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Contact: Larry Keough Associate for Education (850) 205-6822 Catholic schools: Blending the old with the new Catholic Schools Week Jan. 29-Feb. 4, 2006 Tallahassee, FL (Jan. 24, 2006) - Many families enroll their children in Catholic schools for the spirituality, while others embrace the quality of education and affordable tuition rates.
And the renown history, tradition and mission of Catholic schools as shaping good-moral character, compassion and a value system are often cited by parents as reasons why they desire a Catholic school education for their children.
"Although Catholic schools exist first and foremost to provide Catholicity to students, the benefits of a Catholic school education are not limited to a single factor," said Larry D. Keough, associate for education at the Florida Catholic Conference.
But during the nationwide celebration of the Jan. 29-Feb. 4, 2006 Catholic Schools Week, the importance of instilling a value system for life will be highlighted. That is why the theme for this year's celebration is "Character, Compassion, Values."
The U.S. Catholic Bishops stated in Renewing our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium that the unique Catholic identity makes our Catholic schools for the "human person and allows them to fill a critical role for the future life or our Church, our country and our world."
In order to meet these challenges in the 21st century, Catholic schools are asked to remain available and accessible for children who are from poor and middle-income families, as well as at-risk children who are from a new wave of immigrants or in need of special education services.
According to statistics for the 2005-2006 school year, approximately 35 percent of the 96,075 students in Florida Catholic schools are minorities. Of the 224 Catholic schools within the state, seven are exclusively devoted to educating children with disabilities.
In an era of soaring educations costs, the average diocesan per-pupil expenditure - which exceeds tuition as the total cost to educate a student -- is $4,595 for K-8 schools and $7,292 for secondary schools.
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