Education Law

Learning from Catholic schools

We all know the stories.  Whether you experienced it yourself or you’ve heard it through friends or family members, most Americans have a perception of Catholic schools and how tough they can be.  While entertaining at times, is there something to be learned from the experiences of Catholic schools  for urban school leaders?  An article in the religion section of The New York Times raises some good ideas, and got us thinking about what could be replicated for America’s urban schools.

Citing Diane Ravitch’s popular new book, “The Death and Life of a  Great American School System,” the article discusses the success that minority students have had in urban Catholic schools, while in public schools educating this population of students seems to be one of the biggest challenges.  There are several theories on why minority students in Catholic schools seem to do better than their peers in urban public schools, and it’s not just on tests.  Yes, Catholic schools can be selective on who they take in, and perhaps that’s the biggest difference because they are not charged with teaching ALL students, just those that get in.  But there is something to say for the fact that Catholic school teachers and leaders aren’t chasing every educational trend, and changing educational philosophy with presidential administrations or an expert’s new books.  Perhaps the Catholic school’s basics are just very simple, tried, and tested techniques that work (and do not involve a ruler to the knuckles).  Dedicated teachers.  More parental connections.  Structured classrooms and high expectations. 

Is there anyone in America who would disagree with these simple ideology for all schools?  Maybe we should all be paying a little more attention to help our public schools succeed in urban communities.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on May 03, 2010 (boomark / email).