The diocesan Office of Catholic Schools is working with a group of teachers to develop a new curriculum on the history of Virginia Catholics dating back to the early years. Starting this fall, the K-8 coursework will be added permanently to schools’ social studies program and will focus on local history and the development of area parishes, with each school studying its own roots.
The idea came about in connection with the first Diocesan Golden Jubilee preparatory year themed, “Remember.”
The new coursework aims to teach students about their faith community, diocesan history and the history of their parishes. Students will learn how their peers, school staff, faculty, parishioners and church leaders all have a role in the community, and how the common goal is to glorify Christ, said Jessica Baffa, kindergarten teacher at St. William of York School in Stafford, one of the teachers involved in the design of the new program.
Diocesan Assistant Superintendent of Schools Renee White spearheaded the effort, which will rely on rich historical sources such as the diocesan jubilee website and the book “Walking in Faith, the first 25 years History of the Diocese of Arlington,” which provides a wealth of information about the history of every parish.
Social studies lessons help elementary school students appreciate their place in the world and in their communities, she said, and the Arlington diocese is in a unique position given Virginia’s history as an early colony and the home to many U.S. presidents. Teachers from across the diocese will help weave its history into that curriculum.
“There is really a rich history of the Catholic struggle in colonial America and I think our students need to know about that,” White said. For example, she noted, there was a time when it was illegal to hire a Catholic to teach in the public school system.
“We’re learning about our own churches, our own parish and school history,” said Baffa. “We’re all focusing on our grade level.” This is specific to what the students live every day; they should be able to connect with their communities more than just through the history of Virginia. Community is one of the curriculum points for kindergarten, she added, so it will be an easy segue into the new coursework.
As the Arlington diocese is about to turn 50, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge announced that the diocese would prepare for the celebration over the course of three years, ending in the Jubilee Year 2024.
The first year’s theme is the sense of remembering the past with gratitude. The subsequent years are themed “Rejoice” and “Renew,” respectively. “This three-year period of preparation is a unique opportunity to strengthen our bond as a diocesan family as we celebrate the past with a spirit of gratitude and look to the future with joyful hope,” said Bishop Burbidge.
When the diocese was founded in 1974, 50 parishes already existed, including the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia’s first parish. Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, the founding bishop, was installed Aug. 13, 1974, and St. Thomas More Church in Arlington became the Cathedral of St. Thomas More. Later the diocese added 20 parishes and it is now home to almost 500,000 Catholics.
“I’m very happy for the work that’s been done to prepare a new curriculum for our diocesan schools under the leadership of Renee White,” said Father Edward C. Hathaway, rector of the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria and jubilee co-chair, along with Dan and Mary Beth Riordan. “In this first year of preparation for our Golden Jubilee, the focus is on the Eucharist and on remembering the past with gratitude. So, any anniversary is a time of looking back and also a time of looking forward,” he said. “This year, we’re looking back to see where we’ve come from to honor our legacy and to celebrate the men, women, families and priests who have gone before us and acknowledge the great gift we have received. It’s always good to know your family history. It helps you know who you are,” he added.
That is history and this is part of our history, said Marie Bannick, fourth grade teacher at Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Vienna. Bannick also was involved in the planning of the new program. Studying local history will be especially meaningful in an area as transient as this diocese, she said, and it will be valuable for the children to understand the history of their own parish. “I don’t think it’s something they know a lot about,” she added.
The new program will help to “give a sense of community, togetherness, and helping (students) understand where they are now and how this area came to be what it is,” said Baffa. It will help make them feel like they belong. “We’re learning about the history of our country, why not learn about the history of our faith, which is what our schools are based upon?” she added. “To integrate that into the curriculum is a good idea because it brings them back to that sense of community.”
Chapman is a freelancer in Alexandria.
