School Thoughts

To the Editor:

Just a thought: Billions have been poured into charter schools for a tiny percentage of the New York City’s students. Imagine if the same money—or even half of it—had been devoted to building a foundation for the future of Catholic education. We would then have a far better public school system, free of the internecine battles over resources between public school parents and charter parents. And Catholic education, which serves its students so faithfully and so well, would be preserved for future generations.

Catholic schools have a proven record. They are safe, well disciplined and get consistently good results. A large part of the Catholic schools’ success derives from the fact they are faith-based and sustain a sense of genuine community, as well as stability. The success of Catholic schools depends on maintaining their religious identity, to wit: keeping the crucifixes in the classrooms as well as the freedom to speak freely about one’s values. If Catholic schools turn themselves into charters hoping to survive, they make a huge mistake. They will have to abandon their religious identity, give up the faith-based nature of their school. That is no way to save Catholic schools. 

A very possible solution: public money for public schools, and private money from the philanthropic and corporate communities for Catholic schools. Can’t you see the great return on investment that would come from saving Catholic schools in the city’s urban districts? Time is of the essence!

Epifanio Castillo Jr.

Yonkers