Catholic Education Under Attack
By Roisin Spitzig
On Monday, October 16 we go to the polls to vote in the municipal election. We’ll be asked to choose candidates to fill positions on our city council. The media will cover this event closely and give us the blow-by-blow of the races, winners and losers of this campaign. It is important that we get out to vote, that we exercise our rights in the democratic process.
There is, however, a whole other race which the media will almost completely ignore, but one which we, as Catholics, should be very aware! That is the election of our Holy Spirit School Division trustees, the women and men to whom we entrust decisions regarding the future of our children’s Catholic education! In their hands is the future of Catholic education itself! These trustees must defend Catholic education in a time when there are many forces which would like to see the end of the Catholic Education system. When you vote on October 16, insure that you receive a Separate Schools ballot and not a Public Schools ballot so that your vote is supporting our Catholic schools!
There are seven men who are running for the five trustee positions which represent the City of Lethbridge Catholic residents. It is important that we, as Catholics, become informed about these candidates so that we can choose the best qualified and faith-filled people to represent our Catholic Education system. Trustee candidates need to
Trustees must be able to defend our Catholic Education system both here in Lethbridge and before our Provincial Government in Edmonton. They must be able to knowledgeably, and with conviction, represent our Catholic Education system before many other groups who would like to see Catholic Education stopped. There are many reasons why groups actively pursue shutting down the Catholic Education system and some will be discussed later in this article. For now, know that these groups exist and they are vocal about their wishes! We, as Catholics, need to be equally knowledgeable and vocal in defending our Catholic Education system or we could see it slip away!
Catholic Education in Alberta has a long history that pre-dates the beginning of the Province of Alberta in 1905, with teaching beginning in the 1840’s. As missionaries such as Fr. Lacombe followed the fur traders across the country to Alberta, they established schools so that children could receive education in more remote areas and new territories. The rights of Catholic Education had already been written into the Constitution of Canada in 1867 (Section 93) and then were placed into the Alberta Act in 1905 (Section 17). As well, these rights are supported in the Alberta School Act. With these supporting documents existing, it would be difficult to do away with Catholic Education in Alberta, but not impossible. The biggest enemy, though, against Catholic Education is our own apathy! Other provinces in Canada let Catholic Education slip away because Catholics didn’t care enough to fight for it – provinces such as British Columbia and Newfoundland/Labrador. There will always be those who want to put an end to Catholic Education in Alberta, but will there always be Catholics in Alberta to actively and publicly defend Catholic Education?
At a recent round-table discussion hosted by the Holy Spirit School District the following attributes of Catholic Education were discussed by parents, teachers and administrators:
1. Catholic Education is rooted in the teachings of Christ. It is, of course, counter-cultural and does not buy into society’s ideas of removing Faith as the foundation of all that we do. The richness of Catholic Education therefore stems from having Christ as the beginning and center of all that is done in our schools, as He should also be in our lives!
2. Catholic schools welcome non-practicing and non-Catholic families just as the Catholic Church does. In the Holy Spirit School Division, in the 2016/17 school year, 51% of the students were baptized Catholics with another 14% of students being unbaptized but having one baptized parent. That means that 35% of the students have affiliations with other churches or no church affiliations at all. (In the province of Alberta there are 175,000 students served by Catholic Education, or about 30% of all Alberta students, in over 430 schools). All children are treated with dignity, respect and love.
3. Catholic schools in Alberta must operate under a dual mandate, that of being governed both by our Bishops and by Alberta Education. While Alberta Education sets the curriculum that is taught in all schools in the province, Catholic schools have the added bonus of having the Faith component added to their studies. This means that both students and staff have opportunities to learn more about the teachings of Christ through retreats, Spiritual Development Days, daily prayer, school Masses and visits from our priests, deacons and youth leaders! Evangelization becomes an essential component of Catholic schools as they reach out to all who need to hear Christ’s teachings.
Defending our Catholic Education system can seem very overwhelming! I have put together some information to help with responding to the more common arguments that are raised.
Argument 1: Don’t Catholic schools take funding away from the public schools? Isn’t it inefficient to fund two school systems in Alberta?
Response: Catholic schools do receive public funding from the Alberta Government that comes from taxes (which is a gift from God that we should never take for granted). This funding is given to all school districts on a ‘per student’ basis across the province in both public and separate schools. Public schools are not ‘losing’ funding because Catholic schools exist. Putting all students together into one school system would not provide more funding as there would be the same amount of funding. We would still need the same number of schools, teachers and support staff as there are now. Rather, putting all students into one system would eliminate the ability of parents to have choices regarding the education of their children.
Argument 2: Why did Alberta put Catholic Education into the Alberta Act in the first place?
Response: Catholic Education was the first system of education offered in Alberta, beginning in the 1840’s. It was already well established and respected when Alberta became a province in 1905. Catholic Education was enshrined in the Canadian Constitution before Alberta became a province. As discussed earlier, this offers some amount of protection for our Catholic Education system but our lack of care and support for Catholic Education could easily cause its demise!
Argument 3: Why doesn’t the Catholic school system allow non-Catholics to attend their schools?
Response: Catholic schools DO welcome non-Catholic, barring schools reaching capacity limits and limitations on transporting students, etc. Parents in Alberta have the choice of where to have their children attend school. Many
non-Catholic parents choose Catholic schools because they want their children to be taught in a Christ-centered environment. All parents with children attending Catholic schools are made aware of the religious teachings that will be taught in Catholic schools and thus make an informed choice to have their children attend Catholic schools and learn Catholic values.
Argument 4: What does Catholic Education provide that the public education system does not?
Response: Catholic Education teaches students that Christ is at the center of their lives and His love permeates all things. This helps students to find purpose in their lives and faith for their future based on Christ’s love, and provides a hope that the secular world does not have. The Catholic Education system has a record of excellence in programs and teaching that is visible in our province.
For more arguments and answers see the following: http://www.acsta.ab.ca/news/2017/4/4/catholic-education-confronting-fiction-with-facts
If you would like to know more about the candidates running for the Holy Spirit Trustee positions, here is a link:
https://sites.google.com/holyspirit.ab.ca/hs4trusteeelections/
Here are the websites I looked at in researching this article if you would like to do more reading about Catholic Education in Alberta and the challenges facing it.
http://www.acsta.ab.ca/ the website of the Alberta Catholic Schools Trustee Association
http://www.acsta.ab.ca/news/2017/9/25/pastoral-letter-ministry-catholic-school-trustee
http://www.acsta.ab.ca/content/file/Election_book_2017-1.pdf
http://www.acsta.ab.ca/content/file/Catholic_Dimension_Summer_2017.pdf
https://www.holyspirit.ab.ca/ the website for Holy Spirit Catholic School Division in Lethbridge
https://globalnews.ca/news/3358378/alberta-catholic-school-trustees-association-shoots-down-idea-to-merge-catholic-and-public-schools
There is, however, a whole other race which the media will almost completely ignore, but one which we, as Catholics, should be very aware! That is the election of our Holy Spirit School Division trustees, the women and men to whom we entrust decisions regarding the future of our children’s Catholic education! In their hands is the future of Catholic education itself! These trustees must defend Catholic education in a time when there are many forces which would like to see the end of the Catholic Education system. When you vote on October 16, insure that you receive a Separate Schools ballot and not a Public Schools ballot so that your vote is supporting our Catholic schools!
There are seven men who are running for the five trustee positions which represent the City of Lethbridge Catholic residents. It is important that we, as Catholics, become informed about these candidates so that we can choose the best qualified and faith-filled people to represent our Catholic Education system. Trustee candidates need to
- display a deep understanding and commitment to Catholic Education,
- understand and support the importance of the partnership between home, school and parish,
- be active evangelizers of the Catholic faith
- live their lives within the Catholic faith
Trustees must be able to defend our Catholic Education system both here in Lethbridge and before our Provincial Government in Edmonton. They must be able to knowledgeably, and with conviction, represent our Catholic Education system before many other groups who would like to see Catholic Education stopped. There are many reasons why groups actively pursue shutting down the Catholic Education system and some will be discussed later in this article. For now, know that these groups exist and they are vocal about their wishes! We, as Catholics, need to be equally knowledgeable and vocal in defending our Catholic Education system or we could see it slip away!
Catholic Education in Alberta has a long history that pre-dates the beginning of the Province of Alberta in 1905, with teaching beginning in the 1840’s. As missionaries such as Fr. Lacombe followed the fur traders across the country to Alberta, they established schools so that children could receive education in more remote areas and new territories. The rights of Catholic Education had already been written into the Constitution of Canada in 1867 (Section 93) and then were placed into the Alberta Act in 1905 (Section 17). As well, these rights are supported in the Alberta School Act. With these supporting documents existing, it would be difficult to do away with Catholic Education in Alberta, but not impossible. The biggest enemy, though, against Catholic Education is our own apathy! Other provinces in Canada let Catholic Education slip away because Catholics didn’t care enough to fight for it – provinces such as British Columbia and Newfoundland/Labrador. There will always be those who want to put an end to Catholic Education in Alberta, but will there always be Catholics in Alberta to actively and publicly defend Catholic Education?
At a recent round-table discussion hosted by the Holy Spirit School District the following attributes of Catholic Education were discussed by parents, teachers and administrators:
1. Catholic Education is rooted in the teachings of Christ. It is, of course, counter-cultural and does not buy into society’s ideas of removing Faith as the foundation of all that we do. The richness of Catholic Education therefore stems from having Christ as the beginning and center of all that is done in our schools, as He should also be in our lives!
2. Catholic schools welcome non-practicing and non-Catholic families just as the Catholic Church does. In the Holy Spirit School Division, in the 2016/17 school year, 51% of the students were baptized Catholics with another 14% of students being unbaptized but having one baptized parent. That means that 35% of the students have affiliations with other churches or no church affiliations at all. (In the province of Alberta there are 175,000 students served by Catholic Education, or about 30% of all Alberta students, in over 430 schools). All children are treated with dignity, respect and love.
3. Catholic schools in Alberta must operate under a dual mandate, that of being governed both by our Bishops and by Alberta Education. While Alberta Education sets the curriculum that is taught in all schools in the province, Catholic schools have the added bonus of having the Faith component added to their studies. This means that both students and staff have opportunities to learn more about the teachings of Christ through retreats, Spiritual Development Days, daily prayer, school Masses and visits from our priests, deacons and youth leaders! Evangelization becomes an essential component of Catholic schools as they reach out to all who need to hear Christ’s teachings.
Defending our Catholic Education system can seem very overwhelming! I have put together some information to help with responding to the more common arguments that are raised.
Argument 1: Don’t Catholic schools take funding away from the public schools? Isn’t it inefficient to fund two school systems in Alberta?
Response: Catholic schools do receive public funding from the Alberta Government that comes from taxes (which is a gift from God that we should never take for granted). This funding is given to all school districts on a ‘per student’ basis across the province in both public and separate schools. Public schools are not ‘losing’ funding because Catholic schools exist. Putting all students together into one school system would not provide more funding as there would be the same amount of funding. We would still need the same number of schools, teachers and support staff as there are now. Rather, putting all students into one system would eliminate the ability of parents to have choices regarding the education of their children.
Argument 2: Why did Alberta put Catholic Education into the Alberta Act in the first place?
Response: Catholic Education was the first system of education offered in Alberta, beginning in the 1840’s. It was already well established and respected when Alberta became a province in 1905. Catholic Education was enshrined in the Canadian Constitution before Alberta became a province. As discussed earlier, this offers some amount of protection for our Catholic Education system but our lack of care and support for Catholic Education could easily cause its demise!
Argument 3: Why doesn’t the Catholic school system allow non-Catholics to attend their schools?
Response: Catholic schools DO welcome non-Catholic, barring schools reaching capacity limits and limitations on transporting students, etc. Parents in Alberta have the choice of where to have their children attend school. Many
non-Catholic parents choose Catholic schools because they want their children to be taught in a Christ-centered environment. All parents with children attending Catholic schools are made aware of the religious teachings that will be taught in Catholic schools and thus make an informed choice to have their children attend Catholic schools and learn Catholic values.
Argument 4: What does Catholic Education provide that the public education system does not?
Response: Catholic Education teaches students that Christ is at the center of their lives and His love permeates all things. This helps students to find purpose in their lives and faith for their future based on Christ’s love, and provides a hope that the secular world does not have. The Catholic Education system has a record of excellence in programs and teaching that is visible in our province.
For more arguments and answers see the following: http://www.acsta.ab.ca/news/2017/4/4/catholic-education-confronting-fiction-with-facts
If you would like to know more about the candidates running for the Holy Spirit Trustee positions, here is a link:
https://sites.google.com/holyspirit.ab.ca/hs4trusteeelections/
Here are the websites I looked at in researching this article if you would like to do more reading about Catholic Education in Alberta and the challenges facing it.
http://www.acsta.ab.ca/ the website of the Alberta Catholic Schools Trustee Association
http://www.acsta.ab.ca/news/2017/9/25/pastoral-letter-ministry-catholic-school-trustee
http://www.acsta.ab.ca/content/file/Election_book_2017-1.pdf
http://www.acsta.ab.ca/content/file/Catholic_Dimension_Summer_2017.pdf
https://www.holyspirit.ab.ca/ the website for Holy Spirit Catholic School Division in Lethbridge
https://globalnews.ca/news/3358378/alberta-catholic-school-trustees-association-shoots-down-idea-to-merge-catholic-and-public-schools