For more than 60 years, All Saints Catholic
School in Manassas has welcomed thousands of students from pre-K through eighth
grade. But last week was the first time the school hosted officials from the
U.S. Department of Education — and school personnel were understandably
excited.
“We seek out schools that have innovative
practices and are successful,” said Aimee Viana, principal deputy assistant
secretary in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, who toured the
school and participated in a “listening session” with a small group of parents,
teachers and students.
Viana and associate Michael Chamberlain visited
several classrooms and spoke with children at various grade levels about their
studies — from the geography of Asia in a fifth-grade classroom to literary
language in the Amelia Bedelia book series, in a second-grade class.
All Saints Principal David Conroy
explained that faith formation is a primary focus, even while the school
emphasizes “academic excellence in all things.”
The tour showcased both of those aspects.
Visitors stopped to admire a brightly colored floor-to-ceiling “values mural” that
decorates a long cinder block corridor with giant flowers, under a painted
banner proclaiming words from Isaiah 58:11: “The Lord will guide you always …
You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring.”
The tour also highlighted schoolwide
initiatives in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), including
classrooms equipped with ActivBoards, supersized interactive touchscreens that
combine the benefits of a traditional blackboard or dry-erase whiteboard with
those of a computer. Carts containing laptops for grades three through eight could
be seen parked outside classrooms, ready for teachers when they want to use
technology to enhance learning. For pre-K through second grades, classrooms use
iPads.
Viana,
a former Catholic school principal at a Department of Education Blue Ribbon
School of Excellence in Raleigh, N.C., asked several questions about “differentiation,”
which refers to instruction personalized to fit each student’s skills and
learning needs.
“We
like to highlight that one size does not fit all,” said Viana, who has served
as executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence
for Hispanics. Manassas has a growing Hispanic population, as does the nation overall.
Hispanic students now represent more than a quarter of all U.S. students,
according to the Pew Research Center.
Viana
also asked about the benefits of the Virginia Education Improvement Scholarship
Tax Credit Program for families. The program provides individuals and
businesses a 65 percent tax credit when they make a monetary donation to
support low-income students through approved scholarship funds.
The
Diocese of Arlington Scholarship Foundation is approved under the program and
provided $2 million in tuition assistance to students in diocesan schools last year,
said Joseph E. Vorbach, superintendent of schools, who participated in the
tour. The diocese has 50 Catholic schools serving more than 17,000 students
from pre-K through high school.
Conroy
said the program is a significant source of funding for All Saints, which currently
receives more than $100,000 to support scholarships for 25
students. “We don’t want funding to be an impediment,” he said.
Legislation has been introduced in the
Virginia General Assembly to repeal the tax credit, which could significantly
impact diocesan scholarships.
At the listening session, Viana asked
participants to share, in their own words, “what makes this school special and
why you chose it, so I can impart that back” to other education officials.
Parent Joan Coleman said she values that “the
faculty and staff really pay attention to the individual child and their
individual needs. They assess and challenge” each child at his or her own
level.
Other parents agreed, adding that they
appreciated teachers’ efforts to ensure that all students are successful. Several
parents told Viana that although they don’t receive scholarships, they do
support the scholarship program, so other families can receive the benefits of
a Catholic education, even those who can’t afford the tuition.
Others participating in the visit included
Father Lee R. Roos, All Saints pastor, who said he spent 10 years in the
computer industry before going to the seminary; Renee White, assistant
superintendent for enrollment and marketing; Manassas Mayor Hal Parrish and
Theresa Coates Ellis, a Manassas city council member.
After the session, Viana said it was
clear to her from her visit that “the experience provided is highly valued
by students, faculty and staff. They value the choice and opportunity they have
to participate as part of this community — and the commitment is evident.” She was
scheduled to visit two Manassas public schools later that day.
Miller can be reached at [email protected].
