Are you a non-Catholic family at a Catholic school?

[Anonymous]

Just from the other side -- we are a devout Catholic family but do not put our children into our parish school because we have found it not Catholic enough. The school had a high population of non-Catholic families who were in the neighborhood and using the school as an alternative to the higher priced private school. When we received a new Pastor he really made a point of trying to find out why the Catholic families were not attending the school. While my kids are still in public school, I have noticed that the school has really started to work on attracting the Catholic students, which I like.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] I'm the pp whose children attended Catholic school for one year and I can say that I was not at all surprised that the school was religious. Of course not. But I was surprised at the exclusion of all other valuable things such as non-religious art and music, perhaps some non-religious plays just for fun, etc. Creativity in any form was really frowned upon. PE and recess were constantly being cancelled for extra church services. It was just too much. Also, as a non Catholic, I was surprised by the extreme nature of some of the religious teachings. I know a lot of Catholic people who are much more liberal. So maybe I was just naive... But my kids only stayed for one year. [/quote]


I honestly think the lack of diversity in the arts is not "exclusion" of anything but simply the inability to include the diversity you are looking for due to limited financial resources. The parishes try very hard to keep the tuition as low as possible so that families can afford to send their children to their parish school. In my experience, parish schools tend to be bread-and-butter schools and the arts, not being part of the bread-and-butter 3Rs, are slipped in with other subjects, such as religion, as an efficiency measure. Families usually send their children to the parish school for formation in the faith and to be part of a Catholic community. Many accept the penny-pinching because those two aspects of the schools are of paramount importance to them. They would not be of paramount importance to a non-Catholic so a non-Catholic family should take a good long look at a Catholic school before signing up. The school community is a part of the parish community so it is understandable that a non-Catholic family would not feel like a fully integrated member of the community. I don't think there is any ill-will intended; it's just a natural by-product of a family not being a member of the parish.

I attended a parish school from K - 8; my husband did not. Our children attend an independent Catholic school as a compromise. They don't have the same sense of a parish community that I grew up with. It saddens me but I understand that it is the result of our decision not to attend the parish school. On the other hand, we feel that children are more engaged in academics during their enriched school day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do parents of children in DC area Catholic schools need to sign any kind of paper saying that they agree to support the teachings of the Catholic church in their homes (or at least, not to undermine them or speak against them to their children?) A friend in the area told me they were required to sign something like that, and that it was an archdiscesan requirement.

Never heard of such a thing. IF, however, there were then I can guess at a reason. My guess is that it wouldn't be about a goal of "trying to convert all the little heathen children". My guess is that the school administration would be concerned that you'd have kids getting really confused and struggling going back and forth between school theology and home where parents say "those catholics are a bunch of nuts". Being a non-Catholic at a Catholic school isn't a big deal. Being a non-Catholic actively and negatively pushing back against the theology probably isn't in the best interests of the child stuck in the middle.

Again, never heard of such a thing in practice, though.

Do you have a child in a DC area Catholic school?

the person who told me of this form said it was new this year. He is a teacher at a Catholic high school in the DC area. He said that some parents questioned what this form was they were being asked to sign, and they were told that it was not coming from the school, it was from the archdioscese of Washington.

I will ask him if he can get me a copy of the form. I don't think it was to convert all the children, but to make sure parents weren't publicly taking a stance on some issues (for example abortion) while sending their children to Catholic schools.

[Anonymous]

I just did a google search on forms that the Washington Archdiocese uses for their schools. One form I found was for employment in the Archdiocese. See: http://www.adw.org/employment/pdf/CatholicSchoolsApp.pdf.

There is no reference to statement of the individual applicant abiding by church teaching in this form. It stands to reason that the Archdiocese would view a teacher's adherence to church teaching as greater or equal to a parent's adherence. So I doubt that the Archdiocese requires parents to sign any such form.

Please note: I would have no problem with the archdiocese ensuring that their teachers actually believe Catholic dogma.

[Anonymous]

This is the text from the ADW form. Found it on the OLV website.

I/We understand and acknowledge the Roman Catholic religious nature of the school to which our child is applying. I/We will not publicly repudiate the teachings and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, and I/we will respect and support the unique identity that the school derives from its Catholic faith. As the primary educator(s) of the applicant, I/We will not act in ways that contradict the Catholic nature of the school. I/we shall cooperate fully with the school and the applicant shall participate in all required school programming, including instruction in the Catholic faith and attendance at Mass. As the primary educator(s) of the applicant, we agree to act in ways that promote the best interests of the church and school and will comply with the policies of the Archdiocese of Washington and Our Lady of Victory School. . .

[Anonymous]

Catholic schools make more atheists than any other institution on earth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the text from the ADW form. Found it on the OLV website.

I/We understand and acknowledge the Roman Catholic religious nature of the school to which our child is applying. I/We will not publicly repudiate the teachings and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, and I/we will respect and support the unique identity that the school derives from its Catholic faith. As the primary educator(s) of the applicant, I/We will not act in ways that contradict the Catholic nature of the school. I/we shall cooperate fully with the school and the applicant shall participate in all required school programming, including instruction in the Catholic faith and attendance at Mass. As the primary educator(s) of the applicant, we agree to act in ways that promote the best interests of the church and school and will comply with the policies of the Archdiocese of Washington and Our Lady of Victory School. . .

Thanks!

So this isn't for teachers/employees -- it is for parents to sign?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the text from the ADW form. Found it on the OLV website.

I/We understand and acknowledge the Roman Catholic religious nature of the school to which our child is applying. I/We will not publicly repudiate the teachings and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, and I/we will respect and support the unique identity that the school derives from its Catholic faith. As the primary educator(s) of the applicant, I/We will not act in ways that contradict the Catholic nature of the school. I/we shall cooperate fully with the school and the applicant shall participate in all required school programming, including instruction in the Catholic faith and attendance at Mass. As the primary educator(s) of the applicant, we agree to act in ways that promote the best interests of the church and school and will comply with the policies of the Archdiocese of Washington and Our Lady of Victory School. . .

Thanks!

So this isn't for teachers/employees -- it is for parents to sign?

Apparently so - "I/We understand and acknowledge the Roman Catholic religious nature of the school to which our child is applying."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the text from the ADW form. Found it on the OLV website.

I/We understand and acknowledge the Roman Catholic religious nature of the school to which our child is applying. I/We will not publicly repudiate the teachings and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, and I/we will respect and support the unique identity that the school derives from its Catholic faith. As the primary educator(s) of the applicant, I/We will not act in ways that contradict the Catholic nature of the school. I/we shall cooperate fully with the school and the applicant shall participate in all required school programming, including instruction in the Catholic faith and attendance at Mass. As the primary educator(s) of the applicant, we agree to act in ways that promote the best interests of the church and school and will comply with the policies of the Archdiocese of Washington and Our Lady of Victory School. . .

The Principal of Our Lady of Victory in May of this year received the Distinguished Principal of the Year Award from the Archdiocese of Washington, out of 98 Principals in the ADW system.

re-quote from18:08, 6/10/11: “The trend is toward even greater Orthodoxy in the Catholic parochial schools. Unless an entire non-Catholic family is willing now to convert to Catholicism, non-Catholics would be wise to weigh the inherent disadvantages your children will have in the Archdiocesan parochial Catholic schools.
-Voice of Experience of parent of several non-Catholic students in a Parochial School”

[Anonymous]

PP, I'm not sure I understand your meaning when you post about the principal of Our Lady of Victory.

The form you ( or someone) found on their website -- isn't that language straight from the Archdioscese of Washington? it isn't specific to OLV anyhow, because my friend who teaches high school is at a different school.

I don't begrudge the Catholic schools anything in trying to keep their Catholic identity and beliefs. But although I was raised very religiously Catholic and chose a Catholic elementary school for my daughter for the first 3 years, I realized we had to leave the church and pull her out of Catholic school because there are certain beliefs and practices I just couldn't defend anymore. And while friends told me they just ignored those things and felt fine about it, I could NEVER sign a statement agreeing not to disagree publicly with certain Catholic beliefs.

Which is why my kid now attend public school.

[Anonymous]

PP again.

OK, if you google "I/We will not act in ways that contradict the Catholic nature of the school." you will receive links to most of the Archdioscese of Washington Catholic schools reenrollment forms for the 2011-2012 school year. So this seems to be just in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]Parish schools run by Catholic churches exist to educate the children of the parish and instruct them in the teachings of the Catholic faith. In the last decades they have accepted and educated non-Catholic children as circumstances and economics have dictated. Non-Cathlic children who attend such schools should expect, and understand beforehand, the mission of the school. However, no child is indoctrinated or forced to comply with Catholic practices. The independent Catholic schools are not under the administrative umbrella of a diocese but they are nonetheless in the business of educating children in the Catholic faith.

If a non-Catholic decides for whatever reason to send their child to a Catholic school there is a simple answer to any child's question about a teaching that confuses them: "Yes, dear, that's what they believe but we aren't Catholics and we believe ... (explain what you believe). And that's okay. We send you to the school for ... (explain your reason in age-appropriate terms)."

No forms are signed; there are no trap doors in the confessionals; and it's called "Mass" not chapel.

Religious bigots need not, and indeed should not, apply.[/quote]

"[b]I/We will not act in ways that contradict the Catholic nature of the school[/b]"

So if I'm the Catholic or non-Catholic parent of a child enrolled in Catholic school and I'm asked to sign this statement so my child can attend -- what am I actually promising here? To not act in ways that contradict the Catholic nature of the school means.... what?

Seems like my child could be thrown out of school, if I the parent act in certain unapproved ways like.... what?

I would think all parents in the area would be interested in some clarification of these details.

[Anonymous]

My kids are an area catholic school and we have not been asked to sign anything like the above. I don't think it would be received well by the parents if we were asked. While archidiocese comes up with some direction and oversight, i find the school to be pretty independent (much more independent than say our local DCPS from central administration).

[Anonymous]

I agree with the schools asking for that, if they do.
You cannot really send your child to a Jewish school and expect to shield your child from Judaism.
You would be expected to keep a low profile

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the schools asking for that, if they do.
You cannot really send your child to a Jewish school and expect to shield your child from Judaism.
You would be expected to keep a low profile

You should not expect to shield your child from Judaism at a Jewish school, of course not.

but would the Jewish school require you to give up your freedom of speech?

"I will not publicly repudiate the teachings of the Jewish religion"

"I will not act in ways that contradict the Jewish nature of the school".... so they could kick your child out if they found out your family didn't keep kosher as the school required?

Maybe some Jewish schools are like that, I don't know. But certainly any non-Catholic parent should see what is required of them before signing their child up for such a school.