Sustaining Catholic Education in and for the Black Community
By Lois J. Carson, Sr. Roberta Fulton, S.S.M.N., Dorothy Gupton, Veronica Morgan-Lee, Freida D. McCray, Mary Crowley McDonald, Kathleen A. Merritt, Sr. Jamie T. Phelps, O.P., Ph.D., Brother Gary Sawyer, ECSA, Deacon Marvin Threatt, PhD.
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Chapter 3
Preparing Students
Education always has been considered a fundamental ingredient of any program designed to promote the success and wellbeing of African Americans. In the United States, education is viewed as the means by which one can lift oneself from a life of poverty, marginalization, and exclusion. Education is a vital key to personal growth, development, and full participation in American life and society.
Catholic schools have experienced overwhelming success in providing children of all ethnic groups with a quality education. Among the many reasons that Catholic education has been effective (particularly in the Black community) is because of its adherence to Catholic philosophy, identity, and mission.
The philosophy of Catholic education is derived from an understanding of the mission that Christ entrusted to the Church. In the Gospel of Matthew, the final words of Christ to His disciples are recorded as the Great Commission in which Christ gave the command, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” In these simple, yet powerful words spoken over 2000 years ago, Catholic Education finds its scriptural, theological, and philosophical origin.
In response to Christ's command to preach, teach, and proclaim the Good News of salvation, Catholic schools have existed in one form or another for hundreds of years. Today, in our country and in the Black community, Catholic schools continue to carry out the Great Commission to teach, sanctify, and serve, as a part of the official teaching office of the Church, the Magisterium.
While the primary role of Catholic education is to teach faith and morals based upon the Gospel, included in that mandate is the responsibility to provide knowledge and skills that will equip followers of Christ to function effectively in the world. Thus, Catholic education exists not only to teach, but also to prepare followers of Christ to participate, contribute, and compete in an ever evolving and changing world.
Through competent instruction in various disciplines, guided by Gospel values, Catholic education ultimately seeks to prepare students and followers of Christ to work for the establishment of the Kingdom of God and the fullness of the reign of God on earth.
Historically, Catholic schools have been extremely successful in the work of teaching faith and morals, as well as preparing students to function effectively in the world. As a result, students attending Catholic Schools, especially in the Black community, fare decidedly better on regional, state, and national assessments than their counterparts in traditional schools.
Case Study #1
Students at Verbum Dei High School in the Los Angeles south-central community of Watts have consistently maintained a college acceptance rate of 85 to 90 percent. The majority of students at this all-male, predominately African American high school go on to post-secondary education, compared with less than 20 percent of their counterparts in the local public school.
Among the primary contributors to the successes at Verbum Dei are that the school has been guided by its scriptural and theological philosophy, and that school administrators have developed curricula programs and instructional methodologies that reflect this philosophy.
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