GHR Foundation’s Catholic Schools Initiative is working to strengthen urban schools in the Twin Cities. Recently, Fordham Institute’s Chester E. Finn, Jr. presented a hypothetical plan for resuscitating Catholic Schools in the United States. This plan focuses on:
GHR Foundation is dedicated to supporting innovative approaches in the schools we fund, and found these recommendations worth discussing as we continue to evolve partnerships with Twin Cities Catholic schools.
- Data: Gathering data on which schools to expand, repair or close. Analyzing the data and presenting it to the public. Using state standards and measurements alongside methods more tailored to Catholic schools to determine priorities.
- Network: Working harder on networking between schools and replicating good schools rather than salvaging old schools. Many struggling schools lack systematic curriculum, instructional models, achievement and data, and will not receive the overhaul they need without the expertise and resources that come with networking.
- Modernize: Bringing modernization beyond governance and business management to identifying cost savings, updating staff structures and making school more engaging. Individualization techniques like blended learning should be implemented more widely, as well as countless more emerging non-traditional and modern classroom structures.
- Public Policy: Finding ways of engaging more successfully with public policy, including amending state charter laws and promoting religious charter schools.
- Quality: Recognizing that fewer people are sending their children to Catholic schools simply because they’re Catholic. Using data to provide reliable, transparent evidence of academic achievement, discipline, character, good behavior, safety and caring adults.
GHR Foundation is dedicated to supporting innovative approaches in the schools we fund, and found these recommendations worth discussing as we continue to evolve partnerships with Twin Cities Catholic schools.
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