NCEA’s Sr. McDonald: School Choice a ‘Significant Factor’ in Helping Families Access Catholic Education
This week, hundreds of Catholic schools and organizations are partnering with the organizers of National School Choice Week (NSCW) to help raise public awareness about education options for children. The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) is one of those partners this year, supporting school choice programs that help families afford a Catholic education for their children.
The NCEA is focused on leadership development and providing resources for Catholic educators to “support ongoing faith formation and the teaching mission of the Catholic Church.” The association’s support for school choice was the subject of its “NCEA Parent News” newsletter last month.
Sister Dale McDonald
“Parents know what is best for their children. And that includes the right of parents to choose the school or educational environment that is best for their children,” the NCEA stated. “This right, however, should not depend on their ability to pay tuition to a private school or to live in a neighborhood where the public school system meets the needs of their children.”
Cardinal Newman Society President Patrick Reilly wrote last September in National Catholic Register about school choice in Catholic education, stating, “The right to school choice is a clear and consistent Catholic teaching.” Reilly cautioned, however, that Catholics need unify behind certain principles while advocating for school choice, including the protection of religious freedom and the primacy of parents as educators.
Sister Dale McDonald, director of public policy and educational research at the NCEA, expressed similar concerns in a recent interview with the Newman Society, saying of any school choice program “the devil is in the details.”
But Sr. McDonald asserted that parental choice in education “is a significant factor in the continued ability of low- and modest-income families to be able to access a Catholic education.”
“If parents don’t receive some assistance to be able to exercise their right to choice, in a sustained and predictable way that philanthropy alone cannot provide,” she said, “the schools will become fewer and serve only the rich — certainly not what the Church is about.”
The Newman Society’s full interview with Sr. McDonald about NSCW and the NCEA’s support for school choice is below:
Newman Society: Does the NCEA work with the organizers of National School Choice Week, or does the NCEA have special promotions of school choice on its own during this week?
Sr. McDonald: NCEA does not formally collaborate with National School Choice Week, except for this year. In general their events are scheduled for the same week that for 43 years we have celebrated as Catholic Schools Week (CSW). While we support the concepts their organization promotes, CSW is about more than choice — it is a week to showcase and celebrate what the choice of a Catholic a school is all about for students, families and this nation. We don’t want our message lost in a more generic approach to choice.
If schools choose to participate with NSCW we encourage them to exhibit some CSW materials as well. NCEA has participated in some of the Capitol Hill events and provides the Catholic schools that attend with large CSW buttons to wear along with the [NSCW] yellow scarves, etc.
Newman Society: How important are school choice programs for the future growth of Catholic schools?
Sr. McDonald: Parental choice is a significant factor in the continued ability of low- and modest-income families to be able to access a Catholic education. If parents don’t receive some assistance to be able to exercise their right to choice, in a sustained and predictable way that philanthropy alone cannot provide, the schools will become fewer and serve only the rich — certainly not what the Church is about.
Newman Society: What are the barriers toward participation in these programs?
Sr. McDonald: The obstacles to school choice are many:
- Those who believe that any choice threatens public education, which is, erroneously, viewed as the only bastion of democracy.
- Parents who are not well-informed about choice issues and opportunities and what they might be able to obtain.
- Some of the choice programs available do not offer enough funding to make choice realistic or do not include middle-income families.
- Myths about choice that appear to threaten the nature and autonomy of the Catholic or other private school.
- Some of the requirements placed on the school by the authorizing legislation that the school does not want to accept.
Newman Society: Do you have any concerns about expanding school choice programs (as the incoming Trump administration has pledged to do) and how they might impact Catholic schools and faithful Catholic education?
Sr. McDonald: In any choice program, the devil is in the details. We are uncertain about what the new administration has in mind for their $20 billion proposal. Most likely it will be some sort of grant to states that wish to develop choice programs.
NCEA would work with state Catholic Conferences to be sure that any acceptable program would not compromise the authenticity and autonomy of the school and engage with local leaders in the development of the program. If provisions of legislation were onerous, they would not be supported by the local bishop and schools would not participate.
The post NCEA’s Sr. McDonald: School Choice a ‘Significant Factor’ in Helping Families Access Catholic Education appeared first on Cardinal Newman Society.
