Newswise — Fr. Joseph M. O'Keefe, SJ, Dean of Boston College's Lynch School of Education, will speak about the current state of Catholic urban schools at the White House Summit on Inner-City Children and Faith-Based Schools in Washington D.C. on Thursday, April 24.
Fr. O'Keefe, who in 2001 led a landmark study of inner-city Catholic elementary schools that was later published as the book Sustaining the Legacy: Inner-city Catholic Elementary Schools in the United States, says bold restructurings, entrepreneurial leadership, and creative partnerships with a wide variety of community organizations are required to preserve Catholic schools.
"Sadly, one quarter of the 384 schools we studied in 2001 have closed," says Fr. O'Keefe, who will deliver remarks entitled "Catholic Schools in the Inner City:A Time to Innovate or Perish," during a panel on Practical Realities on the Ground. "This is reflective of national trends. Elementary-school enrollment has declined faster in the 12 largest urban dioceses than it has in all other dioceses. Across the country, Catholic school enrollments have declined by nearly 400,000 students. The picture is pretty bleak."
Drawing on the expertise and experiences of educators, policy-makers, clergy and lay people from throughout the U.S., the White House Summit will focus on the historic contributions of faith-based urban schools in America, examine the challenges these schools face, and look for solutions to problems confronting educators from all faiths.
Since 1996, Fr. O'Keefe has spearheaded a collaborative program with the National Catholic Educational Association to identify and replicate best practices in Catholic schools in the US. In addition, in 2007 he edited The International Handbook of Catholic Education, a study of Catholic schools throughout the world, which provides new models of organization and government support.
In 2006, Fr. O'Keefe played a leading role in saving St. Columbkille Elementary School in Brighton through the collaboration of Boston College, the Archdiocese of Boston, and St. Columbkille Parish. On the verge of closure, St. Columbkille received an infusion of funding from the university and expertise from Boston College and the Lynch School. A school that once enrolled fewer than 100 students, St. Columbkille now enrolls close to 300 students.
Boston College has been involved in other reform efforts in Boston as well. Cambridge's North Cambridge Catholic High School is one of 19 schools to join the Cristo Rey network, adopting a curriculum that places work-study at the heart of its academic program. Following the announcement by the Boston archdiocese that it will consolidate five Dorchester schools into a single administrative district, Fr. O'Keefe and the Lynch School have helped to identify administrative improvements and other efficiencies.
"Just as public schools have learned, Catholic and other faith-based schools realize that their survival stems from innovative approaches to curricula, leveraging resources among schools, and engaging local communities as partners in the futures of children from our inner cities," Fr. O'Keefe said. "Adopting best practices will allow these schools to flourish."
Links:The White House Summit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/04/20080422-12.html
The Lynch School of Education:http://www.bc.edu/schools/lsoe/
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