As national slogans or themes go, the ideas developed annually for Catholic Schools Week are typically catchy and compelling.

But the theme selected for this year’s celebration earns an A+ by any measure. Now, more than a month after the close of 2010 Catholic Schools Week, the theme seems to take on more meaning with each passing day. With laser-like clarity, the theme – ‘Dividends for Life’ – points to the true value of Catholic school education, and offers the primary reason that every Catholic adult, regardless of his connection to a Catholic school, should stand up for this essential ministry of the Church.

The colorful logo depicting the CSW theme expounds on the dividends that Catholic schools offer – faith, knowledge, discipline and morals. It may seem at first glance that these are principally dividends that will help the student throughout the rest of his or her life… which we all can agree is a good thing.

The dividends, however, do not begin and end with the student alone. These are dividends that pay back the Church as well – student by student, generation by generation. These dividends are the brick and mortar that ensure the strength and vitality of the Church’s future. They are the currency that allows this faith community to live out the mission given to us by God.

It is not difficult to recognize that there is a relationship between declining Catholic school enrollment and dwindling Mass attendance. That same connection could be applied to decreasing vocations to the priesthood, and a lack of Catholic identity even among those folks who do attend Mass. As fewer young adults participate in their faith, get married in the Church and raise their children Catholic, it is clear that dwindling Catholic school enrollment is directly connected, either in a cause or effect dynamic, and possibly both.

Anyone who has experienced Catholic school education for themselves or their children, knows that it has the power to reverse these trends. It is in our Catholic schools that many young men and women begin to perceive and respond to a call to religious life. Here, we can find fertile ground for exercising one’s faith, developing a heart for social justice and a commitment to the dignity and sanctity of all human life.

We tirelessly do battle on the many fronts that threaten the Church, often without recognizing that the most effective way to respond to these challenges is to simply strengthen our Catholic schools. As we watch support for Catholic school education slip away, we are missing out on the greatest prospects we have to nurture the young faith-filled person who could someday become a priest, a bishop, a governor or a president.

To understand the positive impact that a Catholic school educated child can have on the Church, we need only consider the depth of knowledge about their faith, morality, relationships and prayer life that students achieve. A standardized assessment published by the National Catholic Education Association indicates that 91 percent of fifth graders tested nationally in 2009 earned 80 percent or higher on questions about Jesus, the Church and Sacraments. Ninety percent of fifth graders and 90 percent of high school students scored 80 percent or higher on the section about the Church’s origin, mission, structure, community and membership.

Eighty-four percent of eighth graders scored 80 percent or higher. Eightyeight percent of eighth graders scored 80 percent or higher on the section about prayer and religious practices.

It cannot be denied that our Catholic schools form the most faith-filled, active and informed future members of the Church; it is here that our future Church leaders are forged.

It is here that the Church’s mission is infused into students’ experience, day in and day out.

It has been rightly acknowledged that we must set our sights on supporting Catholic education, even as the constructs of how we deliver that education might change. Recent history has shown that not every school can remain open because the community we serve and where we need to serve it has changed since the days that many of our schools were established.

Even after a fair amount of restructuring and consolidating, however, there are still too many Catholic schools that struggle financially. This reality is symptomatic of the same disease that is causing public school districts to make draconian cuts, eliminating programs and closing some of their facilities. It is rooted in the economic crisis, which has severely compromised Catholic families’ ability to pay tuition for their children.

But if we stand by as more of our Catholic schools fall victim to this financial crisis, we will surely be detracting from the vibrancy that our Church could one day realize. If we do nothing as these schools struggle around us, we need not ponder why the Church continues to experience such daunting challenges.

It’s just this simple – strong Catholic schools contribute to a strong future for the Church. No one person can do everything, but everyone can do something. If more of our Catholic community were stepping up to help, the status of our schools, and thereby our Church, would be greatly improved.

So whether one is a parent, grandparent or single adult; whether our children have ever attended Catholic school and whether your parish has a Catholic school, we need to understand that to build up the Church, we need to help her schools.

Opportunities are all around us to do just that. If our parish does not have a school, we can just as easily help the school 10 miles up the highway. If you prefer, you can contribute to tuition assistance programs that are applied diocese-wide. If you have no means to provide financial support, you can become a volunteer, donate goods to a fundraiser... The possibilities are endless.

Let’s take good care of our schools. Our time, talent and treasure cannot be better spent.