Excellence in Education

Officials give Catholic schools high marks in academics and study of faith

By CLAUDIA McDONNELL

At the start of the new academic year, archdiocesan education officials said that Catholic schools here excel at what they were founded to do: hand on the faith and provide a first-rate education.

Msgr. Thomas J. Bergin, vicar for education, and Dr. Catherine T. Hickey, superintendent of schools, said in interviews that Catholic schools exist first of all to teach the faith to children and teens, but also maintain the highest academic standards in all subjects.

"I want the best of education, and the best of Catholic education," Msgr. Bergin said. He remarked that many parents whose education in the faith was deficient are learning from their children's texts while helping with homework.

Msgr. Bergin stressed the primary importance of religious education both in Catholic schools and in parish religious education programs for all ages from preschool through adult. The archdiocesan Catechetical Office, a division of the Department of Education, supervises religious education in the parishes.

Msgr. Bergin and Dr. Hickey discussed topics including enrollment, financial concerns, changing needs of students and professional programs designed to help administrators and teachers enhance academic excellence.

As the opening day of school drew near, the archdiocese was faced with the possibility of a strike by the Lay Faculty Association, the union representing teachers in 10 high schools in the archdiocese. Members' contract expired Aug. 31, and a strike vote had been scheduled for Sept. 4. At press time, no meetings had been scheduled between the archdiocese and the union.

"We're always ready to meet with them," Msgr. Bergin said. "We don't bargain by press release. Let's come to the table and let's be reasonable, and let's get a good contract." He said that it is necessary to discuss "what's best for the teachers, the schools and the kids in the system."

If a strike should occur, the archdiocese will be prepared to cope with it, Msgr. Bergin said, but he added, "We're not talking about a strike at this point."

Enrollment this fall in the archdiocese's elementary and secondary schools is 113,182, slightly lower than last year's figure of 113,450. There was a slight increase in elementary enrollment but a decrease on the high school level. Msgr. Bergin said he does not think the change signals a trend.

"It could be just a blip on the radar screen," he said. "I think enrollment has stabilized." He added, however, that he is concerned about financial strain on both schools and parents.

Besides serving as vicar for education, Msgr. Bergin is president of Cathedral High School for girls in Manhattan. He noted that few schools charge tuition high enough to cover their actual per-student cost, yet many parents must struggle to pay even the current amount.

"I see the gap widening between the cost of educating the student and what we charge‹and f+icano charge...Our people are struggling," Msgr. Bergin said. "My great concern is whether we are maxing out on the amount we can charge and our people can afford, and on our fund-raising." The archdiocesan Office of Development has done "yeomanlike work" in raising funds for the schools, he said, and donors continue to give, but "so many demands are being made on the same people."

Dr. Hickey told CNY, "We do worry about tuition. We realize that our parents are the working poor and the working middle class. We need scholarship subsidies, and people who are going to help us underwrite the schools."

It is not only operating costs that are a source of concern, but also the need to repair and renovate school buildings. Many were constructed in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, and are showing the usual signs of age; they need improvements such as new roofs and new heating or electrical systems. In addition, schools often must rewire for computers.

"Everybody's upgrading technologically," Msgr. Bergin noted.

Msgr. Bergin noted that despite diligent efforts by Catholic parents and educators to secure government assistance in the form of vouchers or tuition tax credits, opposition remains strong, and the outlook is not encouraging.

"So many of our politicians who went to our schools are dead set against our getting any more than the minimal services we get now, because we're not politically correct," he said. Those services include some remedial instruction and the placement of school nurses in elementary schools in New York City.

"We have to count on ourselves, depend on our own resources," Msgr. Bergin said.

As part of the effort to reduce the archdiocesan budget, three elementary schools were closed this year: St. Bernard/St. Francis Xavier in Manhattan, St. Joachim-St. John's in Beacon and St. Peter's in Rosendale. John A. Coleman Catholic High School in Hurley was scheduled for closure, but a team of parents, alumni and other supporters reorganized it as an independent Catholic school.

Discussing the closings, Dr. Hickey said, "I grieve. But it had to be done. At the same time, we have found that we have been able to provide Catholic education for the children in those schools."

She and Msgr. Bergin spoke with optimism about Coleman Catholic's new beginning.

"Oh, I hope it thrives and blossoms, because we really need a Catholic high school in Ulster County," Dr. Hickey said. Msgr. Bergin remarked that his office has maintained contact with the school, and added, "We hope and pray" that it will flourish. He noted that administrators and supporters are "very confident."

He was to be a concelebrant and the homilist at the Mass of the Holy Spirit there on Sept. 14 to mark the opening of the academic year. The celebrant was to be Msgr. William E. Williams, vicar of Ulster County and pastor of St. John the Evangelist parish in Saugerties.

Dr. Hickey's office has introduced programs aimed at helping administrators and teachers to improve their skills. A new project this year is called GRADE A (Generating Reviewing and Assimilating Data for Excellence in Academics). It will provide a yearlong series of professional development sessions for teachers and principals on topics such as classroom management, teaching study skills, test development, using the school library as a resource, and identifying and motivating at-risk students.

Today's teachers have to adapt to new demands in the classroom. Msgr. Bergin noted that changes have taken place in the way children learn, partly because of the influence of television, computers and videos. Instruction has to include more visual content and "much more interaction between teachers and students," Msgr. Bergin said.

"You can't just get up there and lecture," he explained. "You have to adapt to the way that kids will learn best." He remarked that many schools have brought in specialists to work with teachers on developing new methods.

Msgr. Bergin and Dr. Hickey stressed parental involvement as a key ingredient in Catholic schools' success.

"We encourage parents to be part of the school community, to know what they can expect of us and what we expect of them," Dr. Hickey said. "We're very careful to share the responsibility. It's not one-sided." The parent-school relationship rests on "cooperation and respect," she added.

Msgr. Bergin stressed the need "to be a part of your child's education."

"We insist on that," he said.

Despite financial and other struggles, he and Dr. Hickey are starting the school season on a high note.

"I'm upbeat, as any teacher or principal is at this time of the year," Msgr. Bergin said. "There's an electricity, an excitement. There's an enthusiasm at the opening of the school year every year."

Said Dr. Hickey, "I look forward with optimism and great hope. We have this wonderful institution of Catholic education and we are able to share it."