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July 29, 2017The bishops of the United States believe parents are the primary educators of their children and have the right to choose the school best suited for them. And they have encouraged Catholics to advocate for parental choice programs such as state funded vouchers that can be used to pay a private school tuition.
To answer that call, the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education program has organized the Educational Reform Leaders Summit to train school leaders to be advocates for parental choice programs. This year’s class includes C.J. Martin, the principal of St. Joseph School in Madison.
“We’re discussing ideas on how to make sure all children have an opportunity to go to a high quality, high performing school,” said Martin, one of about 30 people from across the country participating in this year’s summit. “Obviously, we hope they choose a Catholic school.”
“We really see this more as an issue of social justice than strictly school choice,” Martin said. “We want to give the opportunity for parents to choose the best school for their children.”
The participants in the Summit attend three seminars over an 11-month period to hear from experts on parental choice programs. The first seminar was held at Loyola University in New Orleans in June, and the other two will be held in Tampa in January and in Indianapolis next May. The participants also will have monthly online meetings.
According to the program’s website, participants will develop an increased understanding of the legal, social, constitutional, political and moral dimensions of parental choice public policy in the United States and an ability to advocate for parental choice in their home states.
“We’re building a network” of parental choice advocates across the country, Martin said.
As a principal and a board member of the Diocese of Nashville’s Endowment for the Advancement of Catholic Schools, Martin said he is aware of the challenge Catholic schools face nationally. That prompted him to apply to participate in the Summit so he could share the information he will learn with the community at St. Joseph and other schools in the diocese.
In Tennessee, efforts to pass a school vouchers bill have been unsuccessful. “I’ve worked this for seven years,” said Jennifer Murphy, executive director of the Tennessee Catholic Public Policy Commission, which represents the interests of the three dioceses in the state before the State Legislature.
A bill has passed the Senate four times, but has met stiff opposition in the House of Representatives, she said. “In the House we pull it every time because we get so far and we know it will die in a committee. We don’t want it to die. That’s what happened last year.”
Rather than see the bill defeated, the sponsors have rolled it over for another year. The Legislature will convene in January for the last year of the current session. If it doesn’t pass in the House then, supporters will have to start again in the Senate the following year, Murphy said.
“It would help St. Joseph and a lot of other diocesan schools in helping more students and families in our direct neighborhoods attend a high performing, high value academic school,” Martin said of a school voucher program.
Increasing enrollment would provide financial stability for schools, and would benefit the students, Martin said. “More students means more programs, more opportunities, more experiences with more children and peers,” he said.
Under the current version of the bill in Tennessee, vouchers would be available to families of children enrolled in the state’s lowest performing schools and essentially would be limited to Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis, Murphy explained.
Because Catholic schools are often among the few private school options in less affluent areas, Murphy said, “Our schools would be better located for a lot of the students who need us.”
“My goal would be to meet with parents, advocates, attorneys and those who have contact with our State Legislature to discuss ideas and options for educating all children in the Nashville area,” Martin said.
C.J. Martin, principal at St. Joseph School in Madison, is participating in the Educational Reform Leadership Summit sponsored by the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education. Photo by Andy Telli