Choosing the best school for your children is a complex process. Like most parents, you want to make sure that your children are set on the best path to success. Academics are often a big part of the decision-making process. And many public schools offer excellent academics. But what about the emotional, social, and spiritual development of a child? Many Catholic schools’ missions are to teach these important life skills in addition to the academics.

Today, we’d like to discuss reasons why parents might choose to go the Catholic route.

Benefits of a Catholic Education

Shared Faith

One of the best ways that Catholic schools come together in faith is by attending Mass together. But what about during the school day? During school hours, God, the teachings of Jesus, Catholic values, and faith are openly discussed and incorporated into activities such as:

• Daily conversation
• Daily lessons
• Prayer
• Songs of praise and worship

By sharing faith, we teach students that education and religion do not have to be practiced separately. Rather, students learn that their Catholic faith is something that can be interwoven into all aspects of their lives, even things like schoolwork and homework.

Learned Values

A Catholic education instills values in students by teaching them to care for their classmates and members of the community. This is accomplished through several activities such as:

• Volunteer work
• Praying for sick classmates, teachers, friends and relatives
• Learning a moral code of conduct such as the Golden Rule
• Learning to distinguish right from wrong

For many parents, a Catholic education is appealing because the school day serves as reinforcement of what is being taught at home. When your child is enrolled in a private Catholic school, you do not need to worry about lessons of faith that are taught at home being contradicted in the classroom. Parents and teachers work together to build strong family units rooted in the Catholic faith.

Exceptional Academics

According to the National Catholic Educational Association, Catholic school students excel academically in the following ways:

• Earn higher scores on standardized tests than their public school peers¹,²
• Outperform public school students on the SATs³
• Have a high school graduation rate of 99% ¹
• 86% of Catholic school graduates continue on to college while only 40% of public high school graduates do ¹

Contributing to this academic success is the smooth advancement of grade levels which Catholic schools offer, as most of them are K-8 schools, starting as early as kindergarten and continuing all the way through eighth grade. This continuity creates a support system for students which helps propel them to academic success in high school.

Is Catholic School Right for Your Family?

The choice of which school is best for your family is a very personal decision. Catholic schools strive for academic excellence through faith-based learning and offer many advantages to students and families. We hope the advantages outlined above are helpful as you navigate your way through this difficult decision. If you would like to learn more about what Catholic schools such as Saint Cecelia may offer your children, please feel free to schedule a visit with us.

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^{1. “Benefits of a Catholic Education.” St. Raphael School, Accessed 24 Aug. 2017, http://www.straphaelschoolmd.org/pages/StRaphaels_School/About_Us/Benefits_of_a_Catholic_Educati ↩}

^{2. “Catholic Schools Earn High Marks on Nation’s Report Card.” National Catholic Educational Association, Accessed 24 Aug. 2017, http://www.ncea.org/NCEA/Proclaim/News/Press_Releases/Catholic_Schools_Earn_High_Marks_on_Nation_s_Report_Card.aspx?WebsiteKey=60819b28-9432-4c46-a76a-a2e20ac11cfd↩}

^{3. “Catholic Schools Outperform Public Schools on the New 2016 SAT Subject Tests.” National Catholic Educational Association, Accessed 24 Aug. 2017, http://www.ncea.org/NCEA/Proclaim/News/Press_Releases/catholic_schools_outperform_public_schools_onthenew2016sat__Subject_Tsts.aspx?WebsiteKey=60819b28-9432-4c46-a76a-a2e20ac11cfd↩}