Catholic Schools Week

Welcome to Catholic Schools Week! It's a time to recognize and celebrate the contributions our faith-based schools have made to the common good and the hope for the future that our children represent. Catholic schools are good for students, good for families and good for America.

Year after year surveys by the National Center for Education Statistics, the Council for American Private Education and the National Catholic Educational Association affirm the academic excellence that comes from motivated students, committed parents and limited distractions. Studies confirm that our students score higher on standardized tests, take more demanding classes in high school and have higher rates of admission to college than their public school counterparts. Students who complete at least the eighth grade at a private Catholic school are twice as likely as other students to graduate from college as a young adult.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Horatio Alger Association have found that private school students are far more likely to feel safe and actually be safe in their schools than others. The lists go on and on regarding college success, accepting academic challenges, improving the success of students from low socio-economic backgrounds, and higher levels of service to the community.

The facts about private Catholic education are a cause for celebration. Public Agenda, a national research organization, found that adults believe, by a substantial margin, that private schools do a better job of providing a quality education than public schools. Your support, including the enrollment of your children, is vital to the survival of our Catholic schools and the success of our nation. At Saint Joseph's School we believe this quality approach help's us build tomorrow's leaders today.

As good as the statistics are, the real difference in quality is that we add the presence of Jesus Christ to every area of the curriculum and every activity throughout the day. School Masses, daily prayer, the sacraments and reflection on the triumphant influence of Catholicism upon our history give us a grand perspective. We see education as a continuum that begins at Saint Joseph's and progresses through high school, college, vocations, careers, marriage, family, the sacraments and, eventually, graduation into eternal life with Christ in heaven above. That's the true curriculum that makes every week Catholic Schools Week!