"Marino brings fresh vision, verve to Catholic Education Arizona"

http://www.catholicsun.org/2015/02/24/marino-brings-fresh-vision-verve-to-catholic-education-arizona/

"Donna Marino, the new president and CEO of Catholic Education Arizona, came upon her career leading non-profit organizations quite by grace.

“I always had a call to service,” she told The Catholic Sun. At Boston University, Marino studied speech pathology and audiology, thinking she would work one day in a clinical setting.

During her senior year, however, she got involved raising money for “Jerry’s Kids” through the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

“I really liked it,” Marino said. “I was invited by their regional office in Massachusetts to make a presentation to the board.”

From a modest background, she had no familiarity with boards of directors but made a strong impression. It turned out to be a defining moment; Marino would devote her life to helping non-profits such as the Multiple Sclerosis Society become successful. She spent five years working alongside Archbishop William Lori in Bridgeport, Conn., leading the archdiocese’s charitable appeal, foundation and endowment fund for parishes and schools."

"Frigid temperatures may no longer mean a day off for Jackson Catholic Schools students"

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2015/02/frigid_weather_may_no_longer_m.html

"JACKSON, MI - Frigid days may no longer mean a day off for Jackson Catholic Schools students.

In a letter sent to parents, principals of Lumen Christi High School, Jackson Catholic Middle School and St. Mary's, St. John's and Queen's elementary schools said they cannot continue to cancel school on days that roads are safe.

"The education of the students has been impacted and with the lack of a school routine, the focus is lost for many," the letter said. "The principals have decided that we may not choose to close ...on cold days when other districts opt to."

As a group, Jackson County's public school superintendents have agreed to base their decision to close school on actual or wind chill temperatures at or below-minus 20.

The Catholic schools' choice to stay open on such days would only be considered if roads are safe to travel on and there is no blowing or drifting snow, said the letter, which went out to parents on Monday, Feb. 23.

"As long as it is safe, we want them here," Queen's Elementary School Principal Elizabeth Hartley said.

The elementary schools only would allow kids outside for recess if the actual temperature and wind chill are both above zero, the letter said."

"Congressman Neal: 'We now deserve answers' about Cathedral, Holyoke Catholic high schools merger plan"

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/02/us_rep_richard_neal_on_bishops.html

"SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, responding to the Bishop of Springfield's announcement on Monday that two Catholic high schools in the region will be merged at some undetermined location, said the Cathedral High School "family" deserves answers.

Neal's comments occurred after Bishop Mitchell Rozanski announced that Cathedral High School and Holyoke Catholic High School in Chicopee will be merged into one regional school, at a site to be determined. Cathedral's home on Surrey Road was destroyed in a 2011 tornado, and will be one of the sites considered for the new regional high school Rozanski said.

Rozanski said Monday the solution was determined to be the most practical and sustainable by a group of stakeholders meeting with church officials. Declining enrollment and the high cost of tuition have been issues in the discussions."

"Catholic schools reach out to rural areas"

http://www.9news.com/story/news/education/2015/01/27/catholic-schools-reach-out-rural-areas/22438461/

"DENVER - At Catholic schools around Colorado, there is a numbers problem.

Some towns just don't have enough people to support schools in places like Sterling, which will lose its parochial school at the end of this school year.

"Certainly, we have enrollment changes in various areas. There are shifting demographics throughout our society," Dick Thompson, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Denver, said.

Thompson says across the Archdiocese, enrollment drops by about 1 to 2 percent each year and it is a struggle, at times, to keep schools in rural areas afloat."

"Nuns seek Detroit Catholic school alums"

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/01/30/catholic-nuns-seek-alumni/22580433/

"A coalition of nuns has bankrolled a push to identify thousands of alumni from four west side Detroit schools — Most Holy Trinity, Holy Redeemer, Christ the King and Gesu — the only remaining Catholic elementary schools within the city limits.

The Monroe-based Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) congregation, along with other religious communities, funded the $16,000 effort to digitize records and locate living alumni so the parishes can step up fund-raising efforts to ensure the schools' survival."

"Mater Dei Prep: An example of the crisis facing Catholic schools"

http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2015/02/mater_dei_is_an_example_of_larger_crisis_facing_ca.html

"In the last week, members of the Mater Dei Prep community were told their high school was closing, they raised more than $21,000 to help #SaveTheSepraphs, they were given two months to raise $1 million, they established a plan to accomplish that and then rallied to spread the word. 

While students, staff and others in the school community said they were blindsided by the news, school officials said the Diocese of Trenton and St. Mary Parish have been subsidizing Mater Dei's substantial budget deficits for years.

Mater Dei's leadership was told in December that that financial support would be ending, and the decision to close the school was not far behind.

However, Mater Dei Prep is not the only Catholic school currently facing the possibility of closure and is also not the only school that has been given an opportunity to change its fate."

"PhillyDeals: Corporate help for Catholic schools"

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20150216_PhillyDeals__Corporate_help_for_Catholic_schools.html

"In 2012, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput rescinded the threatened closing of four Catholic high schools after a group of developers, executives, and foundations promised to raise money and take a more active role supporting them.

On behalf of those schools, a private group that helps families pay tuition has more than tripled its yearly scholarship grants through Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program and related credits.

The credits allow companies to redirect part of their state taxes to private, independent, and parochial schools so they can provide tuition assistance to any student who applies, until the money runs out."

"Pamphlet about morals upsets parents at SF Catholic school"

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Pamphlet-about-morals-upsets-parents-at-SF-6086741.php

"In the latest controversy to strike the Catholic Church in San Francisco, elementary school students at the Star of the Sea School were given pamphlets referring to sexual topics that some parents say were inappropriate and far too advanced for their children."

"Growing Catholic school will get new home"

http://www.roanoke.com/news/education/montgomery_county/growing-catholic-school-will-get-new-home/article_010f1dc9-9284-55ad-9bf0-6ed290e49a65.html

"BLACKSBURG — St. John Neumann Academy is at capacity.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
On a recent, blustery February day every classroom was packed with kids and the walls were lined with hand drawn artwork. The foyer was filled with posters from a recent science fair display.
 Music, art and French teachers have to go into each individual classroom to teach their subjects because there isn’t enough space in the school that teaches pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Students eat lunch in their classroom."

"Where does 'public life’ end for Catholic school teachers?"

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Where-does-public-life-end-for-Catholic-6057915.php

"Educators at East Bay Catholic schools must “demonstrate a public life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church” as part of a new contract disclosed Monday.

The new contract introduced by Bishop Michael Barber is intended to be less harsh than last year’s, which for the first time included a controversial requirement that teachers conform to church doctrine in their “personal” life."

"Catholic school teachers told to lead lives in accord with church teachings"

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2015/0207/Catholic-school-teachers-told-to-lead-lives-in-accord-with-church-teachings

 

"San Francisco — About 100 people attended a vigil outside the Roman Catholic cathedral in San Francisco on Friday to protest the local archbishop's move to require teachers at four Catholic high schools to lead their public lives inside the classroom and out in accordance with church teachings on homosexuality, birth control and other hot-button issues."