"Catholic Schools Should Be Catholic, Even in San Francisco"

Read all about it @ http://www.nationalreview.com/article/414524/catholic-schools-should-be-catholic-even-san-francisco-ian-tuttle

"If you care to learn how thin our conception of religious liberty has become, look to the Bay Area. In early February, San Francisco archbishop Salvatore Cordileone released a statement “regarding the teachings and practice of the Catholic Church,” to be included as of August 1, 2015, in the faculty handbook for the four high schools run by the archdiocese. “We, the Archdiocesan High Schools,” it reads, “affirm that we are educational institutions of the Catholic Church, and as such strive to present Catholic doctrine in its fullness, and that we hold, believe and practice all that the Holy Catholic Church teaches, believes and proclaims to be true, whether from the natural moral law or by way of revelation from God through Scripture and Tradition.” Fifteen “affirm and believe” statements follow, which focus on the Catholic Church’s teachings on sexuality — its espousal of chastity and the inviolability of human life, for instance, and its rejection of same-sex marriage — but are adequately summarized in the first statement: “We affirm and believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, and we embrace the teachings about that Church as enunciated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.” 

Cordileone is also seeking to redefine teachers as “ministers” in their contracts, which would make their employment dependent on their adherence to the “statement.” Taken together, Cordileone’s proposals might be summarized as demonstrating that he thinks Catholic schools should be Catholic."

"Catholic school to sit out St. Pat’s parade because gays will be marching"

http://www.religionnews.com/2015/03/02/catholic-school-sit-st-pats-parade-gays-will-marching/

"OSTON (Reuters) – A Roman Catholic grammar school located near Boston has pulled out of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in protest over organizers’ decision to allow a gay veterans’ group to march in next month’s event.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary School, which traditionally sends its marching band to the South Boston route, said on Friday it would withdraw following a decision by the Allied War Veteran’s Council, the parade’s organizers, to admit a group of gay and lesbian veterans called OutVets to participate.

“We can’t associate with that,” Brother Thomas Dalton, principal of Immaculate Heart of Mary School, said in a phone interview. “It would appear we were condoning it.”

For decades the organizers of the New York and Boston St. Patrick’s Day parades excluded openly gay groups from participating in their events, contending that allowing them to march would violate the beliefs of their Catholic faith, which holds that homosexual acts are immoral.

Both parades’ major sponsors, Diageo PLC’s Guinness in New York and Boston Beer Co’s Sam Adams in Boston, withdrew their support last year over the issue."

"All-girls Catholic high schools becoming scarce"

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/education/2015/02/28/girls-catholic-high-schools-three/24187145/

"An all-girls education, its advocates say, helps young women find their voice.

"They have a way to find out who they are without all the distractions," said Carol Killebrew, the principal of The Ursuline School in New Rochelle, one a handful of all-girls Catholic schools in the Lower Hudson Valley.

And at those schools, it's girls who fill the leadership positions in clubs and on sports teams and are the valedictorians at graduation time.

But the number of places families in the region can find that experience is shrinking with the closure of Good Counsel Academy in White Plains at the end of the school year. The loss of Good Counsel will leave three all-girls Catholic high schools in Westchester and will take away one of the more affordable options for middle class families."

"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."