FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

Sally Oberski, Director of Communications 419.244.6711 x 148
Kelly O’Loughlin, Communications Coordinator 419.244.6711 x 149

         CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK CELEBRATES FAITH, ACADEMICS AND SERVICE
                 Catholic schools celebrate nationwide January 29-February 5
           
                January 31, 2012 - Toledo, Ohio – Celebrating the theme of “Catholic Schools: Faith. Academics. Service.” almost 7000 Catholic schools nationwide are celebrating high academic standards, learning about faith and serving the community this week. Activities for students and families as well as special Catholic schools week Masses will be held in the 65 elementary, 14 secondary schools, and 2 colleges in the 19 county diocese.

          While many changes, including school closures have taken place in Catholic schools nationwide, Metro-Toledo Catholic schools are ahead of the curve with just a 1.5 % decrease in elementary and 1.2% decrease in secondary student population. Additionally, Catholic pre-school enrollment continues to increase in the diocese at a rate of 5% over the last two years.

             According to Christopher Knight, Superintendent for diocesan schools, the success of the schools is a combination of the words described in this year’s Catholic schools week theme-faith, academics and service. “For over a century the Catholic Diocese of Toledo has been dedicated to the educational fundamentals of math, social science, language and science needed for a lifetime of success.  Those fundamentals also include problem solving, making good and clear choices while also being a responsible citizen to our world and its people. The availability and sustainability of a Catholic Education is crucial to 21st century learners and beyond.”

            When it comes to academics, diocesan students consistently score 10-20 points higher than the national average in all grades in math, science, English and social studies.  “Our teachers are incorporating new teaching methods that allow the students to develop all of these skills through group work, and projects that intertwine all disciplines”, said Tim Mahoney, Curriculum Consultant for Diocese of Toledo Catholic Schools.

           Cindy McLaughlin, Director of Norwalk’s Catholic School Early Childhood Center http://www.ncsweb.org/ecc/index.html  knows that leadership begins at an early age. “Leadership skills can be hard to define as children of all ages can exhibit unique levels of leadership and preschoolers demonstrate leadership differently than a middle or high school student. Children emulate behavior that teachers model in the classroom as they sharpen leadership skills during direct instruction and open play emulating real life mentors, such as family or career leaders.”

The Diocese of Toledo, established April 15, 1910 encompasses 8222 square miles in a mixture of urban and rural areas that spans 19 counties across Northwest, serving 317,265 Catholics in 126 parishes. The diocese includes Allen, Crawford, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood and Wyandot counties.

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