Viking & Alumni News

Solid Covid Data Could Mean Good News For Private Schools

This spring, our school administration, like many small private schools nationwide, met to decide whether to apply for the second round of PPP loans or the EANS Grants to help us remain financially solvent in the devastating wake of COVID-19. These are federal funding programs available to all schools as a result of the pandemic. While this may seem like an insignificant thing to be writing about given the emotional, psychological, and physical fatigue to families, students, teachers, and faculty worldwide, the critical nature of the seemingly insignificant is just what has come to light in the pandemic. It certainly has brought many issues to the surface of our national educational pool. Probably any private school right now would report, if asked, that funding adds significantly to the stresses of all other on-going fatigue, during a pandemic and in general. After all, schools that aren’t fully funded can’t pay their teachers and faculty, can’t fund innovation and offer exciting programs, and can’t grow and teach young minds- if they can remain open at all. I have to wonder, does it have to be this way? Are there no tax dollars that can funnel to private schools when not in a global pandemic? If it seems important to help our nation’s private schools now, are we not acknowledging that they serve a purpose in our educational system? 

Whether a supporter of private education or not, we do seem to be indicating at this moment that private schools are important in some way. A simple internet search reveals that they do in fact, relieve significant burdens on the public school system by removing students who would otherwise require space and services in often already full classrooms. Especially during the pandemic, it’s hard to imagine how the public schools would have been able to safely remain open and operational if 5.7 million students were suddenly back in the public system (the number of students currently being served in private schools across the US). This number accounts for 10% of students preK-12th grade nationwide. Private Schools also make up 25% of all schools in the US. It would seem rather obvious that keeping private schools open is a national priority involving everyone. If only 10% of private school students went back to public schools, the combined state and local costs would be approximately $6.7 billion. Imagine the public school system scrambling to accommodate the influx of these students they hadn’t previously been responsible for despite having received full funding for them through tax dollars. One must see that Private schools therefore, are quite necessary, helpful, and well worth even a small investment.

One piece of recent Covid data highlights the value of private schools by identifying their more efficient, quicker, and better pivot in several key areas, when facing the unique pandemic demands placed on education. As evaluation of the last academic year has begun, private schools easily beat out public schools in overall parent satisfaction with their student’s education-whether remote, hybrid, or in person. Part of this reason is that private schools were able to switch to remote and hybrid learning systems much more rapidly, saving weeks of student learning in the academic year. This quick pivot allowed more practice with distance/hybrid learning and additional time to make positive and efficient adjustments to the process. Early Covid data showing academic loss tragically follows ethnic and lower socioeconomic lines putting the most disadvantaged students in an even worse position coming out of the pandemic. One summation of educational losses states, “The results are startling. Students on average could lose five to nine months of learning by the end of June 2021. Students of color could be six to 12 months behind, compared with four to eight months for white students.” (1,2) Any school saving even a few weeks of learning, would offer an advantage to students. Time will tell just how much that advantage is. In addition, private schools were more easily able to offer in-person learning along with, in many cases, more personalized student instruction and one on one time due to smaller class sizes and less educational bureaucratic red tape surrounding pandemic guidelines. 

Can any of this emerging data be used for good as we move out of this pandemic? Are there things that need to change for our schools, whether public or private? Many educational experts believe that there are solid answers in the pandemic data, and otherwise. Many, experts and educators, hope it may finally be time that as a nation, we stop having the public or private debate, and begin looking at an educational overhaul that allows many options to survive and thrive in our educational system. We need to define the term thrive, as a new system providing appropriate and solid educational options to each and every student, regardless of neighborhood, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or ability. While his suggestions speak primarily from the private school perspective, one expert’s solution is surprising, in that he isn’t advocating more PPP Loans or bailouts, but instead a more forward thinking plan for the future; one that allows all schools to perform (thrive) for their students and families...

“Because COVID-19 has mainly shuttered already vulnerable institutions, a sustainable solution to the problem of closing private schools is not more one‐​off infusions of federal cash. It is for state and local governments to change how they fund education, moving away from putting dollars directly into public schools and allowing them to follow children to the educational options that families choose. Ultimately, what would be best for private schools and society would be a level financial playing field.” Put another way, “The COVID-19 pandemic has starkly demonstrated the need for American education to be much more agile and adaptable to changing and unique circumstances and has shone a light on the way to do that: decentralization, especially by funding students instead of school systems.” (3)

Why are we so invested in this type of solution as a small Private Catholic School? What was most surprising in so much of the research was that private schools do in fact echo Neal McCluskey’s sentiments of not wanting more government funding to “get us through” the Covid times, but rather, wanting an overhaul to the entire broken system of haves and have-nots. We believe strongly in the need for a system where some percentage of each student’s educational dollars can follow them, no matter which school parents select. Instead of being pitted against our local public schools, while endlessly worrying about finances and how we can offer more with less, it makes good sense to continue to remove part of the burden on public schools by servicing some of those students while at the same time, having the funds to do so. What do we tell our most disadvantaged students nationwide? What is the solution for them? They continue on in the public schools that left them behind and underserved to begin with, and now have an even bigger academic hurdle to jump over? As Catholic Schools, we firmly believe that every student deserves a Catholic education and we work hard to provide that, often when the tuition dollars are not there from our disadvantaged families. Our commitment to students and families is unwavering. It is our mission.

While, there will always be elite schools with pricey tuition that only few can access, as a Catholic School and system, that is hardly our model. Catholic Schools were founded to serve those in the faith and those whose needs are not met in other educational systems. This means, we serve the underserved, the behind, those on the margins, and those in need. Families often can’t pay tuition or pay what they can, hence the endless funding gap cycles in our schools. If the overall educational system was working for ALL students, there would be no need for private schools, which is simply not the case. It is okay to acknowledge that public schools can’t serve everyone, no single path can. And, one could easily argue, the pandemic data would look very different if the public school system was truly a one size works equally well for all. 

We need to start having these conversations in our homes, as we talk to neighbors, as we make decisions on charitable giving, and as we vote. Do we really as a society wish to continue to pour all educational dollars into a system that while available to all, leaves many behind, disadvantaged, and/or underserved? Nationwide we can do better. Please start or keep having conversations and investigating how well schools in your area are truly serving their students-really look at the data. Look at the public schools and the local private schools. See what you find. Until the day finally arrives that funds, at least in part, can follow students into schools truly serving every one of them, we are left in the endless shortfall cycle. We will always remain true to our mission and will continue to serve all those students who desire a Catholic Education regardless of ability to pay. However, ending the lack of funding cycle and its stressors would allow so many small private schools to focus solely on the critical work of educating every student well, which after all, we believe is the point.        

Citations

1 McCluskey, Neal. “Private Schooling after a Year of COVID-19: How the Private Sector Has Fared and How to Keep It Healthy,” Policy Analysis no. 914, Cato Institute, Washington, DC, April 13, 2021. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​3​6​0​0​9​/​P​A.914.

2https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-learning-loss-disparities-grow-and-students-need-help#

3 https://www.cato.org/pandemics-policy/decentralize-k-12-education#state-federal-governments

 

 

“There is no system in the world or any school in the country that is better than its teachers. Teachers are the lifeblood of the success of schools”

-Ken Robinson

Read any of Ken Robinson’s books, watch a TED talk or two, or follow his work and you're sure to be inspired by his lofty goals for education reform and strong belief in teachers as key leaders of this much needed reform. He excites audiences by showing what could be possible in the academic world for students. So while this year especially, it has been easy to get ground down by the stressors of daily life in school, his reminder that teachers are our lifeblood is important and necessary. When teachers are on fire, inspiration flows from our schools. 

We recently experienced firsthand that inspiration flowing here at Saint Olaf Catholic School in Bountiful, Utah. Our 4th grade Teacher, Ms. Kelli-Ann Allen and her colleague, librarian and art teacher Mrs. Kathy Dorich took the entire student body on an odyssey through their own version of Read Across America Week. Although this national program was created in 1998 in conjunction with Dr. Suess’s birthday on March 2, the program has blossomed into and encourages reading all year long, as it is critical to all learning.

Here, at Saint Olaf, Ms. Allen started our own version of Read Across America several years ago, keeping the original week long celebration in March. In non pandemic years, Ms. Allen has had donuts with grandparent/parent reading buddies, invited parents and community guests to read with and to students throughout the week, offered before and after school snacks paired with reading time, had students read to other grades and with each other, snuggled in the library, or in corners of their classroom. She incorporated games, art projects and class/school challenges into the week. Students and parents alike also participated in an all school book exchange where each day of the week, a book could be donated and another chosen, refreshing home libraries.

However, with the pandemic, Ms. Allen and Mrs. Dorich knew this year would look different and would need to be creative and fun in its own socially distanced way. Students need exciting things to look forward to, and to not lose all “special” activities due to COVID-19. So where there had been parent, family, student, and community close contact interactions, this year the presentations, reading, and activities would need to be spaced. It was an amazing coincidence or perhaps divine inspiration that Saint Olaf had recently caught the attention of the NCEA and catholicmom.com, with a representative contacting the school to see about a possible working partnership.  

What followed were several weeks of conversations and emails between our Principal, Simon McFall, these 2 teachers, and multiple authors, including a very well-known and accomplished illustrator and Saint Olaf Alumni, Pete Oswald. Although he wasn’t able to join us via zoom for Read Across America Week, we are thrilled to have reconnected and look forward to future projects in the works. We were able to set up zoom presentations with 5 Catholic/Christian Authors, also all very accomplished and published through Paraclete Press, and 1 local Utah Author. Not only did 6 authors do zoom presentations with our students throughout the week, they sent multiple copies of their books to be distributed to students. Lisa Hendey, creator of Catholic.mom.com led a mini retreat for our staff on Friday, closing out a full and fabulous week. Our Author guest list was as follows:

• Jon M Sweeney, The Pope's Cat
• John Gray, Keller's Heart
• Lisa Hendey, I'm a Saint in the Making
• Laura Alary, Breathe, A Child's Guide to Ascension, Pentecost, and the Growing Time
• Karen Kiefer, Drawing God
• J Scott Savage, The Mysteries of Cove Series

Other activities students participated in included designing or redesigning favorite book covers, dressing as favorite characters or authors, playing a week long Bingo game-encouraging daily reading and storytelling at all levels, and a fantastical scavenger/trivia treasure hunt campus wide. Ms. Allen and Mrs. Dorich would love to see the program grow every year, with more to look forward to. Ms. Allen’s students also participate in a reading program all year, where they must select books from every literary genre, trying them out. Both teachers report wanting to make this year extra special because of the extra burdens students and families have felt. However, truth be told, these exceptional teachers are always doing more, pushing for something new and different. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to these teachers and many other teachers working with our students. With more than 80% of our students reading on or above grade level, the inspiration of our teachers is flowing stronger than ever! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each year as Advent season begins, hopefully you find a few quiet moments of reflection-for the coming Savior, for the past year, and for new beginnings ahead. In your evaluation, what were successes of last year and what were failures? Did these experiences provide growth, improvement, or connections? For the office staff at the school, we keep returning to our building project first, as we evaluate all we do, because it is such a critical step. It is one of many in a long line of steps needed to shepherd our school into a new and ever improving era for this community and we feel a tremendous weight and responsibility for this mission.

 

As Christmas villages emerge from decoration bins and the soft lights begin to glow from the tiny windows, we can't help but think of our village here. How do people describe it, how has it changed over 60 years, and how does it need to change to remain a significant light here in Bountiful? Besides the badly needed building updates and addition, the next things identified as desperately needed this year were renewed and reinvigorated relationships with our parish and alumni, the people who have shared and experienced this place. We hope, that it isn't just a place that you experienced, however, but that you felt true community, a village, surrounding you with love and the light of Christ as you were shepherded toward your best self. That is still our goal and we continue to pray that you will actively join us again in helping this generation of children find their best selves. It is hard to say how successful our attempts have been in strengthening bonds with our parish and alumni. We have certainly reestablished many connections, but are eager for more-more relationships, more community, more shared vision. In this time of Advent, we wait with anxious anticipation for so much more...

 

At this moment, we sit on a precipice, with everything completed to begin our building project except final funding. Plans are complete, paperwork is in order, permits are in hand, and yet, we wait. We wait for responses from our school families, we wait for parishioners, for alumni, for grant boards, and for friends. The waiting is hard, but in the waiting we find time for prayer, reflection, and growth. In the waiting we keep telling our story, keep pushing our dreams and vision for our village, clinging to hope, and always keeping our light burning. We wish you all a blessed Advent with much time for reflection, prayer, and hope. We wish you a Very Merry Christmas as we welcome the light of the world once again into our hearts!