By EMMALEE ITALIA
Contributing Editor
The Diocese of Trenton’s Catholic schools will soon join other Catholic schools across the nation to mark Celebrate Catholic Schools Week, showcasing the unique and beneficial aspects of a Catholic education.
“It’s a great week to broadcast to our communities all that we do throughout the school year,” said Dr. Vincent de Paul Schmidt, diocesan Catholic schools superintendent. “Our Catholic schools are alive and vibrant and growing and really filling the space people are seeking out for faith-based education.”
Now in its 51st year, the annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States begins the last Sunday in January; this year most dioceses will celebrate Catholic Schools Week Jan. 26-Feb. 1.
This year’s theme for Catholic Schools Week is “Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community.” Schools typically observe the annual celebration week with Masses, open houses and other activities for students, families, parishioners and community members.
Highlighting Good Things
“We will have special events taking place, but really Catholic Schools Week highlights the good things happening every day in our schools,” Dr. Schmidt said. “We may have a CSW spirit day or bring in someone from outside the community for a special assembly – but really we have spirit days and assemblies all throughout the year.”
Catholic Athletes for Christ (CAC) plans to sponsor its annual diaper collection during CSW this year.
“The CAC began in the realm of professional sports and then moved into the college/university level,” said Daniel O’Connell, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. “When Bishop O’Connell came to the Diocese from The Catholic University of America, he brought the CAC with him. The Diocese of Trenton was the first diocese to introduce the CAC on the high school level.
“This year, under the leadership of Dennis Guida, who moderates the CAC in the Diocese, the organization is being introduced to middle-school-level students throughout the Diocese. This is another first for the CAC and for the Diocese of Trenton.”
Additional developments to showcase, O’Connell noted, are updated curriculum guidelines introduced to schools in social studies and mathematics in 2024.
“Last year, new report cards were piloted at St. Gregory the Great Academy, Hamilton Square; St. Catharine School, Spring Lake; and St. Peter School, Point Pleasant Beach,” he said. “This year, all elementary schools in the Diocese have introduced the new report cards. In September, all of the teachers in the Diocese attended professional development sessions to become familiar with the updating process, the philosophy behind the changes, and the new cards themselves.”
Dr. Schmidt said he hopes people will see how “the Catholic identity is front and center. … Catholic schools are known for being strong academically and safe. [New Jersey] has many schools strong in academics and safety – but only one place they can get that Catholic identity” in school.
Spreading the Word
Bonnie Milecki, the Diocese’s assistant superintendent for school development and operations, pointed to CSW as an “opportunity for political advocacy, and how schools and families can be part of spreading the message … [about the need for] increased funding for transportation, nursing, safety and technology.
“One way we celebrate is to remember we support our Catholic schools in a wider context and talking about our wonderful schools to state representatives,” she said. “We should be celebrating the work of our Catholic schools in the broader community, and part of the way we do that is increased visibility.”
O’Connell suggested another good way to promote CSW is for parents “to share the message on social media. Pictures from school events can certainly spread the message that Catholic schools have it all.”
The National Catholic Educational Association website provides statistics on Catholic education, including the percentage of Catholic school high school graduates who attend a four-year college (85.2%), and average student to teacher ratios (Elementary, 12.1:1, Secondary, 10.1:1). “A Dozen Reasons to Choose Catholic Schools” poster highlights such distinctions as “We provide a balanced academic curriculum that integrates faith, culture and life,” and “We emphasize moral development and self-discipline.”
“I would love for parents to recognize during Catholic Schools Week the incredible gift they have in our teachers,” Dr. Schmidt said. “They’re working in our schools truly as a vocation. Our teachers are so dedicated to what they do, they’re here for the right reasons, and I really would like to promote that – and to have parents notice and say, ‘thank you.’”
For more information, visit www.ncea.org/csw.