Each year when we celebrate National Catholic Schools Week, I am reminded of my own formation. Through the example and sacrifice of my parents, I was given the gift of a Catholic education. I can never thank them enough. In that regard, I extend my heartfelt and sincere appreciation to you, parents. You are setting the stage for your children to live the Gospel as Christ commanded and giving them every opportunity to be rooted in, and formed by, the Catholic Faith.
Catholic schools of the Diocese continue to enjoy an excellent reputation. This year, the 37 parish schools, four high schools, four free-standing preschools and five independent Catholic schools reached a 15-year high with an enrollment of 18,000 students. This increase of more than 1,100 students reflects the dedication of parents, administrators, and teachers throughout the Diocese over the past 22 months. As enrollment has grown, the rich diversity of our school communities has continued to grow too. Around the Diocese, our schools reflect the rich racial, ethnic and cultural diversity of our communities.
Additionally, our schools are stronger as learning communities when we have students who have different learning styles and abilities. I am proud to say that all our schools have enrolled students with disabilities and my visits to schools validate what we all know: Schools that welcome all kinds of learners, and offer them respect and empathy, grow stronger as communities.
I am also well-aware that the cost of Catholic schools is a serious sacrifice. Many feel as though it is unattainable. I am so pleased that, by the grace of God and the generosity of so many, the Diocese was able to distribute more than $6 million in financial assistance last year. While our work is not done, our diocese continues to set its sights on reaching more students to educate them for service in God’s kingdom.
Schools continue to navigate the challenges of the pandemic, working diligently to provide safe and healthy places for students to learn, pray and serve others — all while remaining very vigilant and flexible in the face of a frequently changing landscape of directives and guidelines.
As I travel to schools, I see the strength of our mitigation strategies and how happy students are to be in the classroom. Children are thriving because our 1,400 teachers and administrators are mission-driven and faithfully dedicated to their vocation. As Gospel witnesses for their students, our Catholic educators help our students grow in confidence to use their God-given gifts while guiding them to know, love and seek Jesus in their lives.
Having just begun the first year of a three-year celebration of our upcoming 50th jubilee as a diocese, a year during which we are encouraged to remember with gratitude the graces we receive from our Eucharistic Lord, I am so thankful for the decades of sacrifices that pastors, religious communities, lay educators and families have made. They have built such a rich legacy of excellence in Catholic education in this diocese.
In closing, I want to say once again that I am so proud of our schools, the administrators who lead them, the teachers who teach in them, the wonderful children who are formed in them, and the parents who, as the primary educators of their children, entrust them to our schools. I also extend my gratitude to the pastors and chaplains whose spiritual leadership is so essential to the success of the mission of the schools.
So Happy Catholic Schools Week, Diocese of Arlington. Each of you are in my daily prayers.
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