Enrollment up as Catholic schools attract new families; principals agree it’s more important than ever to celebrate Catholic education’s story

DETROIT –– Each year, Catholic Schools Week is a nod to Catholic excellence in education and gratitude for everyone who makes this education possible, from faculty and staff to parents and the students themselves. 

This year’s Catholic Schools Week, themed “Faith, Excellence, Service,” taking place from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, won’t include school-wide carnivals, parties or initiatives outside of school grounds. But according to principals across the Archdiocese of Detroit, there is even more to celebrate this year. 

“(Catholic Schools Week) is more important than ever right now,” Stephen Turk, principal at Guardian Angels Catholic School in Clawson, told Detroit Catholic. “We are willing to offer truth; our faith is in action every day here. We don’t put our trust in humans, we put our trust in God, and we are trying to live out the mission of Jesus Christ.”

Like most local Catholic schools, Guardian Angels is changing the structure of the week’s activities; the only school-wide gathering will be its Monday rosary, and the rest of the spirit activities will take place among smaller groups of classrooms and cohorts. 

Throughout the week, students will have an opportunity to bring in items to fill the parish’s St. Vincent de Paul food pantry, and the classroom with the largest number of items per capita will be rewarded with a pizza day. 

Across the archdiocese, both grade schools and high schools will see the week play out similarly –– celebrations will ensue, but with the COVID-19 safety protocols in mind that have thus far allowed Catholic schools to remain in person for the majority of the 2020-21 school year. 

At De La Salle Collegiate in Warren, students each day will have a different “dress-down” theme, and the whole school will participate in prayer services and activities such as writing letters to grandparents in an effort to ease the isolation that many senior citizens have felt over the last 11 months. 

“This year, due to COVID, we had to tone it down,” said Bro. Ken Kalinowski, FSC, principal at the all-boys school. “That doesn’t mean that we are going to tone down on the goodies –– chocolate, hand sanitizers, candy with a note on it, etc.”

Meanwhile, at Christ the King Catholic School in Detroit, students will still be able to participate in a school-wide talent show, but the event will be carefully orchestrated to main social distancing and will be broadcast on Zoom for those outside the school. 

At Cabrini High School in Allen Park, students will be invited to participate in a school-wide rosary prayed over the speakers. In past years, the school has invited local leaders to participate in its Catholic Schools Week Mass, but this year the Mass will be private to students, faculty and staff. 

Although the annual Catholic Schools Week Mass with Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament was canceled this year, the Archdiocesan Department of Catholic Schools is inviting all schools to participate in some optional diocesan-wide activities, including a student art contest centered on St. Joseph, with scholarship prizes awarded to three students in each grade category. 

Schools also received a prerecorded message from Archbishop Vigneron thanking all those who make a Catholic education and Catholic mission possible in the archdiocese. 

“Our students, parents, faculty and administrators who have risen to meet the challenges of the pandemic: you have been resilient and innovative, adjusted to new routines, become experts at video conferences, and kept your communities spiritually close during a time of social distancing,” Archbishop Vigneron said in his Catholic Schools Week address. “Your determination and dedication over the past year have shown why Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Detroit are such an indispensable part of our mission. These days it is clear we must remain united to Christ and to our mission to remain joyful missionary disciples.”

The department will also host a daily “morning show” on location at various schools throughout the archdiocese, as well as a service opportunity for all schools. Students can write notes of encouragement, draw pictures and share messages of hope with the people served by St. Aloysius Neighborhood Services in downtown Detroit. The notes will be given to those receiving food, clothing and other goods. 

Despite what might seem like a muted Catholic Schools Week compared to years past, principals agreed that in many ways their schools, students, faculty and staff are thriving, with school commitment at an all-time high. 

“I have never seen a group of boys who are happy to be in school,” Bro. Kalinowski said. “You get that type of enthusiasm maybe on the first day of school, but since we had these Michigan pauses and the shutdown last spring, we have had few disciplinary issues. Our staff is hearing more ‘thank yous.’ Because we have gone through such a difficult time, people are appreciating things more and realizing that we might have been taking things for granted.”

Bro. Kalinowski noted De La Salle’s enrollment increased at the beginning of the second semester, with most of its new students transferring from public schools, drawn in by the opportunity to learn in person in smaller, personalized classrooms. 

At Guardian Angels, 30 percent of the student body is brand new, and 25 percent of the teaching staff are new. 

“We are working a lot harder than ever, but everyone is very positive,” Turk said. “We have had tremendous success. We have kept our eye on the mission of our school and we put our faith and trust in God and we are just pushing forward. I think that is the attitude of everyone –– parents and staff especially –– in making this a success.”

Follow Detroit Catholic Schools

To learn more about Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Detroit, visit detroitcatholicschools.com or follow Detroit Catholic Schools on Facebook.