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.
(Article: Page 29 of 35)
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Sustaining Catholic Education in and for the Black Community Resource List for Youth Ministers In the African American Catholic Community

Ten Things You Can Do to Promote Educational Solidarity

1. Promote the development of a national foundation to endow our schools with financial support for generations to come. It is a goal of the NBCC Commission on Catholic Education to establish a foundation that will provide grants to schools in need. The success of this initiative will depend on your support.
2. Ask your local Bishop to support Catholic schools. Letter writing is an effective communication tool. Organizing listening sessions with your Bishop and a committee of concerned Catholics can foster problem solving when schools are facing closure. It is ideal to proactively communicate with your Bishop before a school is in jeopardy of closing. Your Bishop's support certainly will impact your diocese, and may influence decisions on the national level, as well.
3. Take ownership of Catholic schools by telling their success stories to others. Use opportunities in the community, such as social gatherings and public speaking engagements, to share an interesting, positive experience involving a Catholic school. Your story will demonstrate your commitment, and your audience certainly will find your compassion admirable.
4. Adopt practices that contribute funds to Catholic schools. Many families choose to ask for financial donations to a Catholic school or educational foundation in lieu of flowers at funerals. The transmission of wealth and inheritance from one generation to the next is a sign of support that, if adopted, can provide future financial security for our Catholic schools.
5. Encourage Catholic youth to take ownership of Catholic schools by instilling in them a desire to choose Catholic education over public education. Involve the community in making a youth's desire to attend a Catholic school a reality.
6. Set a goal in support of Catholic education in your Parish's pastoral plan. Follow through and advance your goal to higher levels yearly.
7. Support your diocesan office of Black Ministry. Confirm that support of Catholic education is a goal in the office's pastoral plan. To ensure that the voice of African Americans is heard, confirm that that an African American serves on your Bishop's curia.
8. Include Xavier University as an option for college-bound students in your area. Educate diocesan leadership on the benefits of attending Xavier's Institute for Black Catholic Studies.
9. Help to recruit African American administrators and teachers for Catholic schools. Volunteer to serve on search committees when vacancies become available. Establish programs for retired African American educators from the public sector to consider work in Catholic schools after retirement. (Many public school systems have programs of this nature in place.) These programs offer cost savings, as well as continuance of quality.
10. Pray that our stand of solidarity proves successful in sustaining Catholic education in and for the Black Community.

It is certain that the pastoral letter, What We Have Seen and Heard, paved the way for the work of the NBCC Commission on Catholic Education. Today, over 25 years later, we the Commissioners on Catholic Education are initiating a call for solidarity on Catholic education. Although significant challenges confront us, we will reclaim our schools, and solidarity is the answer.

Through the blessed gifts of the sacraments, Catholic education emerges. Not only is the calling for Holy Orders nurtured, our Baptismal right and duty to share in the work of Christ the Priest, Christ the Teacher, and Christ the King has its training ground in our Catholic schools. The grace of the sacrament of Confirmation calls and empowers us to live our faith boldly. We believe that, nourished by the grace of this sacrament, we “can do all things through Christ who strengthens” us. We are more than confident that through the gifts of the Spirit and our solidarity, we will find a new ways to build, sustain, and maintain quality Catholic education for all people at all levels of learning.

We encourage groups and organizations to undertake focused action items. Such groups include administrators, religious leaders, teachers, lay professionals, and youth in the Black community. Examples of focused action items for targeted groups are presented on the following pages.

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