More On The 'treasure' Of Catholic Education
I guess this is my “Proud Papa” column for 2015.
Students across our 28 Catholic schools proved again this year that their education might be priceless. Without question, it is proving as valuable as any other treasure they will encounter in their lives.
Treasure? Definitely.
I looked that word up, and the primary definition begins, “wealth or riches stored or accumulated.” We have students across this diocese proving they have accumulated a wealth of knowledge through their time in Catholic schools.
My primary example is worth more than $24.53 million.
Specifically, the 308 graduates (in 2015) of our four diocesan high schools earned a combined $24,533,468 in scholarships. I did the math; that’s more than $79,650 per student; per … student!
So then I found the following on the website CollegeData.com: “According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2014-2015 school year was $31,231 at private colleges, $9,139 for state residents at public colleges, and $22,958 for out-of-state residents attending public universities.”
That helps put the $79,650 in perspective. Catholic school students in our diocese are wealthy in knowledge, thanks to their home and school families.
Rivet High School Senior Class President Ben Herman began his address to the Class of 2015 during the May 23 Commencement by asking his fellow seniors to join him in a salute to the families, teachers and staff that had helped them reach graduation day. The crowd in the Highland Woods Community Center joined the 22 graduates; the place erupted into a heartfelt ovation.
Given the numbers above, it’s easy to see why. Congratulations, Patriot graduates; well done! I say the same to the Washington Catholic Cardinals’ Class of 2015, the Mater Dei Wildcats’ Class of 2015 and the Reitz Memorial Tigers’ Class of 2015.
Another example I can provide to justify my use of the word treasure played out May 29-30 at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Two teams of middle school scientists from St. John the Baptist School in Newburgh joined a team of high-school scientists from Reitz Memorial at the SeaPerch Nationals.
They demonstrated what they learned about robotics, engineering, science, and mathematics by building a remotely operated underwater vehicle and learning to use it effectively. There is something else you need to know about these teams and their collective accomplishment.
They competed in a regional competition from which two middle-school teams and one high-school team would advance to the nationals. In other words, our Catholic school students represented our entire region at this prestigious national event.
We also know the heritage of success and accomplishment Mater Dei’s Supermileage Team continues to build. In the 2014 national competition, they finished first in the urban competition, first in the electric competition and third in the gas competition. Our students are consistently proving the value of their Catholic education.
The sports fan in me also must note that we have a healthy number of Catholic student-athletes who are among those earning scholarships to continue their careers across fall, winter and spring seasons.
In the classroom and on the athletic fields (indoor and outdoor), our Catholic schools are producing youngsters and young adults who are superbly prepared to answer God’s call, whatever it may be.
Congratulations – students, parents, teachers, coaches, staff. Thank you for your hard work, dedication and faith. They are the ingredients you have used to build an educational treasure across our diocese that grows more plentiful with every school year.
May God Bless all of you even more than He already has.
