Task Force on Catholic Schools Funding Moves Forward

The Bishop’s Task Force on Catholic schools funding has presented an initial draft plan to the Bishop and the presbyteral counsel. Over the next few weeks the task force, under the leadership of Father John Fleckenstein, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Battle Creek, and pastor/administrator of the Battle Creek Catholic Schools, and Margaret Erich, Superintendent of Schools, will present the plan to pastors in the diocese for additional input and support.
The task force was formed last fall by Bishop James A. Murray to examine various diocesan funding models for Catholic Schools from throughout the country. This action is in response to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops document from the Committee on Education where the bishops renewed their commitment to Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the third millennium.

Catholic Schools Address Hispanic/Latino Pastoral Plan
By John Jaksa
Assistant Superintendent of Schools

Three years ago, the Office of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Kalamazoo sought to design a pastoral plan for the Hispanic/Latino community that would address many issues facing this segment of the population. This plan would be a joint effort of the various ministries within the diocese. Their effort produced the Hispanic/Latino Pastoral Plan 2007-2011. One of the positive effects of this plan is the raising of consciousness of the entire Catholic community to this portion of the population that is often overlooked.

One of the diocesan offices which responded to the Hispanic/Latino Pastoral Plan was the diocesan Office of Schools. Conducting a survey of diocesan Catholic school administrators, it found that many geographical areas have identified either no or a very limited Hispanic population within the school or in the parish.

The Hispanic/Latino population seeks for their children the same benefit that all other segments of the population want. They value a quality education where their children will be nurtured and feel safe. The most frustrating impediment to meeting this goal is financial. Diocesan schools are searching for scholarship funds to help support these students. Often, language is another barrier yet many diocesan schools have identified key persons who could assist with communicating to Hispanic/Latino parents assisting them in understanding the school’s requirements. These are areas where administrators are trying to make in-roads into the Hispanic population, but have found that the obstacles are not easy to overcome.

Holy Angels School in Sturgis has identified a large Hispanic/Latino population in their area and they have aggressively undertaken the challenge to provide a Catholic education for them. Their efforts were successful and Holy Angels School enrolled 18 new bringing the total to 28 Hispanic/Latino students this academic year.

St. Joseph Elementary School in Battle Creek also serves a significant Hispanic/Latino student population. They have been very successful incorporating students into the school culture. It has been stated that their welcoming spirit has brought many Hispanic/Latino families to St. Joseph School.

The Office of Schools has encouraged schools within the diocese to identify and reach out to their Hispanic/Latino population. There is so much work to be done to ensure that this group of Catholics has the same opportunities for a Catholic education that are available to other Catholic families.

You can read the full pastoral plan via www.dioceseofkalamazoo.org, Diocesan Services, Hispanic Ministry — English or Spanish, Diocesan Pastoral Plan.

Catholic Schools to take Religion Test

This year all the Catholic Schools in the diocese will be taking a test to evaluate the knowledge that our students have retained from their theology instruction. Faith 2000 will be administered in 3rd, 6th, 8th and 11th grades. This test was developed by a team of educators from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and the Catechetical Assessment Program, Inc. who served as consultants. The test is based upon the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the religion curriculum of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis which our diocese adopted.

The test will help teachers evaluate what is being taught and if it is being learned by their students. The test identifies three basic levels of standards of faith knowledge, Advanced Standard, Proficient Standard, and Basic Standard. The results will serve as benchmarks or reference points for further comparisons.

The test will be administered the week of March 24 or the week of March 31. The time allocation for the test is approximately 45 minutes. Test results will assist administrators in evaluating their students’ success in meeting the curricular benchmarks in theology instruction.