Bernadette Sugrue | The Michigan Catholic

As the “dog days of summer” begin to tick away and we look forward to the shorter  days and cooler nights that mark another change of season, many families are making final preparations for the 2011-12 school year. 

Choosing the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions you make as a parent/guardian. As we approach a new school year, here are some questions to reflect on:

Am I satisfied with my child’s educational experience thus far?

Is there a need for a change?

Where can I find an educational environment that reflects our family’s values and faith tradition, while meeting the educational needs of my child?

A Catholic school may be just what you are looking for.

When sending your child to a school that provides a Christ –centered Catholic culture as a backdrop for all activities—academic, social, and athletic — you can be assured that your faith tradition, family values, respect for life, social justice, and community service are modeled, taught and fostered.

A curriculum that sets high standards and expectations fosters academic success for any student who’s willing to commit good old-fashioned “elbow grease” to his or her education. 

As one pastor in this archdiocese said to me last week, “If there’s one thing the Church knows how do to well, it’s providing a good education!”

And statistics bear him out. 

Our Catholic high schools are averaging a 99 percent graduation rate.

Ninety-nine percent of our high school graduates are heading off to colleges and universities, either down the road or around the globe.

This year we have graduates heading off to schools as close as Oakland Community College and Madonna University, and as far away as St. Andrew’s University, Scotland and Hawaii Pacific University, Honolulu.  In a recent sampling of 10 of our high schools, more than $61,600 scholarship dollars were awarded to graduates. 

We are proud of our Catholic school alumni and confident that as they move out into the global community they will carry the values and virtues instilled in them by their families and reinforced by the administrators, teachers and staff they encountered in the hallowed halls of their long to be remembered Catholic schools. 

In order to help parents make an informed decision about where to enroll their children, the archdiocesan Schools Office has created a brief parent guide entitled “Choosing a Catholic School for Your Child.”

You can find a copy on the Archdiocese of Detroit website at www.aodonline.org.  I encourage you to visit the website and make use of this resource as you discern the best educational option for your child.

As children are a true treasure of a family, so too are our Catholic schools a true treasure of the greater Church — a treasure to be cherished and protected for the generations of children yet to come who will desire a Catholic school education.

Whatever decision you make about Catholic schools, may God bless you, your families, and all of the pastors, principals, teachers, and school staff who have made a lifetime commitment to Catholic K-12 education in the Archdiocese of Detroit.

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Bernadette Sugrue is superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Detroit.