The following shows what can be done IF the bishop is committed to Catholic education. Let's hope the Archbishop of Newark and other serial school liquidators, who see the closing of Catholic schools as a quick solution to financial problems (buggery bills?), will take note.
From Newsday
By Bart Jones
Catholic schools are closing around the country, but on Long Island not one has shut its doors since 2005.
The Tomorrow's Hope Foundation may be part of the reason, and part of why declines in enrollment in the Diocese of Rockville Centre have dipped sharply in the last three years.
The not-for-profit foundation, created in 2005 at the urging of Bishop William Murphy, who was concerned about the decline, has raised $4.7 million for student scholarships, including $1 million at this year's annual gala alone, said its executive director, Kathy Brand.
The group has handed out a total 2,900 scholarships to elementary school students, ranging from $500 to $2,000 each year, Brand said. Average annual tuition on Long Island for one child is $3,944.
"Tomorrow's Hope is making an extraordinary difference for the Catholic schools on Long Island," said Sister Joanne Callahan, superintendent of the Diocese of Rockville Centre's school system. She said the program has been key in slowing a decline in enrollment. In the five years prior to the group's founding, the system was losing an average of 1,325 students a year. That has declined to between 500 and 600 students a year, a decrease she called "unbelievable."
The program allows many families to keep their children in Catholic schools. Tricia Nunez, of Hampton Bays, said her family has not taken a vacation in nine years in part so they can pay tuition for her four children to attend Catholic schools.
Her children, 6 to 16, attend Our Lady of the Hamptons Elementary School in Southampton and McGann-Mercy High School in Riverhead. The combined bill is $17,000 a year, she said, but Tomorrow's Hope has helped with $3,000 in scholarships for the youngest children. "It's meant the world to us," Nunez said.
Nationwide, Catholic schools continue to lose students at an alarming rate, said Sr. Dale McDonald of the National Catholic Education Association. Enrollment has dropped from 5.2 million in 1965 to 2.2 million today. This past year alone, 169 Catholic schools closed.
Other groups are doing work similar to Tomorrow's Hope around the country to slow or reverse the decline, but experts said the Long Island organization is off to a fast start -- perhaps partly due to its high-powered board of directors.
It is headed by Lewis Ranieri, a former chairman of Computer Associates International Inc. Its board includes Peter Quick, former president of the American Stock Exchange; former Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato; and former Rep. Rick Lazio. The group raises money mainly through direct mail, its annual gala and other events. Scholarship recipients are assessed confidentially.
Jose Avila, 39, a graphic designer from Brentwood, said his wife, Carolina, attended Catholic schools from kindergarten to university in their native Colombia, and their dream has been to send their two daughters, Maria, 8, and Sari, 5, to St. Joseph's Academy in Brentwood. But he said it would be impossible without help from Tomorrow's Hope.
"It's been a blessing for us," he said.
The Tomorrow's Hope Foundation may be part of the reason, and part of why declines in enrollment in the Diocese of Rockville Centre have dipped sharply in the last three years.
The not-for-profit foundation, created in 2005 at the urging of Bishop William Murphy, who was concerned about the decline, has raised $4.7 million for student scholarships, including $1 million at this year's annual gala alone, said its executive director, Kathy Brand.
The group has handed out a total 2,900 scholarships to elementary school students, ranging from $500 to $2,000 each year, Brand said. Average annual tuition on Long Island for one child is $3,944.
"Tomorrow's Hope is making an extraordinary difference for the Catholic schools on Long Island," said Sister Joanne Callahan, superintendent of the Diocese of Rockville Centre's school system. She said the program has been key in slowing a decline in enrollment. In the five years prior to the group's founding, the system was losing an average of 1,325 students a year. That has declined to between 500 and 600 students a year, a decrease she called "unbelievable."
The program allows many families to keep their children in Catholic schools. Tricia Nunez, of Hampton Bays, said her family has not taken a vacation in nine years in part so they can pay tuition for her four children to attend Catholic schools.
Her children, 6 to 16, attend Our Lady of the Hamptons Elementary School in Southampton and McGann-Mercy High School in Riverhead. The combined bill is $17,000 a year, she said, but Tomorrow's Hope has helped with $3,000 in scholarships for the youngest children. "It's meant the world to us," Nunez said.
Nationwide, Catholic schools continue to lose students at an alarming rate, said Sr. Dale McDonald of the National Catholic Education Association. Enrollment has dropped from 5.2 million in 1965 to 2.2 million today. This past year alone, 169 Catholic schools closed.
Other groups are doing work similar to Tomorrow's Hope around the country to slow or reverse the decline, but experts said the Long Island organization is off to a fast start -- perhaps partly due to its high-powered board of directors.
It is headed by Lewis Ranieri, a former chairman of Computer Associates International Inc. Its board includes Peter Quick, former president of the American Stock Exchange; former Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato; and former Rep. Rick Lazio. The group raises money mainly through direct mail, its annual gala and other events. Scholarship recipients are assessed confidentially.
Jose Avila, 39, a graphic designer from Brentwood, said his wife, Carolina, attended Catholic schools from kindergarten to university in their native Colombia, and their dream has been to send their two daughters, Maria, 8, and Sari, 5, to St. Joseph's Academy in Brentwood. But he said it would be impossible without help from Tomorrow's Hope.
"It's been a blessing for us," he said.
