Event explores how Catholic education shapes identity

As the children’s choir sang at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Ridgewood, parents doted on fussy infants and tweens checked out the dessert tray while panelists prepared to ask families to consider the role parochial schools can play in their lives.  

“Catholic education is not an escape but an entrance into a community of faith, of people who love one another and understand God’s presence in their lives and want us to pass that on,” said Father Ron Rozniak, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel pastor, before introducing the guests.

Bergen County Catholic Education Night on April 22 offered attendees a chance to hear what distinguishes a Catholic education and inspire them to learn more. Bergen County is home to 17 Catholic elementary schools and seven Catholic high schools; 30 Catholic colleges and universities surround the region across 100 miles. CNBC anchor and event moderator Kelly Evans, a parishioner, encouraged the audience to visit the “Discover Catholic Education” table for literature on many of the schools. The event was organized by the Academy of Our Lady in Glen Rock. 

“Our intention was to get the message out about why choosing Catholic education sooner rather than later is so important for students and families. We have been getting a larger number of students in the middle school years, which is great for our enrollment, but denies us the opportunity to help develop those students’ faith journeys and educational potential sooner,” Principal Katharine Clemente said.

Panelist Patrick Manning, Director of Catholic Studies at Seton Hall, said the biggest challenges facing Catholic schools include cultivating sustained, focused attention to nurture spirituality and relationships with God and others. “Technology is rewiring brains. Kinetic attention is adaptive but in terms of other areas of life it’s not helpful when you need sustained attention to text or relationships,” Manning said. “The inability to focus is detrimental to mental health. The quality of relationships is predictive of a person’s mental health.”

Three in 10 Americans are faith-unaffiliated, and the average age people step away from church is 13, leaving a profound spiritual hunger, Manning said.

Jesuit priest Father Mario Powell, who oversaw schools in 15 dioceses from Atlanta, Georgia to Portland Maine, said most Catholic schools don’t attempt to compete with public schools. “They compete with this,” he said holding up a cell phone, “for the heart, soul, and identities of young people.”

Surveying parents on the top reasons they would consider Catholic schools, he said answers included education infused with character development and good sports programs. As the leader of a Catholic School in Brooklyn, Father Powell said he instituted a ban on social media and had students drop lock their phones in a plastic bin at the door. “We are different. We act different. We are Catholic people of depth who can make it cool to find Jesus,” Powell said.

Reasons parents reject Catholic education include distance, perception, proselytizing, and special education needs, Powell said.

“The focus should be on character education, then start going through the door with things they find important and Catholic education will matriculate,” Powell said. “They will realize it’s more than character formation. It’s an opportunity to talk about Jesus, build a community that’s substantive, and leave a primary and secondary school with the tools needed to flourish.”

Joseph McCleary, President of The Hawthorn School in Bedford, New York, said his institution is an independent school where Catholicism is taught but not in parochial model. Top three factors he said parents consider are academic rigor, character formation, and a community of others with shared values.

“I ask parents separately about their goals for their child’s education, and I also interview the child to learn about their academic level and how they communicate with other adults aside from their parents,” he said. “We find teachers who are academically accomplished and ask them about their intellectual interests, what they’re reading. We ascertain their character through substantive dialogue about their priorities, what they want for their own children.”

Contemplative spirituality research has taught him to build a relationship with God, establish a culture of humility and gratitude, and form one’s identity, he said. “Constructing identity is an overwhelming burden, especially for young people. Christ is woven into the school day,” McCleary said, adding that providing space for quiet meditation and prayer contributes to academic success.

Evans asked how the school approaches technology. McCleary said students choose not to bring phones to school. “Technology is a wonderful fruit of human ingenuity. But in terms of K-8 education it has little benefit. It promotes distraction when we’re trying to help children build a retentive memory, articulate thoughts, and listen. Everything we do builds on that,” McCleary said.

Building awareness of how technology promotes a monetizing of addictive attention is crucial.

“If that’s the future of our population…to process information quickly and superficially, where does that lead us? Catholic schools need to put up resistance to preserve the imagination, attention, and creativity of our young people,” Manning said.

Clifton resident Claritza Hernandez brought her daughter Valentina, 11, and said she is considering a Catholic school in Glen Rock.

Susie Schilling said all five of her children ages 26-36, attended parochial schools for faith and values-based education. “Catholic schools educate the hearts and minds of our children,” Schilling said. “Sports was not an issue. We had two Division I athletes in our family. All the teachers believe in the Catholic mission, and that carries students through their adult lives,” Schilling said.

Glen Rock resident Tom Kramer said he has five children in a Catholic school. “It’s not even a question of how to make it happen. You find a way,” he said, adding that scholarships and other financial aid are available.

Clemente said they wanted to highlight the value of Catholic education beyond the dollar amount of tuition — that Catholic education is a bigger bang for your buck because of what it provides.

“It provides so much more in terms of character building, just by the virtue of teaching about the faith,” Clemente said. “We can partner with parents to work through some of the challenges presented by society in a framework that includes Jesus’s teachings and the traditional standards of discipline of the Catholic schools.”

Featured image: From left to right are Joseph McCleary, PhD, President of The Hawthorn School; Father Mario Powell, SJ, K-12 Education, The Jesuits; Patrick Manning, PhD, Director Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University; and Kelly Evans, Anchor CNBC.