1. CATHOLIC EDUCATION IN THE U.S. A SHORT HISTORY OF OUR BEGINNINGS

2. Plenary Council of Baltimore: 1885: “Every Catholic…everyone who loves truth and wishes to conform to it, must be in favor of Catholic schools and Catholic education, if they are Catholic in reality as well as in name.”

3. The first Catholic schools in U.S. 15th-16th centuries: French and Spanish explorers founded schools and missions “The pattern of all education in colonial America was one of transplantation; the schools were modeled after those of the mother countries from which the colonists came.”

4. Before there was a U.S. there were Catholic schools California and Arizona missions Ursuline Academy in New Orleans Georgetown Visitation Academy Maryland: Jesuit missionaries 1653 Ralph Crouch opens Catholic school in Maryland; begins tradition of lay Catholics in schools.

5. Saint Elizabeth Bayley Seton Convert,Wife, Mother, Widow, Foundress 1808 was given a house in Baltimore and began to take in female students. Primary aim: to provide free common schools for the poor 1st free parochial school open to children of both sexes, Emmitsburgh, 1810. (still in existence)

6. 1884: Plenary Council of Baltimore Established the parochial school system in the United States “Every parish with a school; every Catholic child in the Catholic school.” Brought religious sisters from Europe Baltimore Catechism By 1965, 96% of Catholic school teachers were religious men and women By 1965, 6.5 million students in about 14,000 schools

7. Heroes and Heroines of Catholic Education in the U.S. Junipero Serra Saint Elizabeth Seton Saint Katherine Drexel Saint John Neumann Bishop John Carroll All the unknown heroes and heroines of Catholic education….

8. The Present Day Approximately 10.000 Catholic pre-K-12 schools in U.S. Currently, 94% of Catholic school teachers are lay women and men. There are 2.5 million students. Average tuition for N-8 is $2,700; 9-12 is $4800. Currently, approximately 12% are nonCatholic

9. Our Past…………………Our Present Mission: to educate immigrants Goal: get them menial jobs End: keep them Catholic: insular, e.g. “An Army of Youth” Mission: to educate Americans Goal: leaven in society End: Integration of Faith and Culture: “The Church in the Modern World”

10. Some questions for you: Are Catholic schools, the way they are now, the most effective way of passing on the Faith? What do Catholic schools need to do in order to remain relevant? How will we educate parents as to the importance of the mission of the Catholic schools?

12. In NYS: First Catholic parochial school: St. Peter’s in lower Manhattan, 1800. 1868: Diocese of Rochester separated from Buffalo First Bishop, Bernard McQuaid attended Council of Baltimore, established first Catholic schools in Rochester. Many of the older schools were also churches