My friend Melvin contacted me last night and said he had received a packet, via snail mail, from the Archdiocese. In it it contained a letter from the Cardinal Wuerl reminding us to be thankful (Thanksgiving) for all God has given to us and to remind us of the blessing of a Catholic education. In addition, there was a full color booket containing reprints from the Catholic Standard on education.- Did you get his packet?
- What did you think about it?
- Did you understand the purpose of why it was sent to you?
- Do you believe it was worth the cost?
I would love to know what you think and will share with you my thoughts later on it.+++++++++++++++
Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. As we move into the Christmas season, please remember to find a good Catholic charity (and there are a number) and make a small donation, esp. those which help those who are less fortunate.
From the Washington Post:St. Gabriel's Catholic Church in the District's Petworth neighborhood and the Center City Public Charter School next door share a parking lot and the shade of some trees. Until a year-and-a-half ago, they also shared a faith. But the Archdiocese of Washington gave up control of seven of its financially struggling inner-city schools, stripping down crucifixes and turning the facilities into secular charter schools in three months. Dozens of teachers and hundreds of students departed; 1,000 new students signed up. To read more, go here.
Today, many (but not all) of our Catholic Elementary Schools have their frist day. Students will line up, enter the school for the start of the new year, meet their teacher (and any new ones) and begin the process of learning and growing.The schools, teachers, principals and staff will be in my prayers.It will be an interesting year.
From the Washington comPost: The District missed a $103 million payment due to its 60 charter schools this morning, triggering serious cash flow problems for many of the publicly funded, independently operated schools and raising new questions about D.C. government's ability to meet its commitments as revenue declines. The delay means that some schools will not be able to meet their payroll.
Charter school operators, who serve about 25,000 District school children on 90 campuses, were informed by Jeremy Williams, business oversight manager for the D.C. Public Charter School Board, that uncertainty surrounding tax revenue means their payment will be later and smaller than anticipated. This of course will affect the Charter schools, converted from Catholic Schools. This will also affect the parishes that are leasing the schools to the Charter program. This was an issue which I wrote about last November.
