Father Scully
Editor’s note: This is the fourth post in our school choice wish series. See the rest of the line-up here.
by Father Timothy R. Scully
Think, for a moment, about the last time you walked down the hallway of a great school.
Consider how energizing it is to be in that environment. A place where classrooms are full of the intense buzz of learning, teachers are engaging and passionate, and parents are confident in the values-based education their child is receiving.
Is there any experience quite as encouraging – and in many ways unfortunately counter to the dominant rhetoric on what is needed in K-12 education – as seeing a high-performing, faith-based school putting at-risk children on the path to college and heaven?
My school choice wish this year is that more families may have just that experience — to walk into a school that leads their children to full human flourishing, that they are proud to be a part of, and that they freely chose. Every family in America should enjoy the choice of attending an excellent school, to learn in a rich context of faith if they so choose. We must rededicate ourselves to making this a reality.
In examining many of these national treasures across the country, one thing has become abundantly clear: schools and school systems that adopt a fully integrated culture of continuous improvement – a commitment to excellence – will change the lives of their students forever. We would be well served to develop programs and services that can help all schools, including faith-based schools, commit themselves to achieving such a culture; a commitment to build institutional excellence in areas such as academic performance, financial vitality, and faith and character formation. And while such work is undeniably complex, it is important to recognize one simple truth: achieving such a reality is at least as much a reflection of who we are as educators as what we do. Our success will ultimately rest on the authenticity and vigor with which we live our lives, with which we develop fresh and imaginative ways to unlock the full potential of the young people we serve.
But in addition to helping make these schools excellent, we must make it possible for all families to choose the best school for their children.
The most sacred promise we make as a republic is the one that every generation is invited to renew for the next: that we will do whatever it takes to ensure that every child, regardless of color, creed, or socioeconomic status, has equal access to an outstanding education. Thankfully, education policy has changed a great deal on this front in recent years. Tens of thousands more families have the opportunity to choose the best school for their child – but tens of thousands more are left out. All families, regardless of their financial situation, deserve the right to choose what they think is best for their kids — be it charter, public, private, or faith-based schooling.
There’s nothing quite like the feeling one gets walking down the hallways of a great school. It’s that experience that should impel our efforts to ensure that every parent in America can walk into their child’s school, take a look around, and know their child is on the path to full human flourishing.
Rev. Timothy R. Scully, C.S.C., is the Hackett Family Director of the Institute for Educational Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame and founder of the Alliance for Catholic Education.
Coming Friday: Two posts: The first by Charles Glenn, noted education researcher at Boston University; the second by Jason Crye, executive director of Hispanics for School Choice.
