Schools Superintendent Edward Foy with his two oldest children, Grace and Roland, on the first day of school in 2022 at Dominican High School, Whitefish Bay. (Submitted photo)
This past spring, my wife and I witnessed our oldest child, Grace, graduate from Dominican High School. From 4K to senior year, our family was blessed by having our daughter experience 14 years in Catholic schools. On the first day of school each year, my wife takes a picture of our kids with their backpacks on, ready for the bus stop. As we prepped for Grace’s graduation party, my wife printed a picture for each year that Grace was in school and displayed them in sequence from kindergarten to senior year.
This display of first day of school pictures was a wonderful walk down memory lane. The first pictures reflect a happy and smiling 4-year-old barely ready to spend a full day at school. Later pictures show my oldest in her elementary school uniform surrounded by her younger siblings. The final picture shows a mature and confident senior in high school. Our family enjoyed the display so much that after the party, we kept the pictures up in our house.
In the weeks that followed, I found myself going back to the display and reminiscing about how fast my little girl has grown up. Our kids grow up in the blink of an eye, and for many parents, this next step of sending them off to college is stressful and scary. For fellow Catholic school parents, we have an extraordinary advantage as we prepare to send these young adults out into the world. Catholic school graduates have been immersed in a Catholic community that has shaped and formed them into who they are today. The natural maturing process of school becomes transformative when it includes intentional faith formation, rigorous theology instruction and the influence of mission-focused Catholic school teachers.
Catholic schools are different because they are focused on forming young people into disciples of Christ who are ready to serve their world and the Church. That mission contrasts sharply with the goals of public or private education, which often focuses only on personal academic achievement. The extraordinary story of Catholic schools is that while focusing on the dual goals of faith formation and academic achievement, they consistently outperform their public-school peers on academic test scores.
The National Catholic Education Association has published a list of the defining characteristics of Catholic schools. This list, rooted in our bishops’ teachings and Vatican documents, defines the Catholic identity and culture that is found in our Catholic schools. Just a few items from the NCEA’s list help to describe this unique quality of Catholic schools. Our schools are called to be centered on the person of Jesus Christ, contributing to the evangelizing mission of the Church, steeped in a Catholic world view and committed to educating the whole child.
As a parent, I can see the unique Catholic school tradition is alive in the experience of my own children. Through 14 years of Catholic education, my daughter experienced an education where she was able to personally encounter Jesus Christ. Grace experienced the sacraments in school, regularly performed service for those in need and had the opportunity to share her faith with peers in class and on retreats. Her teachers cared for her development, not just as an academic student, but as a spiritual, emotional and artistic person. My daughter has been challenged to understand the world, not from a secular or materialistic perspective but as a faithful Christian with a concern for the poor and vulnerable.
While sending a child off to college may be scary, my parental nerves are fortified by the Catholic school journey that my daughter has experienced. She did not just graduate from high school, but rather she experienced 14 years of a faith-filled community of peers and adults who cared for her spiritual development as much as her academic progress. Like so many of our Catholic school graduates, Grace is not just an accomplished student, but she is a mature, contemplative and faithful young person. It is that formation that will serve her best in whatever God calls her to experience in the next step of her life’s journey.
As my fellow Catholic school parents send our children off on the first day of school this year, I encourage you to take a picture of that moment. I hope Catholic school parents share the same joy and optimism that I have knowing that our children are being formed in communities of faith, scholarship and love.
