The tabernacle was empty, its vigil lamp extinguished. Hope had abandoned the sanctuary. An oppressive emptiness replaced it.
I don’t remember to what it referred, but this mysterious passage appeared recently on my computer screen like some dark prophecy. On the same day I read about the Partnership Schools Program, and I was struck by the parallel imagery. Readers are familiar with the challenges Catholic schools – especially inner-city schools – have experienced over the past several decades and are aware of the painful decisions dioceses have had to make to close so many during that time. Happily, throughout the country there are a handful of initiatives which are addressing these challenges.
One is the Partnership Schools program headquartered in New York which is the first national network of Catholic elementary schools in the United States. Partnership Schools (thepartnershipschools.org) is the result of the merger in 2010 of two successful organizations supporting Catholic education in the Archdiocese of New York: the Endowment for Inner-City Education and the Patrons Program. Having educated over 4,000 students so far, the Partnership now serves 3,400 pupils in eleven once struggling urban Catholic schools in New York and Cleveland. The names of the schools may be wonderfully reminiscent of an earlier era (such as Saint Athanasius, Immaculate Conception, Our Lady Queen of Angels, St. Thomas Aquinas, etc.), but the formidable promise they offer is very much forward looking.
The Partnership’s mission is: “As an independent 501 ( c ) 3 and private school management organization, our mission is to develop outstanding Catholic elementary schools that provide students from underserved communities with the academic preparation, values, and skills they need to break the cycle of poverty and lead fulfilling, productive lives”. Beyond the vocation-like commitment of its teachers, administrators and donors, the notable success of the Partnership results in its innovative approach to leveraging the shared management, financial, academic and community building responsibilities of the schools it encompasses. Another important factor in its success is the agreement the Partnership has with the two dioceses. It is a model where the dioceses have retained governance of the schools but have outsourced their management to the Partnership. Under this groundbreaking agreement the Partnership assumes full responsibility for managing the schools – including full financial responsibility.
The statistics are convincing. Students in these schools outperform their peers in public schools, and in both reading and math their achievement levels are on par with New York charter school averages. As for the costs, in the Partnership schools in New York and Cleveland the cost per student as compared with the public schools is 38% and 45%, respectively.
The website quotes Pope Francis’ statement: “The mission of schools is to develop a sense of truth, of what is good and beautiful”. It goes on say: “Partnership Schools – indeed all Catholic schools – educate the whole child: we form students’ values and habits, cultivate a sense of awe at God’s loving presence, and awaken young people to the meaning our lives gain only in service to others”. The schools do this by inculcating the core values of integrity, humility, hard work and service.
It’s no surprise that the parents – Catholic and otherwise – are attracted to the Partnership schools. But for these oases of true enlightenment many of their children would be locked in the life-long cycle of poverty and lead unfulfilled lives.
Perhaps it is also not a surprise that the mysterious passage quoted above appeared the same day I came across the Partnership’s website. Clearly, if intended as a prophecy it has failed. Every graduate of the Partnership schools evidences the eternal Presence in the tabernacle and the illumination of the inextinguishable vigil lamp.