Northwestern, DePaul, Valparaiso, Purdue, U of I, and Loyola.

Catholic schools provide safe, structured, caring and academically rigorous environments where students are challenged to accept their better angels.

Tuition is a shared sacrifice between the parents, students and the teachers.  Catholic schools are staffed by people who are committed to teach and motivated by Faith.

When was the last time any one can remember a Catholic School strike?

Tough one.

Tuition is a challenge and Catholics help people of every race, creed and color meet that challenge - The Big Shoulders Fund is one great resource for parents.

Click the links below and find a Catholic School in Chicago.  You can depend upon Catholic Education.

Public Schools???? Not so much.

http://schools.archchicago.org/schools/elementaryschoolsearch.aspx
http://schools.archchicago.org/schools/highschoolsearch.aspx
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-cps-strike-notice-0830-20120830,0,1018577.story

Time for Valor; Time for Illinois School Vouchers

Catholic Baby Boomers will remember this Text- a full study of Valor. Something Illinois elected officials lack aplenty. It is time for Valor;time for vouchers!

Schools Apps First Year Performance at Illinois Public Universities and Colleges
Go to the related story »
By Diane Rado, Jodi S. Cohen and Joe Germuska
August 31, 2011 The newly-released High School-to-College Success Report shows how Illinois public school graduates fared when they became freshmen at the state’s universities and community colleges. The ACT company tracked more than 90,000 students who graduated from public high schools between 2006 and 2008, and then enrolled full-time at an Illinois university or community college that fall. The data do not include students who went to a private college or out-of-state. For each high school, families can look up average high school GPAs and grade point averages earned at each public university and community college that students attended.


Leo High School raised its ACT score by 4.5 points in under two years. It did so the old fashioned way, by teaching - that and the fact that retired CPS Math Teacher Denny Conway and Dr. Jack O'Keefe of Daley College (ret.) come in and coach ACT Prep -gratis.

According the Urban Myth -Catholic Schools have selective enrollment and admissions. Correction: Leo High School's enrollment is highly selective -Leo High School turns no student who wants to succeed away. If the student's family can not meet the costs of tuition, Leo Alumni and the Big Shoulders Fund provide the money.

Teachers work at Leo because they love the guys, not in the Sesame Street manner, but like Ditka loves football.

If a public school employee saw the 2011-2012 salary and benefit pay-out to the Leo Administration, Faculty and Staff they'd get the twizzles, the miseries, the conniptions and the vapors.

The pay-off for these teachers is the kids. No riots, no disrespect, no incidents.

Our guys are adolescent males, let's not kid ourselves. The trick is that the teachers here at Leo, like most Catholic school, are here because they want to be here. Doing what makes you happy can not be legislated in Springfield or Washington D.C..

The Parents of kids in Catholic schools are people carrying the burdens. The Teachers sacrifice to be sure, but the parents carry the load. They pay for public education and then get pounded with the ever increasing cost of Catholic Education. Catholic education delivers and public education always has reason for failure -'not enough tax-dollars'

Everyone got misty-eyed over the Superintendent who declined his $ 800,000 per year salary. Lovely gesture, that; but, how in the name of Ward Bond does anyone in education get to a salary of $ 800,000. I venture to say, that the generous gent socked a away more than few shillings and will re-coup any loss accrued on Speaker Circuit and television appearances.

The Superintendent of Chicago Catholic Schools, the energetic Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, is a Dominican nun with a vow poverty and her salary goes directly to the Order. Talk about a tax!

Indiana now offers real school reform -Vouchers. It is working. Illinois is still controlled by Planned Parenthood, teacher PACS, SEIU and other political money 357 Magnums. Those Magnums helped elect State Governors, Senators and Representatives and remain pointed at the temples of the elected.

A few independents,like my former State Representative Kevin Joyce(D.), fought the PACs and managed to retain his seat with heart and honesty alone.

School reform will never happen until Vouchers become available to parents.

All you need for proof, is the violence, vandalism and vociferations tossed at Catholic Messmer Preparatory School in Milwaukee, WI. - that is a disgrace. The Teachers Unions, SEIU and their pals attacked the school.(click my post title and read more about this disgraceful event)

It is time for courage. It is time for School Vouchers in Illinois.

God Guide Governor Quinn and Illinois! Why Is Sr. Mary Paul McCaughey Absent from the P-20 Initiative Board?

Superintendent of Chicago Catholic Schools Sr. Mary Paul McCaughey speaks truth to power and succeeds. Here, she seems to have baffled CPS's Karen Lewis with common sense.


SPRINGFIELD – January 10, 2011. At 11 AM on Monday, IIS Radio will begin a live broadcast of the 2011 Inaugural Ceremony. Video and audio-only streams will be available. Follow the link above for more information.

God Bless, Governor Pat Quinn. He has tons of coal to shovel. One thing is certain, it this -all Illinois tax-payers will have a huge pile of that coal on their backs.

Illinois Public Education takes up a good portion of the weight. To that end, Governor Quinn formed the Illinois P-20 Initiative to study and advise on making Illinois school children from Pre-school through Graduate School ( that's the 20, as in years) competitive.

The P-20 Initiative's charter states,

The P-20 Council is a statewide coordinating body composed of government officials, business executives, university administrators, and other leaders in the education community. This diverse group is charged with the responsibility of making recommendations at all levels of education in Illinois. As the name implies, the Council understands that Illinois needs a framework to guide education policy and integrate education from Pre-Kindergarten through grade twenty.

As part of this effort, P20Council.Illinois.gov will serve as a central resource for all educational initiatives radiating from the P-20 Council. This site includes announcements, meeting agendas and minutes, research tools, and links to other agencies to facilitate the move toward efficient and accountable educational programs.

That would be Catholic schools, Governor.

Time magazine states -

Statistical evidence of the parochial system's success is striking. James Coleman, a University of Chicago sociologist, has found that Catholic high school students outperform their public school counterparts in reading, vocabulary, mathematics and writing. The dropout rate in Catholic high schools was less than 4%, he discovered, compared with more than 14% in public schools. Black or Hispanic students are three times as likely to graduate in four years as their public school counterparts. Some 83% of the graduates go to college, in contrast to 52% of those from public school.Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,973017,00.html#ixzz1AdaWYPjH

That is why the absence of the most successful education leader in Illinois, Sr. Mary Paul McCaughey Superintendent of Chicago Catholic Schools should have been appointed to the P-20 Council.

Here is the list of whom the Governor appointed -

P-20 Council Members
Name Membership Position Affiliation
Miguel del Valle Chair Clerk City of Chicago
Josh Anderson Member Executive Director Teach for America
Perry Buckley Member President CCCTU Local 1600
Ron Bullock Member Chief Executive Officer Bison Gear
Brad Burzynski Member Senator IL State Senate
Thomas Choice Member President Kishwaukee College
Deanna Demuzio Member Senator IL State Senate
Barbara Flynn Currie Member Representative IL House of Representatives
Ray Hancock Member President IL Community College Foundation
Fr. Dennis Holtscheider Member President DePaul University
Dr. Erika Hunt Member Project Director IL-SAELP Illinois State University
Dr. Michael Johnson Member Executive Director IL Assoc. of School Boards
Joyce Karon Member Former Director/ Former Member Barrington CUSD/ State Board of Education
Debra Kasperski Member National Board Certified Teacher Coal City School District
Maggie Laslo Member Campaign Director Service Employees International Union
John Luczak Member Program Director Joyce Foundation
Terry Mazany Member Chief Executive Officer Chicago Public Schools
Dea Meyer Member Executive Vice President Civic Committee
Jerry Mitchell Member Representative IL House of Representatives
Dr. Gary Niehaus Member Superintendant McLean County Unit School District
Jeffrey Owens Member President Advanced Technology Services, Inc.
Dr. Audrey Parsley Member School Psychologist Chicago Public Schools
Cynthia Plouche Member Portfolio Manager Williams Capital Management
Glenn Poshard Member President Southern Illinois University
Laurel Prussing Member Mayor City of Urbana
John Rico Member Chief Executive Officer Rico Computer Enterprises
Kathy Ryg Member President Voices for Illinois Chidlren
Audrey Soglin Member Executive Director Illinois Education Association
Robin Steans Member Executive Director Advance Illinois
Rick Stephens Member Senior Vice President Boeing Corporation
Debra Straus Member President IL Parent Teacher Association
Sharon Thomas Parrott Member Senior Vice President DeVry University
Andy Davis Ex Officio
Leadership Council Executive Director Illinois Student Assistance Commission
Chris Koch Ex Officio
Leadership Council Superintendant State Board of Education
Max McGee Ex Officio
Leadership Council President Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy
Geoff Obrzut Ex Officio
Leadership Council Chief Executive Officer Illinois Community College Board
Diana Rauner Ex Officio
Leadership Council Executive Director Ounce of Prevention
Warren Ribley Ex Officio
Leadership Council Director IL Dept. of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
Don Sevener Ex Officio
Leadership Council Interim Executive Director Illinois Board of Higher Education
Dr. Mike Baumgartner Leadership Council Executive Deputy Director Illinois Board of Higher Education
Lizanne Destefano Coordinator/ Leadership Council Professor, Director I-STEM University of Illinois
Karen Hunter Anderson Leadership Council Vice President Illinois Community Colleges Board
Elaine Johnson Leadership Council Vice President Illinois Community College Board
Deborah Meisner-Bertauski Leadership Council Associate Director Illinois Board of Higher Education
Susan Morrison Leadership Council Deputy Superintendent State Board of Education
Ginger Ostro Leadership Council Senior Policy Advisor Illinois Student Assistance Commission
David Smalley Leadership Council Assistant Director Illinois Education Research Council
Julie Smith Leadership Council Deputy Chief of Staff Governor's Office
Jeffrey Stauter Leadership Council Senior Policy Advisor IL Dept. of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
Kathleen Sullivan Brown Leadership Council Former Director Illinois Education Reseach Council
Jason Tyszko Leadership Council Deputy Chief of Staff IL Dept. of Commerce & Economic Opportunity

Sr. Mary Paul McCaughey leads the largest and the only tax-saving and success driven educational body in Illinois.

After the inauguration, Governor Quinn needs to amend the roster.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/tribnation/2010/09/chicago-forward-education-the-video-pictures-and-livechat.html

Chicago Catholic School Leader Board - Enrollments Up! Send Your Kids to Catholic Schools!

The other day Leo Admission Director and Head Football Coach Mike Holmes, President for Institutional Advancement Dan McGrath and your humble correspond ant were on 79th Street welcoming the Young Lions through the Portals of Leo High School.

A gentleman asked us, "How long are you your lunch periods, if I may ask, my daughter and son attend Perspectives ( formerly Calumet HS of CPS) and they are afforded twenty(20) minutes - there are 500 kids."

Mike Holmes asked the man, "Who many in a lunch period?"

The man replied, "There are hundreds of children and my kids must go to their lockers and the cafeteria is a very long way from their classrooms."


Mike Holmes informed the gentleman that Leo High School affords twenty-five minutes per lunch hour divided into three separate lunch periods -one Freshman only and two for the upper classmen.

Catholic Schools schedule, develop curriculum, monitor the halls and lunch rooms and provide mentoring with the students in mind.

Policy is based on what is good for the kids and not on what a Teachers Union or Central Casting dictates.

Sticking to mission and adherence to Catholic values* makes success.

The fruits of these labors can me seen in the resurgence of Chicago's Catholic Schools. Leo High School is vigorously addressing our enrollment shortfall here in economically distressed Auburn Gresham - Leo High School students are African American young men and eight of ten are non-Catholics from Chicago Public Elementary schools.

However, our brother and sister Catholic Schools are hitting their enrollment stride -

"For a long time, Catholic schools didn't necessarily toot their own horn. It was just expected (that Catholic students would attend). There wasn't that sort of critical communication," said Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, schools superintendent for the archdiocese and former president of Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights.

Well said, Boss! Like all Catholic Schools, Leo High School is tuition and donation drive - The Big Shoulders Fund and the Leo Alumni Association behind Rich Furlong's leadership provide thousands of dollars annually to this great school in order to help struggling families meet the costs of tuition. Our parents, like all parents of Catholic School Kids, pay for Public Schools, as well as meet the costs of a Catholic Education. They pay twice - and kids succeed.

Not all Catholic schools are struggling to stay afloat.


THE LEADER BOARD

According to 2009-10 school year numbers, four Southland Catholic high schools were among the top 10 in the Archdiocese of Chicago based on enrollment. The schools, their ranking in the Archdiocese, and last year's enrollment:

2. Marist (Mount Greenwood), 1,797

3. Marian Catholic (Chicago Heights), 1,505

4. Mother McAuley (Mount Greenwood), 1,409

10. Brother Rice (Mount Greenwood), 1,029

Eight Catholic elementary schools were among the top 30 based on enrollment. The schools, their ranking and last year's enrollment:

4. St. John Fisher (Beverly), 691

8. Cardinal Joseph Bernardin (Orland Hills), 679

13. St. Christina (Mount Greenwood), 630

14. St. Michael (Orland Park), 618

17. St. Damian (Oak Forest), 572

25. St. Catherine of Alexandria (Oak Lawn), 485

26. Saints Cyril & Methodius (Lemont), 481

29. St. Bede the Venerable (Chicago), 477

Source: ChicagoCatholicNews.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BY KATE MCCANN

(708) 633-5960

kmccann@southtownstar.com

Unlike the Archdiocese of Chicago, the Diocese of Joliet had a roller coaster year, closing and consolidating several schools.

To the dismay of parents and students in Joliet, the diocese closed St. Joseph School at the end of the 2009-10 school year.

"The bishop has made some difficult decisions. Anytime you close a school it is a very emotional issue," diocese spokesman Doug Delaney said. "His vision is we will have a stronger Catholic education system in the long run."

But the diocese's long-term plans could mean more school choices for Will County parents.

Part of Bishop Peter Sartain's strategic plan is to weigh opening new Catholic schools in Frankfort and Homer Glen, as well as expanding St. Joseph Catholic School in Manhattan. In New Lenox, the bishop is mulling establishing a new parish and school, and possibly expanding the existing Catholic school, St. Jude.

Some Will County schools were also encouraged by early fall enrollment numbers.

Mary Jane Bartley, principal of St. Liborious in Steger and Crete, said enrollment at her school increased by 10 students.

"This is the first time in the six years I have been here that enrollment has not fallen in any way, and we are very pleased with that," Bartley said.

Bartley partially attributes the increase to the closing of St. Joseph School in Dyer, Ind.

Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox is up 30 students from last year, bringing enrollment to about 1,200. School officials said the bump is largely due to financial assistance the school has provided to struggling families.



*

Catholic schools focus on the values of faith, hope, love, and community. We talk openly about values and spend time each day giving children an opportunity to learn, share, and understand the consequences of good and bad behaviors. We believe in Jesus Christ and we have a feeling of grace that comes from our beliefs.

Can the school your child attends teach the sort of lessons that will help your child become a good and compassionate person? Is there a clear expectation that all children will be treated with respect by teachers and other students?

How a school handles these issues indicates whether the school is capable of reinforcing the values that you and other parents teach at home. Ultimately, we want your child to grow up to be a good and compassionate person, and we will do everything we can to help you raise your child in the right way.

http://schools.archchicago.org/Values/

Chicago Catholic School Test Scores Soar - No Chicago Newspapers Carry the News?

Yesterday, on the way home from Leo High School at about 4:20 P.M. I heard Chicago Catholic School Superintendent Mary Paul McCaughey announce that Chicago Catholic Schools ( elementary and secondary) posted their best standardized test scores in years. That was on WIND. I like Michael Medved.

Sister Mary Paul credited good parents, good teachers and solid no-nonsense curriculum in a values-based setting as reason for the success.

I turned to the Chicago Newspapers on-line at 4:00 AM and found . . .Zip, Nada, and Zilch. Try and Google something. The editorial boards do not want their agenda (Progressive/Tax Funded Special Interests/LGBT/Secularist) countered in hard copy.

Every scrap of bad news and any rumor of possible allegations of imagined bad news about Catholic schools, Catholic priests, Catholic beliefs get front page howler monkey fanfare from Chicago's editorial boards and iconic self-promoting columnists.

A poor delusional woman who believed herself to be an ordained priest ( there are no ordained Catholic Women Priests) was denied Catholic burial and the Tribune is still running her death notice - or at least it was still running yesterday ("Ordained against all odds" - nope still there) -in the attempt to make the Catholic Church appear at fault, when in fact the poor woman had self-excommunicated. Manya Brachear, the loopy religion Blogger/Columnists who invites every shaman and witchdoctor to pontificate on matters contrary to Catholic Doctrine, will no doubt have a hugely dismissive piece on Catholics and their mean spirited Faith.

Chicago Tribune -Ordained against all odds The Poor woman* is not and was not ordained! What a bunch of smug, self-righteous dip-sticks comprise the Tribune Editorial Board!

Chicago News Media is the captive of Progressive Agenda.

Only weeks ago, the Chicago and Illinois teachers unions succeeded in making Republican State Legislators go as yellow as a duck's foot and vote down Senator James Meeks' legislation that would offer inner city parents vouchers to attend inner city private ( read Catholic) schools. School Reform is lip-service. Columnists and editorial boards are controlled by the special interests with only the Progressive Secularist Agenda's hand on the joy-stick.

Catholic Schools save Illinois taxpayers millions of dollars and succeed in providing the education that the news media shoots its collective mouth off about every time a CPS kid is gunned down by a savage, or every time CPS test scores cork-screw lower in the achievement loam.

The News Media is a captive of special political interests.

*The excommunicated woman who imagined herself to be an ordained priest had a partner. The obituary caused a bit of talk among lawyers ( I had occasion to speak with several in my neighborhood). They believe that the "Nancy Katz" listed in the column as the next of kin or whatever the hell they want to be is actually the lesbian activist judge appointed to the Circuit Court of Cook County. Why would gay activist, or an editorial seek to advance its agenda with smear at the Catholic Church? Practice.

http://www.glhalloffame.org/index.pl?todo=view_item&item=143

Public Schools are Closing for Underperformance -Hey, Buck Up! Big Shoulders Fund will Help! Send Your Kids To Catholic Schools

Chicago Teachers Union president Marilyn Stewart noted that two of the schools to undergo "turnaround" — Deneen Elementary and Gillespie Elementary — were just beginning a reform that linked teacher pay to student performance. Indeed, many have undergone past reforms. And the principal at Montefiore school, which is to receive students from the closing Las Casas Occupational High School, said she had not been told of any such transfers.

Today's Chicago Tribune:http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/ct-met-0120-cps-school-closing-20100119,0,3559514.story



CTU's Marilyn Stewart 'has a smile that lights a room' - the Chicago Media used that fine thoughtful assessment on Under performing U.S. Senator Carol Mosely Braun. Remember? Well, all that "reform" exhausted millions of more tax-dollars and still the CPS school "under perform."

The Smile that Lights a Room Stewart pushed to unionize Ellison Charter School on the campus of Little Flower Catholic Church last year. Marilyn Stewart smiles and Chicago Public Education tanks deeper into the loam.

If you really care about your child's education, really, really, really care, send your child to Catholic Schools. It ain't free, but Catholic Schools do not "under perform" and save Illinois tax-payers billions of dollars.

Parents make a commitment for the education that they want for their children and many people will help them meet that commitment

Big Shoulders Fund has been helping Chicago inner city parents get their children a proper education.

The mission of the Big Shoulders Fund is to provide support to the Catholic schools in the neediest areas of inner-city Chicago. 100% of the funds raised by the Big Shoulders Fund are used to support children through scholarships, special education programs, instructional equipment, much needed school facility improvements, faculty support, and operating grants. The Big Shoulders Fund is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Click my post title and learn more!

Your children will receive a Catholic Education - based on positive moral, ethical, civic and vocational values.

Catholic Schools Superintendent Sr. Mary Paul McCaughey welcomes Chicago's parents to choose Catholic Schools. Sr. Mary Paul tells Chicago parents to consider these facts:

VALUES, FAITH AND SERVICE
•The values and faith you teach your children at home are reinforced every day in our schools and in our co-curricular activities
•Through service for others, each student learns the value of being Christ to others and grows in gratitude for their many blessings
ACADEMICS
•With a comprehensive set of curriculum (Pre-Kindergarten – 12 th Grade) that meets all state regulations and guidelines, Catholic schools in Cook and Lake Counties compete with the best schools in the nation
•In 2007, seven of our schools were named No Child Left Behind–Blue Ribbon Schools representing the most from any school system in the nation
•Ninety-six percent of seniors who attend Catholic secondary schools graduate and 95% of those graduates go on to college
TECHNOLOGY
•Most of our schools are equipped with new computers, laptops, interactive white boards, and other cutting-edge technology
•Students are not just taught how to use the latest technology, but they are taught how to use technology as a tool for learning
•The Office of Professional Development in Educational Technology assists our teachers in integrating technology into their curriculum and instructional methods
A CARING, NURTURING, SAFE ENVIRONMENT
•The smaller size of our school communities ensures more personal attention to each student and that each student is known by name
•A disciplined atmosphere enables teachers to focus more time on teaching rather than maintaining order
A GOOD INVESTMENT
•The longer a student remains in an Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic School, the greater his or her achievement
•Our preschool and kindergarten classrooms are not just add-ons or separate programs. They are an integral part of the school community and considered an important part of the learning continuum
•The value of a Catholic education is well worth the cost. It is a life-long investment in your children’s future

Catholic Schools do not under perform.

Catholic Schools Work for the Kids Who Attend Them - School Choice Needs Town Halls

My youngest, Clare, begins her high school experience next week at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School - the largest all-girls school in America. Clare graduated from St. Cajetan Grammar School in our Morgan Park Neighborhood. Her girlfriends are going to Mother McAuley, Marist, St. Ignatius and St. Francis of Assisi. The boys are going to Mount Carmel, St. Rita, Marist and Brother Rice. White, Black and Hispanic - they are going to Catholic High Schools.

Mother McAuley costs about $ 8,000 and change with tuition and fees each year and most of the other schools round out about the same with St. Ignatius Prep topping the crowd with its menu. The path to success is expensive - very expensive, because Catholic schools encourage not just participation but full immersion in activities that strengthen the moral, civic and religious virtues. Kids like Clare become Catholic League Athletes - cheerleaders, football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, Lacrosse, Rugby players, wrestlers, as well as track and distance runners. They work on Dramatic, Choral, Polyphonic productions as musicians, singers, actors, stage hands, lighting technicians and even crowd control. Life skills and people skills are part of benefits pad for in time, treasure and talent.

Catholic Schools Superintendent Sister Mary Paul McCaughey works, from what I can tell to be, a fifteen to twenty hour day bringing people of talent and treasure together in order to squeeze out some time for Catholic Schools. James O'Connor, Josh Hale and Tom Zbierski of the Big Shoulders Fund are shepherding millions of dollars in gifts so that any family wishing to commit to Catholic Schools can afford to do just that. This genuine commitment is learned when people are young.

The kids in Catholic Schools learn stewardship and the value of a buck, as most of them also try to find part-time jobs to help the Old Man and the Old Lady, one or other, or both, to meet tuition and expenses costs.

Kids learn what it means to do without - tonier vacations for the family, Gold-Cable Packages, water-sport toys, and time in front of the Idiot Box (TV) or thumbing the controls of X-Box and Text-messaging appartii.

The investment in Catholic Schools is a community forming activity that is in fact an extension of the Parish Life - we are responsible for each other. The Best example of this reality is Chicago's Big Shoulder Fund that provides millions of dollars in aid to inner city families who can not afford the cost of Catholic Schools.

I work at Leo High School that is 99.9% funded by white Leo Alumni who are graduates of that school from the 1930's, '40's, 50's. 60's, 70's and 80's. Leo has been 100% African American since the 1990's; however, men like Frank Considine ( '39) Bill Koloseike ('45), Andy McKenna & Dick Landis ('47), Tom Owens ('54), Don Flynn ('56), Joe Powers ( '70) and Bob Schemel ('71) have contributed millions of dollars to Leo High School over the years. The real miracle beyond these gargantuan sums from the very succesful great guys named above are the endless drops of $50, $100,$500, $ 1,000 and above by hundreds of Leo Men, who also open the doors of the 1926 School at 5:30 a.m. and tutor the kids for A.C.T. and S.A.T. prep like Denny Conway and Jack O'Keefe, or fill the bleachers at every event like Bob Hylard, Frank McDermott, Bill and Jack Farnan, Jim Farrell, Rich and Jim Furlong, Gene Earner and all of his many sons, Dan Stecich, Larry Lynch, Tom Lynch and . . . you get the idea.

Catholic Schools make a better America and very good Americans. Catholic Schools are the Original Gangsters* (The OGs) of Faith Based Initiatives. Catholic Schools are unapologtically Catholic and teach without bowing to the 'Tyranny of Relativism,' to quote the Pope, which has had all Public Education in a Full Nelson Head-lock for decades. Catholc Schools teach from a position of Faith and that Faith is rooted in unshakeable truths - You don't steal, you don't kill, you don't lie, you don't sleep around like an HBO hero, you don't forget that you are obligated to other people. That's Commitment.

An interesting fact from a recent study noted that Catholics who attend Catholic schools tended to remain married to the same partners for life. Catholics don not find ease and comfort in the Faith but endurance and charity. Charity means hard work and developing a big set of shoulders.

The Big Shoulders Fund is rooted in the Courage and Commitment that was developed in and around Catholic Schools. The money available to inner-city families did not get there by Osmosis.

Real School Reform depends upon the vitality of Catholic Schools. Catholic Schools offer competition -if not accountability.

When politicians and hand-wringing activists and think-tank agendanistas get wise to themselves they will see that Catholic Schools are the hub of genuine Reform. Ask Paul Vallas, who succeeded in Chicago by following the Catholic School gradus and took those reform victories to Philly and New Orleans.


Americans need to demand Town halls on Real Reform in Education. If you think Health Care is a concern, hold the phone on Education Reform!

Click my post title and commit to Catholic Schools.

Here are some findings on Catholic Schools by the Rand Corporation that are being forgotten:

In a study published in 1990,. . .the Rand Corporation analyzed big-city high schools to determine how education for low income minority youth could be improved.2 It looked at 13 public, private, and Catholic high schools in New York City that attracted minority and disadvantaged youth. Of the Catholic school students in these schools, 75 to 90 percent were black or Hispanic. The study found that:


The Catholic high schools graduated 95 percent of their students each year, while the public schools graduated slightly more 50 percent of their senior class;


Over 66 percent of the Catholic school graduates received the New York State Regents diploma to signify completion of an academically demanding college preparatory curriculum, while only about 5 percent of the public school students received this distinction;


85 percent of the Catholic high school students took the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), compared with just 33 percent of the public high school students;


The Catholic school students achieved an average combined SAT score of 803, while the public school students' average combined SAT score was 642; and


60 percent of the Catholic school black students scored above the national average for black students on the SAT, and over 70 percent of public school black students scored below the same national average.
More recent studies confirm these observations. As parents, politicians, and concerned observers become aware of the benefits of Catholic schooling, particularly for the poor, the rhetoric demanding action builds. Syndicated columnist William Raspberry, a self-described "Reluctant Convert to School Choice," wrote recently, "It seems as obvious for poor children as for rich ones that one-size-fits-all education doesn't make sense."3 Furthermore, according to a recent survey conducted by Terry Moe, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and John Chubb, founding partner and curriculum director for the Edison Project, a stunning 83 percent of public school parents and 82 percent of inner-city poor parents want parochial schools to be included in the choice of schools to which they can send their children.4

http://www.heritage.org/research/urbanissues/bg1128.cfm

That was in 1990, boys and girls and public schools have performed much worse, while Catholic Schools continue perform so much better.

http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/17413589.html?dids=17413589:17413589&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+08%2C+1996&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=BORROWING+SUCCESS+IN+THE+SCHOOLS&pqatl=google

*OG - Urba Dictionary
An Original Gangsta or Original Gangster.
Yo, What up OG? What's good in tha hood? Catholic School, Tru Dat.

Charter Schools Offer Hope - Teachers Union the Anchor of Failure

I have three kids in a charter school and two in union CPS schools. The quality difference between the teachers and the kids performance is stark.

Comment on Chicagoist Click my post title for the full Chicagoist feature.

Charter Schools offer a stark contract to Chicago Public Schools - Catholic Schools Offer much more than that - real documented success. Charters are pretty good alternatives to wasteful and incompetant public schools dominated by Teachers unions.

Teachers unions seem to do little more than haven the useless, and protect the lazy.

Public School Teachers want to be considered Professionals like accountants, doctors and lawyers, but demand to be insulated from accountability. I worked only in Catholic Schools and worked only with professionals - the weak and the incompetant went off to find new lines of work - some in the Public Schools.

Chicago Catholic School Superintendent Mary Paul McCaughey noted in talk to the Fifty of Friday Club last week that graduates of Catholic Schools go on to college - 97% go on to college.

CPS is saddled with a less than 37% high school graduation rate for young men.

CPS is staffed with 100% Chicago Teachers Union membership - Marilyn Stewart CPS President spent last year locking a rival out of his offices at CTU. ( see the Ted Dallas Document above)

Yet Marilyn Stewart offered this about Charter Teachers joining CTU:

CTU President Marilyn Stewart and Illinois Federation of Teachers President Ed Geppert, Jr. had this to say in a joint statement: “We are very supportive of this strong group of teachers and staff at the Chicago International Charter Schools’ as they form a union. These charter school teachers and staff are acting today to improve their schools’ operations and environment for their student’s performance. We feel as strongly as they do that the views of teachers and staff are critical to school success and that school administrators must formally recognize the teachers and staff contributions. Their dedication will help their schools become trailblazers of innovation and collaboration within community.”

These charter school teachers and staff are acting today to improve their schools’ operations and environment for their student’s performance.

Marilyn, you have got to be kidding! For real?

Charters were enacted to offere real competition and not 'same old, same old, Marilyn!

It's not about power for you Marilyn! It's about the Children! It's all about the Children! Right?

A real hard-hitting journalist should take a very, very hard look at Marilyn Stewart's hard run at Charter Schools.

I think something stinky is afoot!