Archdiocese touts the benefits
of a Catholic education

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Brian Blair thinks he’s receiving a good education in Catholic school.
A soon-to-be junior at Father Judge High School, the Rhawnhurst resident emphasizes the teachings of morality and respect as two primary differences between Catholic and public school.
"I have friends in public school and they said they’d try going to Catholic school," said Blair, 16.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office of Education plans to reach out to those parents and children in the five-county area who may be considering Catholic school by bringing them face to face with the actual products of the parochial system.
On Friday, it kicked off a campaign called Fostering Awareness of Catholic Education (FACE), a program that involves 170 students from local high schools spreading the good word about Catholic education.
The program, launched during an overview at La Salle University on Friday, is the second phase of the archdiocese’s $500,000 marketing campaign to boost Catholic school enrollment, which over the past five years has declined 17 percent at the elementary school level and 8.5 percent at the high school level.
The archdiocesan school system encompasses about 80,000 students and 194 elementary schools, 21 high schools and five schools of special education.
During Catholic Schools Week in January, the archdiocese introduced "Keeping Faith in Mind," which included radio spots, print advertising and banner ads on SEPTA buses featuring area Catholic school students.
The FACE program was inspired by a 2006 market research study which found that the issues of cost and concerns about teaching competence and safety often steered parents away from Catholic school. The research did reveal, however, that 1 in 5 parents would consider sending their child to Catholic school in the future.
"There is an audience for our message," said Kat McAndrew, a spokeswoman for the FACE project.
According to McAndrew, some of the selling points of Catholic education in Philadelphia include the fact that 93 percent of the graduating class of 2006 went on to college, acquiring more than $200 million in scholarship money.
During the coming school year, the FACE initiative will dispatch handfuls of junior and senior students from most of the 21 area Catholic high schools to various public functions around the city to discuss the virtues of their educational experiences. FACE students will focus on how Catholic schools build strong character; provide safe classrooms; hire dedicated teachers; encourage potential; and fuse education with Catholic values.
Students also will show the public what really goes on in a Catholic school by keeping online diaries and videos of their daily routines on a Web site that will go live in September. They are also encouraged to mingle with students from the participating Catholic high schools and foster their own personal and leadership development.
"I hope that you seize every moment to take the opportunity to learn as much as you can," said Dr. Richard McCarron, secretary for Catholic education.
The students will be rewarded for their efforts with a personal letter of recommendation to college from Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia.
Brandishing binders jam-packed with guidelines and tips for their exalted endeavor, students pondered what they would say to prospective students and their parents.
"I love it, it’s like a family experience," said Shane Rand, 16, a junior at North Catholic. "It’s been one of the best experiences."
"I think Catholic school has a lot more to offer than other schools," said Colleen Hardiman, 17, a senior at St. Hubert. "It’s smaller, the teachers are more experienced. It’s a different atmosphere."
"It helped me set my goals," said Jill Johnstone, 17, a senior at Archbishop Ryan.
Keynote speaker Rosa Gatti, a 1968 graduate of Archbishop Prendergast and now the senior vice president of communications for ESPN, said her Catholic education helped her rise through the ranks in a field that formerly shunned women.
"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that my career success is from the foundation I had from my parents and my Catholic education," she said. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com