Christmas is here: a time of hope and joy as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus born in Bethlehem. After teachers and students take a well-deserved break to rest, have fun and enjoy the company of family, school will resume in a new year.

With 2023 fast approaching, it would be worthwhile to look at a few things Catholic high schools and elementary schools in Philadelphia have to be grateful for and why there’s every reason to be hopeful in pursuing a Catholic education for your child.

1. Christ-centered classrooms
We can’t have Catholic schools without Christ. After many students have had the joy of singing carols and hymns in their recent Christmas concerts across the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the centrality of the presence of Jesus has been celebrated and lived. Private education has the great benefit of offering our classrooms with the religious freedom necessary to bring Christ to our students and, through them, to our world.

2. Academic Excellence
A Peoria Magazine article found that “Catholic school students consistently score higher on advanced achievement tests, and by eighth grade, they outscore their public school counterparts in mathematics by a full 13 points.” This is one example of many which underline how a Catholic secondary education is continually being proven to give students an high quality academic edge over their peers who haven’t had the benefit of private education. What is the reason for this academic edge? I believe the answer is, to a large extent, to point #3.

3. Strong Moral Values
Great grades are nice but every parent, I’m sure, would certainly rank a strong moral character as a higher priority. After all, education is about forming youth not about churning out test scores.
The commitment to instilling moral values lies at the cornerstone of any Catholic education. This mission is what brings our teacher to work every day and is what continues to solidify the position Catholic schools hold in the eyes of parents. The same article mentioned earlier cites a study from the University of Pennsylvania which found that “success is not the number-one priority for most parents. We’re much more concerned about our children becoming kind, compassionate and helpful.”

As any working adult can attest, a person’s GPA in high school is not what bosses are looking for: bosses look the person in front of them, their communication skills, their character, how they treat others around them. And with good reason! At each and every Catholic school in Philadelphia we are happy to know that the moral values our students are receiving are preparing them for whatever the future has in store.

We give thanks in this Christmas season for these and so many more reasons. We give thanks for our heroic and committed educators who have made it their life’s mission to prepare future generations to be Christ-filled men and women. We give thanks to our dedicated parent volunteers who so generously give of their time, talent and treasure to make Holy Cross one of the leading private schools in the Philadelphia area.

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your families!

Catholic education around the country is making a major comeback.

While public schools have been struggling to bounce back from over a year of virtual learning, Catholic schools have been gaining territory. An article in America magazine connects a 3.8% increase in enrollment in 2021-22 with the commitment to in-person learning. This uptick breaks a 20-year skid in enrollment and is a possible indicator of widespread resurgence in private education.
This enrollment increase points to a significant trend and could point to a shift in how private education is being perceived across the nation. We certainly know that there are various reasons for choosing to send one’s children to private, christian schools: faith, educational excellence, commitment to smaller classrooms and to an in-person approach to learning.

But why has this increase in Catholic enrollment happened? Is it a shift towards private elementary schools or a shift away from the public education system?

The Costs of Public Education
The 2020 Census found that school attendance for all schools was just over 73 million, 48 million of which were in public schools (K-12th grade). In 2019-2020, the average cost to send one student to public school was $13,494. The following year (that is last school year) that number was $15,205.

The Cost Benefit of Private Education
According to the Private School Review, the average cost to send a student to private school in that same year was $11,645, almost $4,000 less than public schools. In fact, private elementary and middle schools is less expensive on average than public school in 42 states. Without wanting to over-generalize, it seems that we can add sheer cost as another reason to choose private education.

Decline in Public School Enrollment
Public school and charter school enrollment is still down 1.3 million than when the pandemic began. This is a staggering statistic. With population growth factored in, the fact that enrollment has decreased in raw numbers means that the impact is far greater when taken as a percentage.

The Search for Public School alternatives
One study shows that, on the other hand, private school enrollment increased 53% during COVID. This is an even more staggering statistic. Whatever the reasons for choosing Catholic elementary schools – and there are several – the educational landscape is trending across the nation towards choosing faith-filled, student-first classrooms.

If you are considering making the move to a private education in Philadelphia – or know someone else who is – please consider Holy Cross as a possible option. The average classroom size and the student-first mentality at Holy Cross puts us in line with the countless other Catholic schools in the Philadelphia area that are continuing to flourish and grow.

Americans aren’t used to thinking of Halloween as a religious holiday. With all the horror movies, the skulls and gory figurines on peoples’ lawns and the – well, spookiness – the Catholic roots of Halloween now generally lie six feet under people’s minds. This is precisely why it’s time to dig up these roots.

As many know, Halloween (or Hallowe’en) is a shortened version of “All Hallows’ Eve”. As such, it is the vigil or “eve” of the Solemnity of All Saints Day (or Feast of All Hallows) on November 1. As we say “hallowed be Thy name”, this word is familiar as meaning “holy” (which is what “saint” means). How did Halloween become so eradicated from this origin in popular culture? More importantly: how can the authentic meaning of the vigil of All Saints be regained?

The Most Rev. David Konderla, Bishop of Tulsa, recently wrote a Memorandum on the Celebration of Halloween, in which he says:

“As the annual celebration of Halloween approaches, we are reminded of the importance of maintaining the Catholic meaning and purpose of all holy days, especially those which have been adopted and adapted by the culture around us. Over time, popular culture has made it difficult to discern the authentic spirit of this great feast, an important time when we, God’s pilgrim church on earth, rejoice in the lives of all God’s saints whom we wish to follow into eternal life.”

In an enlightening and informative article, Dr. Marcel Antonio Brown spells out two steps towards this goal:

“If Catholics are to reclaim the authentic meaning of Halloween for all ages by making a genuine religious observance on All Hallows Eve, the first step must be to recognize and reject the secularization of the feast, the second step to think creatively about ways in which to recover the evening’s authentic devotional festivity.”

Step 1: Recognizing and Rejecting

This step doesn’t need to imply not having fun or not enjoying the evening of October 31. Quite the contrary! After all, if sainthood – holiness! – is the goal of each Catholic and to be holy means to be joyful, why shouldn’t the Solemnity of All Saints be enjoyable – and fun?

Brown points out that the very inspiration for placing All Saints on November 1 – and its vigil on October 31 – was born of the desire to teach and educate the non-Christians or those who had received insufficient catechetical instruction. He says:

“In order to turn the attention of the faithful towards God and away from divination, astrology, clairvoyance, magic, sorcery, occult powers, and spiritism (see Exodus 20:1-3, Deuteronomy 5:6-7, and CCC 2115-17), the Church situated the Solemnity of All Saints in a manner which would turn the evil of pagan culture to some good. No longer would the evening be devoted to “all witches” or “all evil ones”; instead October 31 would be dedicated to All Saints.”

In this context, the symbolism of death – and other spooky figures – takes on a meaning only in relation to Christ’s Resurrection:

“Props such as scythes and skulls have historically recalled our mortality and Christ’s victory over death. For example, a fresco by Giusto de Menabuoi in the Baptistery in Padua depicts our Lord as the prototype of the Reaper, as “one who looked like a son of man, with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand” (Revelation 14:14). Halloween’s visibly grim reminders of mortality therefore ought to elicit our devout attentiveness to the last things—death, judgment, heaven, and hell (CCC 1020-65)—while at the same time reminding us of Christ’s ultimate dominion over all.”

Bishop Konderla marks out the dangers that come about when these symbols are misunderstood:

“Separated from Catholic teaching, grim or ghoulish or “Gothic” costumes can furthermore be mistaken as a celebration or veneration of evil or of death itself, contradicting the full and authentic meaning of Halloween”.

Step 2: Thinking Creatively

So how can this “authentic meaning” be lived and celebrated in a way that is both meaningful and enjoyable, fun and educational? One big way is to use the saints as role models, as superheroes of faith that – unlike Superman and Batman – we can actually really imitate! What is more, the saints who are alive and reigning with Christ in Heaven are actively pleading for us before God and can be powerful protectors and lifelong friends. So one key step towards recovering the Catholic sense of Halloween is to imitate the saints. Brown says:

“By imitating the saints, Christians young and old make discipleship their own in a special way, following the exhortation of St. Paul who adjures the Corinthians, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). St. Basil the Great extends this logic to the lawful veneration of images, writing, “the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype,” to which he adds, “whoever venerates an image venerates the person portrayed in it” (CCC 2132). Proper veneration of the saints naturally leads to adoration of the Lamb who was slain (Revelation 5:12), whom all the saints adore (Revelation 7) and whom the 144,000 virgins joyously follow wherever he goes (Revelation 14). By imitating their witness, true devotion to the saints leads us sinners back to Christ.”

Does this mean that kids shouldn’t dress up? Certainly not! Bishop Konderla says that “The custom of dressing up for Halloween is devotional in spirit. By dressing up as the saints whom we most admire, we imagine ourselves following their example of Christian discipleship.”

Perhaps children could dress up as their patron saint or a saint that they would like to learn more about. The tradition of giving and receiving candy and other goodies can easily be linked back to Christ who is God’s gift to us, as well as the Holy Spirit who is the gift that Jesus sent to his Church.

Conclusion

Brown sums up:

“Halloween, an essentially Paschal holy day, represents an unsurpassed opportunity for the lay faithful to express devotion to God through the veneration of all his saints. The good to be done is evident, as is the evil to be avoided. The saints are to be glorified, Christ’s victory over sin and death recalled. Anything which detracts from the glory of God and his saints is to be avoided.”

All of these reflections ultimately lead to a reflection on the Catholic understanding of death and life, which is only ultimately understood in the context of Eternal Life:

“Death glorified, death apart from its subjection to the Paschal Mystery, death apart from Christ’s victory over death, is not death properly considered from a Christian standpoint. Christ has conquered death, as has been prophesied and fulfilled, “Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55; cf. Hosea 13:14). By his passion, death, and resurrection, by his Paschal Mystery, Christ’s victory over sin and its wages, death (Romans 6:23), has made available to us some share in “the lot of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:12).

With all these thoughts in mind, I wish a Happy Halloween and Happy All Saints Day to you all.

Sources

• Bishop David Konderla, Memorandum On the Celebration of Halloween Within the Diocese of Tulsa & Eastern Oklahoma; Official Statements – https://dioceseoftulsa.org/official-statements
• Marcel Antonio Brown, “The Holy Ghosts of Halloween: Resurrecting a Catholic Feast”; adoremus -https://adoremus.org/2018/10/the-holy-ghosts-of-halloween-resurrecting-a-catholic-feast/

Schools across the nation reported that students fell behind due to distance learning during the COVID pandemic.

Not so with Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Students enrolled in the Catholic grade schools operated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia advanced in grade-level learning during the COVID19 pandemic.

A recent NPR story noted that “students learned less when they were remote.”  This, of course, comes as no surprise. NPR notes that many public-school systems were caught unprepared. Teachers were not trained to manage remote learning.  School districts did not have available technology to support online learning.

“‘Even students who spent the least amount of time learning remotely during the 2020-2021 year-just a month or less-missed the equivalent of seven to ten weeks of learning,’ says Thomas Kane of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University.”

Conversely, students enrolled in a Catholic grade school operated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia demonstrated “at least a full year’s growth.  At one level, in mathematics, there was more than a year’s growth.”  This data comes from a report commissioned by the Office for Catholic Education (OCE) working with the Data Recognition Corporation who analyzed Terra Nova scores which demonstrated the growth and advancement achieved by Catholic school students.

Bottom line:  Catholic schools stayed open, and kids kept learning!  Today, Catholic school students are ahead of their public-school peers thanks to the incredible job done by schoolteachers and administrators.

How They Did It

When the COVID19 pandemic forced schools to close on 15 March, 2020, the Catholic grade schools of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia immediately pivoted to distance learning.  OCE teachers and administrators had taken advantage of state-funded programs aimed at training teachers to implement distance learning for short periods of time (ie weather events).  With this foundation, Catholic schoolteachers were better prepared than their public-school colleagues. Many districts did not take advantage of the state training programs.  But Catholic school teachers had been developing plans for remote learning and were able to immediately shift to a longer-term distance learning model to finish out the 2019-2020 school year.

During the summer of 2020, while public school districts doubled down on keeping their doors closed, Catholic school teachers were meeting and planning how to open for the 2020-2021 school year.  The Catholic Schools Onward (CSO) taskforce coalesced educational experts, healthcare professionals, teachers, and administrators to develop a plan to safely open schools for in person instruction.

Examining Profits

It worked.

The Data Recognition Corporation’s analysis showed how Catholic school students in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia were able to advance with grade level learning during the pandemic while so many public-school students fell behind.

Moreover, the health and safety procedures developed by the CSO taskforce kept the spread of COVID to a minimum.  In most cases Catholic schools had fewer cases compared to the community at large.  This was achieved through a robust and innovative set of initiatives including cohorting, social distancing and health screenings.

In addition to the incredible leadership demonstrated by the Office for Catholic Education, parents showed courage and commitment throughout the pandemic.  Catholic schools believe that education is a partnership between parents and teachers. This was never more apparent in 2020 and 2021 when parents worked with schools to ensure in person learning was successful.  We cannot thank our parents enough.

The Word is Out

Parents are making the choice to enroll their students in their local Catholic grade school.  Clearly, the commitment to learning and the foundation in the Catholic faith are attracting parents. Catholic school enrollment has increased for the 2^nd year in a row.  This is the first time in decades where school enrollment has increased.

Holy Cross is one of over 100 Catholic grade schools operated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  We offer a dynamic curriculum for students in Pre-K through 8^th grade.  During the pandemic, we kept our students on track, in school and safe.  We are dedicated to protecting the wholesomeness of childhood while we offer a world-class education to our students.

Since October is the month of the rosary, it may be helpful to reflect on what this powerful prayer means for us and our families. How can the rosary help us grow in our relationship with our Blessed Mother? How can devotion to Mary help form students in and out of the classroom? Three themes come to mind: meditation, service and love.

Meditation

St. John Paul II said of Mary’s constant meditation of the Word made flesh: “The meditation of Mary constitutes the prime model of the prayer of the Rosary. It is the prayer of those who hold the angel’s greeting to Mary dear. Persons who recite the Rosary take up Mary’s meditation in their thoughts and hearts and as they recite the prayer they wonder “what his greeting meant””. Mary’s meditation is a humble search for the meaning of God’s word, of God’s reality, of the mystery of God’s presence. In order to do this Mary was constantly “listening” in an active way to every event that God was “saying” through the facts of her history. After the visit of the shepherds in Bethlehem, Mary “treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Lk 2:19). The verb used here for “pondered” literally means “to place together” or “to confront”. There are thus two realities in front of Mary that are difficult – or seemingly impossible – to reconcile: the abject precariousness of Jesus’ birth and the excelling greatness of the words of the angels which the shepherds have conveyed.

After having found Jesus in the Temple, Luke writes “His mother stored up all these things in heart” (Lk 2:51). The heart of Mary is the “treasury” of the powerful acts of God, her “hard drive” in which was stored in her memory the interventions that God had done for her. And not only for her alone but for all of the human race.

Service

When the angel Gabriel brought Mary the news that she would miraculously be a mother – without the aid of a man – not only of a son but of the Messiah (the ‘Son of God’), Mary realized that her life would no longer be her own; in fact, she knew – as Joseph would soon realize (Mt 1:19) – that her own life would be in danger. But rather than focus on these frightening and traumatic possibilities, Mary was convinced of one thing: that her mission, her vocation came from God. By opening herself and abandoning herself to God’s will, as Simeon prophesied, Mary knew that “a sword will pierce your own soul” (Lk 2:35a). But this “piercing” had a purpose, as Simeon continued: “so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare” (Lk 2:35b). Before pronouncing these troubling words, however, Simeon first prophesied the Resurrection when he said that “[this child] is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel” (Lk 2:34). The word used here for “rising” is that used for “resurrection”. Although Mary couldn’t know what this would mean, she trusted that it was something wonderful. Why? Because it came from God! Jesus would say “The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me” (Jn 10:27).

Mary is the truest and most humble “sheep” of Christ: she followed the voice of God through her trust even though she did not understand the what this voice was saying. As children, we first came in contact with the voice of our parents before we were ever able to understand what they were saying. With God, before we ever can understand the meaning of our vocation in life, like Mary we must first trust the voice of God. This Voice “spoke” to Mary through the events of her history. She said: “God is speaking here; I will listen!” not “I understand what God is saying; therefore, I will do it”. Mary’s complete trust in God is what makes it possible for Mary to follow Christ (Jn 10:27).

To instill and foster this trust in God is the prime goal of Catholic Education.

Love

Shakespeare wrote “love is not love which alters when it alteration finds” (Sonnet 116: 2-3). This true and unfailing love is to be found in Mary. She found many “alterations” from her own plan for her life and Jesus’ life and found “alterations” everywhere she looked at the foot of the Cross: In the very same city where Jesus was acclaimed as king only one week ago, Jesus was being crucified. All of his apostles – except John – had fled for fear. But Mary stood near the cross of Jesus (Jn 19:25). As Jesus received his precious wounds by which “we are healed” (Is 53:5) – “like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers” (Is 53:7) – Mary’s soul was pierced by the “sword” (Lk 2:35). Mary’s love was a co-suffering with her Beloved, with Christ. Like the Passion of Christ, Mary’s Passion was also life-giving: just as she became the Mother of Christ at Bethlehem, she now becomes the Mother of the Church at the foot of the Cross (Jun 19:26).

This love is the source from which the classrooms of Holy Cross draws its inspiration. Mary is not an image, an ideal, an example: she is a living person, she is our Queen, she is the spiritual Mother of all students and teachers at our school. She is our true teacher. And she was able to be a teacher because she was a “sheep”, a humble child before God. Through her meditation, service and love, she is the model of what it means to be a Holy Cross Crusader. Mary, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us!