The Cavalry Might Not Be Coming

In the old Westerns, the beleaguered soldiers holding out against hordes of savages awaited the cavalry that would come and save them. Besieged and worried, the only hope for survival and salvation was the anticipated arrival of brave and crack troopers on horseback. This is a pretty well-known motif.

It's also what comes to mind when I look at the "large" Catholic school networks and their work in the field of Catholic Ed. There's a great interview with one of these networks (the Seton Network, lead by Stephanie Saroki de Garcia (NOTE: I worked as an Onward Leader for a school that is/was part of the Seton Network and worked at another school that applied for but was rejected from becoming a member of the Network. I also know and love Stephanie's brother, Fr. Anthony Saroki, who is a tremendous pastor in San Diego). This quote stands out in representing this mentality (seen also in ACE, et al.):

RH: What's next for you all?

SG: We're looking to expand. We're actually working closely with the Charter School Growth Fund on a robust expansion plan for our charter network. In N.Y.C., we plan to go from three campuses to eight or possibly nine campuses by 2026—and will be serving well over 3,000 children at capacity. With our Catholic schools, our goal is to show that in choice states, such schools can thrive given the right set of priorities, guidance, and governance. In order to do that, we are working to create local networks of Catholic school innovation in key locations to show what is possible. And we're actively exploring whether we want to start a network of independent Seton Catholic academies in states with good public school choice programs—Ohio, right now, being the top contender.

Currently, 15 states have some sort of voucher program in place [let's put aside the idea of a daytime charter/nighttime religious ed school]. That number might (and hopefully will) increase. But the reality is that tax-payer provided school choice is not the cavalry for large numbers of Catholic school students (particularly in the union/Democrat-dominated state where I work and live along with a large number of our fellow brothers and sisters in Faith [1 in 7 Catholics lives in California] and students in our schools [about 1 in 25 Catholic school students is in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles]).

And it is great that so many organizations are stepping up to support schools in places like Ohio, Indiana, Arizona, Milwaukee, Washington D.C., and Florida!

BUT - I would hope that those same organizations and others will answer the call that Dr. Kevin Baxter made at a recent meeting of the Catholic Funders Group here in LA. I am paraphrasing, but he challenged the foundations and educators in the room to think outside the box in how we can ensure that our school stay open.

A tuition-based (or voucher-based) model might not work in inner-city LA. What can Seton and ACE do about this? What can we do about this? What can I do about this?

As a principal, I see my cavalry as the bounty of children and families in my parish, in the small but steady efforts we have made to be a true communion of faith, to reach out to the many non-profit and for-profit organizations in our city that want to enable the children of Hawthorne to have a choice when it comes to their educational opportunities. It is the changes we are making as a culture and a staff to be the best and most-kid centered educational school we can be.

I just wish these national organizations would push some of their creativity, money, and excellence in the direction of the 35 states that don't have a voucher system.