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Happy Catholic Schools Week! This coming Sunday marks the beginning of a national, week-long celebration of Catholic schools.
In the Diocese of Madison, each one of the 43 Catholic elementary and high schools will be celebrating their students, teachers, parents, and all of the incredible success and achievements of their students as they learn and grow academically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.
If you are a former Catholic school student, a parent of a child attending a Catholic school, a teacher who currently is working or formerly worked in a Catholic school, a parishioner in a parish with a Catholic school, or if your life has in any way been enriched by Catholic schools or graduates of Catholic schools, this celebration is for you!
‘Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.’
The theme this year is “Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.” Certainly, this is what Catholic schools do. Our students learn to master rigorous academic standards in English, math, social studies, and science as well art, music, and physical education. These may be found at https://madisondiocese.org/curriculum-standards-and-benchmarks
While education is critical to learning about yourself, the world, and one’s place in the world, students in Catholic schools also learn that, “It’s not about me.” Serving others is at the core of what it means to be a Christian. Just as Jesus “. . . did not come to be served but to serve . . . ” (Mt 20:28), students in Catholic schools learn the importance of serving others, both through special efforts, but more importantly through normal, everyday interactions by treating others with respect and dignity.
Catholic schools aim to educate students not just to survive in society, but to thrive in society as leaders who actively work to improve the condition of their neighborhoods, communities, and our world.
Each person is called by God to fulfill a specific purpose. Catholic schools work to help students develop both the knowledge and skills they need to do this, as well as to develop a relationship with God so that they can identify what He calls them to do and respond to that call.
When students know how to learn, how to serve, and how to lead, then they are prepared to succeed by enriching their own lives and the lives of others. By doing so, they enrich our communities, our parishes, the Church, and our world.
By forming students in knowledge, service, and leadership, our Catholic schools prepare them to achieve and succeed not only at the many tasks of life, but at truly living life.
If you’d like to get involved or help support the life changing work of Catholic schools, visit https://madisondiocese.org/schools to find a Catholic school near you.
Thank you for reading and for all your efforts to support our Catholic schools as they help students to “Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.”
Michael Lancaster is the superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Madison.