MACSC Newsletter
Serving parish, diocesan, and independent Catholic schools in the (arch)dioceses of Baltimore, Washington, Arlington, Richmond, Wheeling-Charleston, and Wilmington.
- Baltimore - Catholic High Schools' Fairs will be held in Baltimore on September 13 and September 20. Nineteen high schools will participate.
- Washington - A new poll shows that nearly three-quarters of District voters support the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program.
- Arlington- Diocese offers scholarships for Marymount University's Master of Education in Catholic School Leadership.
- Richmond - The Office of Catholic Education will have an additional $800,000 to award in tuition assistance for the 2009–2010 school year. Read more in The Catholic Virginian.
- Wheeling-Charleston - More than 60 diocesan teachers from 20 schools participate in three-day interactive whiteboard workshops. Read more in The Catholic Spirit.
- Wilmington - Funds for private school nurses survive budget cuts. Read about it in The Dialog.
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MACSC MissionTo make Catholic Schools the schools of choice for Catholic children and families, and all who may desire an education rooted in the Catholic Tradition and Gospel values.
Contact Us
Mid-Atlantic Catholic Schools Consortium
10 Francis Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone: 410-280-0142
Fax: 410-269-1790
We welcome your comments and feedback at: midatlanticcsc@gmail.com
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Read about the recent activities and projects of the Mid-Atlantic Catholic Schools Consortium staff and member dioceses:
Greetings from the Executive Director- SOAR Act Would Extend DC Opportunity Scholarships
- Bicentennial Celebration Recognizes Seton Legacy
- Four Dioceses to Promote Catholic Schools on Comcast
- Enrollment Management Workshop Planned for October
- Save the Date for the BOAST Forum
- Help Us Match a $20,000 Gift from the Raskob Foundation
- A Prayer to St. John Baptist de La Salle
Dear Friends of Catholic Schools,
September brings the start of the new school year for our children and teachers and with it the optimism, enthusiasm, and excitement of new beginnings. Across the Mid-Atlantic region, our 313 Catholic Schools are welcoming their students for another year of academic excellence, faith formation, community service, and personal and social growth.
While we begin the year with optimism and hope, we are never the less very aware of the real challenges our children, their parents and our schools face to ensure that every child who seeks a Catholic education in the Mid-Atlantic region will be able to do so. For these reasons we will focus our efforts this year on promoting academic excellence, acquiring all of the public benefits to which our children and teachers are entitled to receive, using our collaboration to replicate best practices and introducing new technologies to communicate and share the important messages about our Catholic schools.
Each month, we will use this newsletter to showcase the important initiatives underway in the Consortium. Currently we are preparing the formal reports for each diocese on the research study conducted in collaboration with ACE Consulting of the University of Notre Dame on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and working with others to ensure that our children and teachers continue to be recognized at the state and national levels. We will sponsor our second Pastor and Principal Institute this year and our participants will gather together in October for their first meetings. We are also continuing to introduce and expand opportunities to strategically purchase goods and services that lower the costs of operating our schools and leverage our combined purchasing power.
We continue to benefit from the generosity and support of our diocesan bishops and their superintendents, as well as foundations and individuals who share our commitment to ensuring affordable and accessible Catholic education. I ask that you spread the word about our work and please help us identify others who are willing to invest in our efforts.
Our prayer for this month is to St. John Baptist de La Salle, founder of the Christian Brothers and patron saint of all teachers and school principals.
Thank you so very much for your continued support and interest. I look forward to a great year and to hearing from you about the importance of Catholic schools for you and your families.With best regards,
Mary Ellen Hrutka, PhD
Executive Director
For all our news and programs, check out the MACSC website.
SOAR Act Would Extend DC Opportunity Scholarships for Five Years
On July 30, U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and five bi-partisan co-sponsors introduced the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act of 2009. SOAR would extend the successful and popular DC Opportunity Scholarship Program for five years. In March 2009, Congress voted to end funding of the successful Opportunity Scholarship Program after the 2009-10 school year.
If passed, SOAR would allow low-income children the chance to attend a high-performing non-public school; improve scholarship levels from $7,500 to $9,000 for elementary schools and $11,000 for high schools; and strengthen education across the District by providing $20 million in federal funding for the scholarships and $20 million each for public and charter schools. For more information about the SOAR Act, read the Archdiocese of Washington press release.
Bicentennial Celebration Recognizes Seton Legacy
In early August, Catholics from across the Mid-Atlantic region commemorated an important milestone in the history of American Catholic schools: the 200th anniversary of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's arrival in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
In July of 1809, St. Elizabeth Ann traveled to Emmitsburg, where she founded the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's and began Saint Joseph's Academy and Free School, the first free Catholic School for girls staffed by Sisters in the United States. Many consider this school to be the foundation for the modern Catholic school system in the United States.
The bicentennial celebration of St. Elizabeth Ann's arrival was held July 31 to August 2, 2009, in Emmitsburg. Events included an anniversary Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the dedication of the Seton Legacy Garden. Students from several nearby Catholic schools participated in the events, including students from Mother Seton School in Emmitsburg, which traces its roots to the school founded by St. Elizabeth Ann.
To learn more about the Seton legacy and bicentennial celebration, visit the website of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Four Dioceses to Promote Catholic Schools on Comcast
This fall, the (arch)dioceses of Baltimore, Richmond, Washington, and Wheeling-Charleston will launch videos featuring their Catholic schools on Comcast's Schools On Demand, a service that allows cable customers to view videos from education providers at any time of day or night. Through the Consortium, Comcast has offered the (arch)dioceses a unique opportunity to promote their schools on Schools on Demand, which reaches more than 3.9 million households in the Mid-Atlantic region. Each diocese will work with Comcast to develop a video to promote its Catholic schools. The Diocese of Richmond plans to offer individual schools the opportunity to develop and air a video on Comcast spotlight. Look for our schools this fall on Comcast Schools on Demand.
Catholic Schools Enrollment Management Workshop
Thursday, October 22, Columbia, MD
Is it time for a fresh approach to enrollment management at your Catholic school or does your strategy simply need some fine tuning? Whether you are seeking to grow or maintain enrollments at your school, you can benefit from the upcoming Catholic Schools Enrollment Management Workshop. The Consortium invites school administrators, diocesan staff, parish leaders, and anyone else involved in enrollment management to attend this informative workshop coordinated by the Archdiocese of Baltimore's Catholic Schools Marketing Office.
The workshop will be presented by the Institute of School & Parish Development (ISPD) and will be held at Loyola College's Columbia campus. Workshop sessions will explore topics such as financing tuition, implementing a search campaign, and defining the role of teachers and staff in the enrollment management process. Attendees will receive campaign visuals, case studies, and other materials to help them develop and refine an effective enrollment management strategy. The cost to attend is $55, which includes a light breakfast and lunch. Visit the Consortium website for more details.
Save the Date for the BOAST Forum
Tuesday, October 6, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Annapolis, MD
The BOAST Maryland Coalition invites principals, teachers, parents, business leaders, and other supporters to attend a statewide forum in Annapolis on October 6, 2009. This informative event will provide updated information on the BOAST Maryland Tax Credit and provide training to help forum participants become effective advocates for BOAST and nonpublic schools. Participants will have the opportunity to network with other BOAST supporters and gather valuable information to use when promoting the legislation in their community and in the Maryland General Assembly.
The BOAST Maryland Tax Credit grants a 75 percent state income tax credit to businesses that donate to scholarship organizations for nonpublic school students or to enrichment programs for public school students. For more information, visit the BOAST website.
Help Us Match a $20,000 Gift from the Raskob Foundation
Make a contribution to the Consortium today and your gift will go twice as far in supporting our work on behalf of Catholic schools! The Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities, Inc., has generously donated $20,000 to the Consortium with the requirement that we obtain matching funds of $20,000. The Raskob Foundation gift and matching funds will be used to support the research initiatives and marketing projects of the Consortium, as well as our efforts on behalf of parental school choice.
We welcome donations of any size from individuals, companies, or other organizations. If every recipient of this newsletter contributed just $15, we would reach our goal. Thank you so much for your consideration! Click here for easy ways to donate.
Target Field Trip Grants Program
This school year, the Target Field Trip Grants Program will award 5,000 grants of up to $800 each to send students on exciting, enriching field trips. Grants will be awarded in January 2010 and are to be used to cover field trip costs and fees. While the deadline is November 3, you should apply early for best consideration.
Deadline: November 3, 2009
To Apply: https://targetfieldtripgrants.target.com/register.php
A Prayer to St. John Baptist de La Salle
As our Catholic school students, teachers, and principals prepare to begin another successful school year, we remember St. John Baptist de La Salle, the patron saint of school teachers and principals. In 1950, Pope Pius XII named him patron of "all teachers of youth" for his pioneering work in the development of teachers and schools.
We offer this prayer to St. John de La Salle:
Well-known Founder of the Congregation of the Brothers of Christian Schools, orthodox and prayerful theologian, you realized the very great value of competent Christian educators. How great your wholesome influence has been! Make your followers continue to be Christlike models for all their students, who in turn will edify others. Amen.