A Catholic school made a January 1999 cover of the U.S. News & World Report magazine. Aquinas High School in the Bronx was cited as an "Outstanding American High School." It was the result of the magazine’s survey of over 1,000 high schools -- public, Catholic and private -- in six metropolitan areas in America.
"The aim (of the survey) was to discover the policies and practices employed by successful schools and use them as models for others," according to the Catholic New York, a newspaper reporting on the story.
U.S. News & World Report stated, "At Aquinas, the sense of community and the connectedness that it creates start with the school’s Catholicism. Prayer and religious services suffuse the daily life of the school and that sends students a clear signal about what the school stands for."
The magazine also reported that the school has a crucial but often neglected ingredient of educational excellence–a strong sense of shared purpose and community. "‘Students, as well as teachers, work harder when they feel connected, when they sense they belong,’ says Theodore Sizer, a leading school reformer. ‘They’re more invested.’"
Whether it is a high school or an elementary school, you can find values such as these in any Catholic school. It is certainly true at St. Agnes.
Just ask the parents!
