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May 19, 1997
Urban Catholic Schools High on FADICA's Agenda
Washington, D.C. ----- A new environment for economically pressured primary and secondary Catholic schools will be the subject of discussion June 5-6, in Milwaukee when over forty private foundations will meet for an invitational symposium on: Catholic Schools and American Cities.
The gathering will form the centerpiece for FADICA's Twenty-first Annual Meeting. FADICA (Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities, Inc.) is an association of the nation's largest Catholic foundations. Its principal function is to provide a place where its members can learn about significant trends in Catholic life and explore how their philanthropy can be more effective in aiding the Catholic church.
FADICA member foundations meeting in Milwaukee will discuss new funding structures for Catholic schools, including cooperative efforts among businesses and foundations. A host of new multi-million dollar initiatives are now providing scholarship assistance, private voucher programs, and school subsidies in most of the country's Catholic archdioceses.
Among those addressing the FADICA organization will be representatives of Milwaukee's Partners Advancing Values in Education (PAVE) program, the Los Angeles Archdiocesan Education Foundation, and Baltimore's Partners in Excellence program. All three represent successful new efforts to enlist the broader community including corporations, foundations, and individual volunteers in the work of urban Catholic schools.
Also featured will be principals from five urban Catholic schools recognized for excellence and innovation including: Christo Rey Jesuit High School (Chicago), Messmer High School (Milwaukee), Salesian High School (Los Angeles), St Aloysius School (Harlem, New York) and St. Monica Catholic School (Kansas City).
Among the speakers and moderators will be Dr. John J. Convey of the Catholic University of America and a principal researcher in a Lilly Endowment funded study on the future of Catholic urban schools.
Dr. Leonard F. DeFiore, President of the National Catholic Education Association, will moderate the opening session of the FADICA conference. Rev. Joseph O'Keefe SJ, of Boston College's School of Education will preside over panel discussions on Catholic school innovation.
Other guest speakers will include Dr. Michael S. Joyce, President of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee; John J. Stollenwerk, Chairman of Allen Edmunds; William T. Houston, Chairman of Watson Land; and Raymond Mason, CEO of Legg Mason, Inc.
Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland of Milwaukee will celebrate Mass for the FADICA group.
For several years FADICA has maintained a program focus on Catholic education. For the past five years it has sponsored a special institute, Teaching for Spiritual Growth at Boston College, providing in-service education to gifted Catholic urban school teachers.
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