Washington D.C., Dec 15, 2009 / 22:02 pm
Bishop Thomas J. Curry, chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Catholic Education and an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, has lauded a recent effort to increase access to and enrollment in Catholic schools for Latino children.
The initiative, backed by the Notre Dame Task Force on the Participation of Latino Children and Families in Catholic Schools, has set a goal of enrolling one million Latino children in Catholic schools by 2020, which would double the current percentage of 3 percent to 6 percent.
On Dec. 12, the task force, which includes more than 50 national leaders from the Latino community within the Church, academia, government, business, philanthropy and K-12 education, published its report, “To Nurture the Soul of a Nation: Latino Families, Catholic Schools, and Educational Opportunity.”
“The study highlights two items in particular,” said Bishop Curry in a USCCB press release on Tuesday. “Hispanic students who attend Catholic schools do better than their counterparts who do not; and Catholic schools are not attracting enough Hispanic students.”