What makes catholic schools different

We teach them through the Catholic faith that all they do in life is greater with love. In our care, they receive a strong spiritual foundation and an education that guides them for the rest of their lives. Our Promise: Together with you, we teach every student who embarks on this sacred journey how to wield their intelligence, compassion, and spiritual conviction throughout the rest of their lives to make their home, community, and world a better place.

Both spiritual and academic experiences in Catholic Schools enable students to deepen their relationship with Jesus, broaden their knowledge of their faith tradition, and connect their faith to daily life. The foundation of faith around which academic programs exist permeates every aspect of the school day and continues beyond it. This faith-filled environment instills high degrees of self-confidence, self-respect, and self-discipline among students.

Parents see more than just report cards. Public schools are funded by federal, state, and local taxes. While some families see this as an advantage, others view it as a drawback. The rules, regulations, and curriculum of public schools are influenced by politics and popular trends. Almost all Catholic schools also have some financial aid available to qualified students.

It may be based upon need or scholastic achievement. Catholic school students perform higher on standardized tests than their public school counterparts. In fact, a Harvard University study found that private schools came out ahead of public schools in 11 out of 12 comparisons of students. Catholic schools have rigorous programs that revolve around self-discipline.

They emphasize homework and study, leading students to have very effective writing skills. Many minority students have also demonstrated great success in Catholic schools.

Non-Catholic students are being enrolled in Catholic schools more frequently. One in five students do not identify as Catholic. Catholic schools focus on providing a strong moral and ethical foundation. It will inform critical decisions for their students throughout their lives. Catholic schools also offer differentiated learning, advanced curriculum, and a religious perspective.

Such a partnership is directed not just toward dealing with academic problems but also toward planning and evaluating the effectiveness of the school's mission. Even though consecrated men and women are now few in the schools, the witness of their collaboration with the laity enriches the ecclesial value of educational communities. As "experts in communion" because of their experience in community life, religious foster those "human and spiritual bonds that promote the mutual exchange of gifts" with all others involved in the school.

In the words of a recent Vatican document:. Consecrated persons are thus leaven that is able to create relations of increasingly deep communion that are themselves educational. They promote solidarity, mutual enhancement, and joint responsibility in the educational plan, and, above all, they give an explicit Christian testimony. The catholicity of American schools also depends largely on the bonds of ecclesial communion between bishops and Catholic educators.

They are to help one another in carrying out the task to which they are mutually committed. Personal relationships marked by mutual trust, close cooperation, and continuing dialogue are required for a genuine spirit of communion.

First, trust. This goes beyond the personal relationships of those involved. These might or might not be marked by warmth and friendship, depending on the concrete situation.

The more profound foundation for such trust is shared adherence to the person of Jesus Christ. Trust is fostered by listening to one another, by respecting the different gifts of each, and by recognizing one another's specific responsibilities.

With trust comes dialogue. Both bishops and educators, whether singly or in associations, should avail themselves of open, sincere, and regular dialogue in their joint efforts on behalf of Catholic schools. Educators and ecclesial authorities should cooperate closely in fostering a school's catholicity. Such collaboration is not only an ideal but also a time-honored ecclesial practice in the United States. A spirituality of communion should be the guiding principle of Catholic education.

Without this spiritual path, all external structures of cooperation serve very little purpose; they would be mere mechanisms without a soul. Catholic educators recognize that the bishop's pastoral leadership is pivotal in supporting the establishment and ensuring the catholicity of the schools in his pastoral care. Indeed, "only the bishop can set the tone, ensure the priority, and effectively present the importance of the cause to the Catholic people.

As the Code of Canon Law states, "Pastors of souls have the duty of making all possible arrangements so that all the faithful may avail themselves of a Catholic education. With regard to Catholic schools, episcopal responsibility is twofold. First, the bishop must integrate schools into his diocese's pastoral program; and, second, he must oversee the teaching within them.

The bishop must see to it that the education in his schools is based on the principles of Catholic doctrine. This vigilance includes even schools established or directed by members of religious institutes.

The bishop's particular responsibilities include ensuring that teachers are sound in their doctrine and outstanding in their integrity of life. It is he who must judge whether the children in the Catholic schools in his diocese are receiving the fullness of the Church's faith in their catechetical and religious formation. It is important that the bishop be involved in Catholic schools not only by exercising veto power — whether over texts, curricula, or teachers — but also by taking an active role in fostering the specifically Catholic ethos of schools under his jurisdiction.

In an ad limina address to a group of American bishops in June , Pope John Paul II summed up this point: "The Church's presence in elementary and secondary education must. The Catholic philosophy of education has always paid special attention to the quality of interpersonal relations in the school community, especially those between teachers and students.

This concern ensures that the student is seen as a person whose intellectual growth is harmonized with spiritual, religious, emotional, and social growth.

Because, as St. John Bosco said, "education is a thing of the heart," authentic formation of young people requires the personalized accompanying of a teacher. A learning atmosphere that encourages the befriending of students is far removed from the caricature of the remote disciplinarian cherished by the media. In measured terms, the Congregation's document Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith describes the student-teaching relationship:. A personal relationship is always a dialogue rather than a monologue, and the teacher must be convinced that the enrichment in the relationship is mutual.

But the mission must never be lost sight of: the educator can never forget that students need a companion and guide during their period of growth; they need help from others in order to overcome doubts and disorientation. Also, rapport with the students ought to be a prudent combination of familiarity and distance; and this must be adapted to the need of each individual student.

Familiarity will make a personal relationship easier, but a certain distance is also needed. Catholic schools, then, safeguard the priority of the person, both student and teacher.

They foster the proper friendship between them, since "an authentic formative process can only be initiated through a personal relationship. A school's physical environment is also an integral element that embodies the genuine community values of the Catholic tradition. Since the school is rightly considered an extension of the home, it ought to have "some of the amenities which can create a pleasant and family atmosphere. From the first moment that a student sets foot in a Catholic school, he or she ought to have the impression of entering a new environment, one illumined by the light of faith, and having its own unique characteristics.

The Incarnation, which emphasizes the bodily coming of God's Son into the world, leaves its seal on every aspect of Christian life. The very fact of the Incarnation tells us that the created world is the means God chose to communicate his life to us. What is human and visible can bear the divine. If Catholic schools are to be true to their identity, they will suffuse their environment with a delight in the sacramental.

Therefore they should express physically and visibly the external signs of Catholic culture through images, symbols, icons, and other objects of traditional devotion. A chapel, classroom crucifixes and statues, liturgical celebrations, and other sacramental reminders of Catholic life, including good art that is not explicitly religious in its subject matter, should be evident.

All these signs embody the community ethos of Catholicism. Prayer should be a normal part of the school day, so that students learn to pray in times of sorrow and joy, of disappointment and celebration, of difficulty and success.

Such prayer teaches students that they belong to the communion of saints, a community that knows no bounds. The sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation in particular should mark the rhythm of a Catholic school's life. Mass should be celebrated regularly, with the students and teachers participating appropriately. Traditional Catholic devotions should also have their place: praying the Rosary, decorating May altars, singing hymns, reading from the Bible, recounting the lives of the saints, and celebrating the Church's liturgical year.

The sacramental vitality of the Catholic faith is expressed in these and similar acts of religion that belong to everyday ecclesial life and should be evident in every school.

A fourth distinctive characteristic of Catholic schools is that the "spirit of Catholicism" should permeate the entire curriculum. Catholic education is "intentionally directed to the growth of the whole person. Vatican documents speak of an education that responds to all the needs of the human person:.

The integral formation of the human person, which is the purpose of education, includes the development of all the human faculties of the students, together with preparation for professional life, formation of ethical and social awareness, becoming aware of the transcendental, and religious education.

Every school, and every educator in the school, ought to be striving "to form strong and responsible individuals, who are capable of making free and correct choices," thus preparing young people "to open themselves more and more to reality, and to form in themselves a clear idea of the meaning of life" [ The Catholic School , 31]. Our systems and procedures promote a safe and positive environment for all members of the school community, where healthy relationships can be nurtured and sustained.

Bullying and harassment are not acceptable and policies and procedures are in place to address issues of this nature when they arise. Our schools will continue to put the safety and wellbeing of our students, staff and families first. We have 29 Catholic parish primary schools, 8 Catholic co-educational secondary schools and 1 K school in our system of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Wollongong.

Read more about our Diocese and view a map of our schools here. Alternatively, you can obtain a print copy by contacting any of our Catholic primary or secondary schools. Find more information about enrolling your child and the enrolment process here. For Parents and Carers. Find a School Near Me. Parent-School Partnership Framework. Keeping Your Child Safe Online.