Catholic Partnership Schools has been awarded an Innovation in Education Award from Today’s Catholic Teacher, a national publication from the Peter Li Education Group.
One of 12 national recipients of the 15th Catholic Schools for Tomorrow Award, the Partnership is named innovator in the category of “restructuring and merging schools.” Other categories include marketing, promoting Catholic identity, curriculum and instruction, use of technology, and community involvement.
The Partnership brings together 1,070 students in five K-8 schools — Holy Name, Sacred Heart, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Cecilia and St. Joseph Pro-Cathedral — located in the city’s most impoverished neighborhoods. The Partnership was formed to ensure that the schools continued to thrive in the community.
The five schools maintain their neighborhood and cultural identity and presence while being administered by a separately incorporated non-profit that centralizes financial and academic management and accountability. The judges were impressed with the model’s design and size and found it one of its defining features. With a capacity to serve 1,200 elementary and middle grade students, it is large enough to effect change and capitalize on economies of scale and small enough to share resources and staff and to coordinate programming.
According to Sister Karen Dietrich, SSJ, Partnership executive director, this award recognizes all the hard work of the principals, teachers, and staff in implementing an ambitious mission and strategy for success and turning our dreams for the boys and girls in this city into reality.
“An award such as this affirms not only the efforts, but the quality of education our children are receiving. The Partnership is a model that accomplishes so much at a fraction of the cost of public education while being highly accountable to our families and the donors who invest in the Partnership.”