Students from Christ the King Catholic School in Kansas City, Kansas, strike a masked pose during recess.
It’s been a year unlike any other. But while the past nine months have brought new challenges to many of the students we serve, they've also brought new perspective to the supporters who make CEF scholarships possible.
CEF Scholar Paulina Cortes (center) with her parents and five siblings stand in the lobby of her alma mater, Hayden Catholic High School in Topeka. All six Cortes children are recipients of CEF scholarships.
The oldest of six children, Paulina and her parents didn't think Catholic education was financially possible. Their parish priest introduced them to CEF and, with the help of our scholarship programs, the Cortes family enrolled all six children in Topeka Catholic schools. This May, Paulina became the first Hayden Catholic High School graduate to attend every year of her Catholic schooling on a Catholic Education Foundation scholarship.
More than 600 Catholic leaders joined a conference call with President Trump recently, making the case that Catholic schools and nonprofits need financial assistance and praising Mr. Trump for his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic. Catholic Schools Superintendent Dr. Vince Cascone attended the call.
Students stand in front of St. Benedict School in Atchison in 2019.
During this unprecedented time, health and finances are dominating our attention. That’s to be understood. What’s being overlooked, to some degree, is the education of our children.
Many public schools have chosen to shut down part or most of their teaching for the school year. It is very different for our archdiocesan Catholic schools, where the learning hasn’t missed a beat.
I got involved with the Catholic Education Foundation for one primary reason: to provide a better future for the next generation. The Catholic Education Foundation not only provides an opportunity for students to get a high-quality education (98.7% of students at the CEF-supported high school graduate, compared to 77% of their peers at the neighborhood school) but it gives them a foundation for their spiritual life at the same time.