R E S O U R C E S
R E S O U R C E S
SAN DIEGO — Catholic education is not inexpensive, but Stevan Laaperi still considers it a worthwhile investment.
“We always say that Catholic education is the gift of a lifetime,” said Laaperi, director of the diocesan Office for Schools. “It’s a gift that ... really lasts to eternity, and it can’t be taken away.”
That’s because Catholic schools lay a solid foundation for a child’s intellectual and spiritual development.
A recent report from the National Catholic Educational Association revealed that Catholic high schools can boast a 99.1-percent graduation rate, with 84.7 percent of those graduates going on to a four-year college. By comparison, the graduation rate at public high schools is 73.2 percent, with only 44.1 percent continuing their education at a four-year college.
Laaperi said Catholic schools are further distinguished by the strong sense of community one finds on campus. At the center of that community, he added, is a shared faith.
“The faith component of our schools is paramount,” he said, and studies have shown that Catholic education is “one of the most effective ways to pass on the faith.”
Catholic schools accomplish this task by making religion more than just one subject among many, he said, noting that Catholicism permeates the entire curriculum.
Faculty and staff often see their jobs as a ministry, he said, and the typical academic calendar includes a generous helping of school Masses, various Catholic devotions and such annual events as Christmas programs and May crowning services.
With the economy in the doldrums and many families keeping close watch over their finances, Laaperi admits that “it’s a struggle” for some parents to provide their children with the gift of a Catholic education — and many have found that they cannot do it on their own.
Some of these parents can turn to their own family members for assistance and find that many grandparents will gladly share the financial costs of their grandchild’s education. In other cases, families look elsewhere for support.
“There are more requests for tuition assistance now than ever before,” Laaperi said. “If parents can’t afford the full cost, schools try to find ways to help them.”
To keep tuition costs as low as possible, Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of San Diego have “tightened the belt” and cut their expenses, he said.
Both San Diego-based and national foundations are currently providing tuition assistance for students at local inner-city Catholic schools, Laaperi added. There are also examples of older Catholics who benefited from tuition assistance in their youth and have decided to return the favor by supporting a particular Catholic school.
It is a testament to the value of Catholic education that so many people are banding together to keep the dream alive for local children, said Laaperi, who contrasts Catholic education with some other major investments.
“It’s not like buying a car, which [at first] is shiny and new and wonderful to have, but in a few years has dings and dents and ... it’s not worth what you paid for it,” he explained. The value of a Catholic education “doesn’t diminish in any way.”
For more information on Catholic education in the Diocese of San Diego, contact the Office for Schools at (858) 490-8240.
The Southern Cross
This article appears in the July 2010 issue of The Southern Cross.