The Value of Catholic Schools

The new school year is upon us.

Children, teachers, and administrators from around the country are gearing up for the new academic year. This time of year is filled with excitement, as well as healthy anxiety about a new season of learning and relationships. As we prepare for the school season, it is also an important moment to reflect on the value of education.

As a teacher in a Catholic school, it is imperative that we consistently consider why we devote our lives to the difference of Catholic education. As of 2024, there are over 5,800 Catholic schools with over 1.6 million students enrolled. In order to view the Catholic school difference, we can simply investigate the roots of the words “education” and “school.”

Education comes from the Latin word educare which means “to lead out.” All educational environments are places where teachers, administration and the entire academic community are attempting to pull out potential from their students. No matter the school, education is meant to shape us and mold us into the pupil that the institution desires to create.

This manner of molding is pivotal for the Catholic school. We are committed to creating the next generation of young people devoted to their faith, their neighbor, and the common good—in that order. We firmly believe that if students have their priorities set straight from a young age, they will become the individuals to renew the culture. This means that God comes first. Having a relationship with Him is the purpose of our entire lives. We come from God and we are destined to be with Him forever.

Faith formation at a Catholic school is what separates it from other schools. A truly Catholic school will not compartmentalize faith into religion class and some monthly prayer services. An authentic Catholic school will lead with its faith. It will make prayer the centerpiece of the school day. In this way, the entire institution leads the student out from selfishness and into the sacrificial love that sets us free to change the world.

Second, the Catholic school difference leads its students into the truth. We boldly proclaim that truth is the conformity between one’s mind and reality. There is objective truth and the more we cling to it, the more we become human and the more we become united to Christ—who is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). This means that topics like marriage, gender identity, abortion, and all the other challenging moral topics of the culture are not issues that we shy away from. We proclaim the dignity of the human person in all of these instances, and we welcome their investigation because faith and reason never contradict each other.

The second difference of a Catholic school can be viewed by looking at the meaning of the word “school.” The word “school” comes from the Greek word skhol which means “that in which leisure is employed.” For the Greeks, leisure was tied to the idea of restful learning. This period of learning was meant to bring people into contemplation of reality and the meaning of life.

Contemplation can obviously be religious, but it can also be academic. For teachers in Catholic schools, the goal is to bring their students into contact with the divine through their explicit times of prayer (before class begins, at Mass, during prayer services) but also through their academic study of mathematics, science, literature, history, and other electives.

To know an abstract mathematical principle is to know that the world is measurable because it was created by the Divine Intelligence. To experience the grandeur of animal species in lab or through scientific inquiry reveals the vastness of God’s creation. Reading the great novels or making contact with the primary source material of critical historical moments brings students in touch with the moral order and their own use of conscience.

In this way, school does not become solely about the completion of classes and the reception of a piece of paper that states that one graduated from a specific educational institution. For Catholic schools, we are most concerned with leading students into a relationship with God and providing space for them to contemplate the truth about reality, themselves and how to become men and women of courageous action.

As the academic year commences, may all Catholic schools cling to their mission, so that the next generation is one filled with faith and prepared to spread the truth wherever they find themselves.

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