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Marin Catholic principal Chris Valdez, parent Maryanna Chmielewski and senior Elise Chmielewski discuss their perspectives on Catholic education. (Photo by Debra Greenblat/Catholic San Francisco)
January 17, 2019
Lidia Wasowicz
In an era of shifting enrollments and expectations, Catholic school principals, parents and pupils stand firm in their support of faith-based instruction.
While their respective perspectives may part ways on issues such as required attire, they converge on one important insight: Christian education excels at nurturing the growth and development of the whole child, physical, intellectual, social and spiritual.
“A Catholic education offers young students a rich environment from which to explore all areas of academics – the humanities, sciences and arts – while simultaneously immersed in the sacred discovery of their faith, values, direction and way of being in this world,” said Deborah Farrington, principal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a pre-K-8 institution in Redwood City established in 1885.
That cerebral-celestial combination clicked for Melanie Albano Valdez, a graduate of St. Veronica in South San Francisco and Mercy High in Burlingame, when her two sons reached school age.
“We selected Catholic education for its high academic standards with dedicated teachers, focus on Catholic values and emphasis on community building with outreach to the underprivileged,” she recalled.
Nine years later, they know they made the right choice.
“I am happy to be in a Catholic school so I can practice my faith and be a better person,” said Jake Valdez, a fourth grader at OLMC.
Asked about any drawbacks, he answered with a single word: “Uniforms!”
Finding no faults, his older brother Nate entered Junipero Serra in San Mateo, a boys high school founded in 1944, following graduation from OLMC.
“The connections my teachers make back to our Catholic faith keep me engaged and active in class,” the freshman said. “Another main advantage of going to Catholic school is that I get to meet people who have similar moral standards and share many values with me.”
The insights typify those expressed to Catholic San Francisco by 22 elementary and secondary school principals, parents and students in the three counties of the San Francisco archdiocese.
“While it would be unfair to suggest that public and independent schools eschew the teaching of values, Catholic schools provide a unique opportunity for students to learn ethical principles through the teachings of Jesus Christ,” said Timothy Reardon, principal of Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco, in operation since 1949.
“Campus ministry celebrations, religious studies courses and service projects allow Catholic school kids to experience the Gospel every day and bring those lessons back to their families and their communities.”
The need for such lessons has escalated during this divisive period of social upheaval and societal unrest, said Chris Valdez, principal of Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, where record applications and acceptances buck trends that have seen countrywide enrollment plunge from a high of more than 5.2 million in the 1960s to just under 1.9 million in 2018, according to the National Catholic Educational Association.
“Catholic schools are close communities at a time when most communities are fragmented,” Valdez said. “We’re so polarized and divided as a country and world, people are longing for consistency and cooperation.”
To promote unity and understanding, Marin Catholic offers such programs as an immersion trip to Cuba where students mingle with the locals, observing and reflecting on the industriousness, generosity and other virtues displayed all around them.
“Catholic education allows us to see the world through the eyes of God, in all its beauty and splendor,” Valdez said.
Parents can get an eyeful of both by visiting a local campus, said Kathleen Kraft, principal of Our Lady of Loretto in Novato, which opened in 1958 as the first parochial school in northern Marin County.
“When prospective parents see a day in the life of OLL, they’re blown away by the politeness of students who are actually listening to adults and to each other,” she said.
Catholic schools instruct, impart and inspire such virtuous conduct, said Elise Chmielewski, an MC senior who attended St. Isabella School in San Rafael for nine years.
“There is a level of respect between everyone in our community that I haven’t seen anywhere else,” she said.
Her mother Maryanna praised the schools for meeting the family’s expectations “in all regards.”
She detailed those as “to provide a foundation in faith, a rigorous academic environment and excellent athletic opportunities, plus, through service to the community, an appreciation of how fortunate we are and how we can help others not similarly situated.”
Adam Plumpton, who grew up Protestant, and his Catholic wife were so “dominantly pleased” with their son’s experience at OLMC, they enrolled their daughter as well.
For another family, Catholic schooling brought an outcome they never anticipated.
“I started because I liked the school and because of their band, but then I was exposed to Christianity, and I got baptized and confirmed and received initiation sacraments,” said Zach Phillips, a ninth grader at Riordan. “I would not prefer a public school.”
Neither would his Lutheran mother, Julie.
“Before Riordan, Zachary was not practicing religion,” she said. “Riordan has given him the gift of faith and spirituality.”
The unexpected development did not surprise Serra principal Barry Thornton, a Catholic school teacher and administrator for 23 years.
“An educational system infused with a worldview grounded in faith can transform lives,” he said.
It did for Sandra Jimenez, an alumna of the School of the Epiphany and University of San Francisco and principal of the 140-year-old St. Peter School in San Francisco.
“Growing up with daily prayers and learning about the example of Jesus has helped me to understand that I am a part of a community where I have a responsibility to serve others and make a positive impact,” she said.
Confidence in that impact led Isabel Diaz to enroll her son and daughter at St. Peter.
“I feel that having my kids in Catholic school has had a huge impact on helping me teach them about faith, something I feel I couldn’t have done on my own,” she said.
Victoria Colvin was imbued with faith lessons during her nine years at St. Peter’s.
“I have learned to forgive, to move on, to love,” the eighth grader said. “My education has taught me that anytime things go wrong, you have God to lean on.”
For the message to stick, institutions must adapt to needs changing with the times, Reardon said.
“Because there are so many families that have abandoned traditional worship, Catholic schools are challenged to evangelize to students and families who … consider themselves Catholics but are unfamiliar with the more nuanced elements of the faith,” he said.
To make the faith relevant, Serra, as one example, has created a student-led plan that focuses on such timely topics as gender respect, anti-bullying, racism, dating and healthy relationships.
“The integrated program helps our students to put faith into action in a practical way,” Thornton said.
The system has worked for Shawn DeLuna’s three sons.
“Serra provided our boys with exceptional experiences spiritually, academically, socially and athletically,” said the school’s 1986 graduate and board of regents president. “It provided a sense of brotherhood that cannot be found anywhere else.”
Dominican Sister Leonarda Montealto, principal at Holy Angels School in Colma, gathered students for a lunchtime group photo. (Photo by Debra Greenblat/Catholic San Francisco)