Families help Catholic schools instill character, build faith

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Catholic Anchor) -Moments before the May 14 graduation ceremony at Lumen Christi High School, the school's six seniors gathered in an empty science classroom to don their caps and gowns. There were typical smiles and laughter -- and in the spur of the moment, a prayer.

At student George Neuerburg's prompting, the three young men graduating that evening gathered and said a prayer together. Afterwards, in an interview with the Anchor, Neurburg admitted he would not have done such a thing at the beginning of high school there four years ago.

What changed?

"Maturity, for one," he said. Plus, Neuerburg said he had been inspired by Lumen Christi's church history teacher Bob McMorrow whose "openness of prayer makes me feel like it's alright to pray anytime."

Graduate Cody McCormick changed as well during his four years at Lumen Christi, explained his mother Tammy.

"Here he became a much deeper Catholic," she reflected while waiting for her son's graduation to begin.

Having studied the basis of the faith, she said, "he's able to have conversations with other people and able to back up his beliefs."

Because of his Catholic faith, she said, Cody plans to "go out into the world" and "give back to people that are less fortunate or to teach others about the faith."

Photo by Patricia Coll Freeman Lumen Christi High School graduates stand in line May 14 as they wait to accept their high school diplomas.Of the students, she added, "They come to Lumen Christi to learn and then they leave here to serve."

Parents welcome

For the Anchorage Archdiocese's Catholic schools to succeed, they need families that actively support them, said Adrian Dominican Sister Ann Fallon, the superintendent of Catholic schools for the archdiocese.

At the Catholic schools, "parents know their children are cared for," she said, while adding that families are an integral part of their children's lives at school.

"Families are so welcome," she said.

Jim Bailey, principal of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton school in Anchorage, explained that "parents are always here" -- in class, on the playground and at school functions. As a result, he said - and unlike in public schools, where "you don't have the family connection" - at Catholic schools, it is possible to help children develop the good character essential to reaching their potential.

'The God factor'

But character education isn't complete without "the God factor," said Sister Fallon.

Public schools, too, may teach character development, she said, but "they can't mention God."

And God is the "why behind what we do," explained Bailey. Teaching the faith gives youth a "basis" for "how you treat others, how you want to be treated."

"The church is out in the world and the community helping people - the homeless, the sick, the old," Bailey said, adding that it is exciting to help youth learn how to "be a part of this and know why we do this."

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Teaching the faith at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton entails religion classes and a devotional life that includes prayer before lunch, Mass "at least" once a week and the regular presence of Father Tom Lilly, who is pastor of the adjacent St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.

Submitted photo Students from Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School in Wasilla pose for a school photo.Meanwhile, at Lumen Christi, 2009 graduate Hannah Hoflich said church history class there "helped me understand my faith more and be a more spiritual person." Regular confession and eucharistic adoration, which are encouraged at school, helped Catholic senior Cody McCormick stay close to God. And Matthew Dixon said he was inspired by studies of the saints who exemplify Christian faith in action.

And then there are the daily examples of the teachers. According to Lumen Christi graduate and new Catholic Leanna Freeman, "They're always ready to push their stuff aside and help us out," she said.

Not just for Catholics

But Catholic schools are not just for Catholics. On May 20, the first graduate of Our Lady of the Valley school in Wasilla - which opened in 2007 - will be 8th grader Amanda Amacher, who is not Catholic.

Principal Suzanne Cyr described Amanda as having "grown as an individual" across her time at the school. Initially reticent and reserved, Amanda is now quick to offer help and engage those who need her. "She is very kind and considerate to the younger kids. It's just really neat to see her working with them," said Cyr.

"Catholic education has been such a blessing, and I am so thankful," said Amanda's mother Laura. "This valley has really been needing it. I've been here 20 years and am just thrilled with Our Lady of the Valley. It's just wonderful."

Submitted photo Students work on computers at St. Mary School in Kodiak.Challenges ahead

Keeping these schools going is a full-time job - and a constant battle against the red ink, Sister Fallon said.

"Because we want to be schools for all," she said, the archdiocese keeps tuition at a "reasonable rate." That tuition, however, covers only half the cost of educating the child.

Filling the gap -- while allowing for some financial aid for needy families -- comes from fund-raisers like school raffles and gala auctions -- as well as the annual archdiocesan "One Bread, One Body" appeal.

"If we had 100 percent of our Catholic community supporting any of this stuff, we wouldn't have a struggle with deficit," Sister Fallon explained.

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"Every Catholic has an obligation to educate its youth," she added -- because they are "the future of the church."

She explained that Catholic education could also be helped if there were more young people choosing a religious vocation.

"Expenses are up in part because of the decline in religious vocations," she said.

In Catholic schools across the archdiocese and the country, salaried lay teachers have by and large replaced the priests, religious sisters and brothers who once volunteered their time teaching. The numbers in some of those religious teaching orders and congregations are dwindling fast.

Sister Fallon urged parents to talk with their children about a religious vocation "once in a while" and to "support vocations as a good thing to do."

The religious life, she said, is "a wonderful vocation that comes out of ordinary families."

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Republished by Catholic Online with permission of the Catholic Anchor (www.catholicanchor.org), official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska.