Sowing Seeds of Justice in Catholic Schools
For me, social justice cannot be about words. It must be about action. As Blessed Paul VI reminds us:
It is not enough to recall principles, state intentions, point to crying injustice and utter prophetic denunciations; these words will lack weight unless they are accompanied for each individual by a livelier awareness of personal responsibility and by effective action…The Church invites all Christians to take up a double task of inspiring and innovating in order to make structures evolve so as to adapt them to the real needs of today.
(Octogesima Adveniens, 1971, no. 48.)
A great deal of my professional work has been aimed at assisting Catholic schools develop systems to address the needs of students with disabilities. Under current federal law, it has been more difficult for Catholic schools to access special education services through the local public school. Statutory and regulatory changes in the laws that govern the administration of the delivery of special education in non-public schools have proven to be challenging obstacles for Catholic schools. Special education law does not require school districts to serve all children with disabilities enrolled in private schools. Instead, school districts are only required to spend a proportionate share of their federal funds on students who are enrolled in private schools by their parents. This has pressed Catholic schools who feel the tension between wanting to serve students with disabilities and feeling the financial press on how to do this. My past professional experiences have helped me to advocate for those students with special needs to be able to access Catholic education.
A school must start with the disposition of meeting the preferential option for the marginalized. In schools, those that struggle either academically or behaviorally can be the most marginalized. As Pope Francis states, “ Indeed, the duty of a good teacher…is to love his or her more difficult, weaker, more disadvantaged students with greater intensity.” It is the Just Catholic school that creates systems to address these needs. Granted, some of the supports that need to be used can be cost-prohibitive to the Catholic schools without additional support. At the Greeley Center for Catholic Education, we are developing ways to “to make structures evolve so as to adapt them to the real needs of today.” We have created a certificate program to help Catholic school principals build the leadership skills necessary to create schools that welcome students of all abilities. We have partnered with Aspire of Illinois and the Big Shoulders Fund to create “All are Welcome,” an initiative designed to systematically deliver professional development and direct service so that schools can develop innovative and creative ways to meet the needs of all children within the Catholic school setting. With our partners, we conduct an annual conference (“The Mustard Seed Project: Inclusive Practices in Catholic Schools”) to help create greater awareness of meeting the needs of learners with special education needs.
“It is not enough to recall principles, state intentions, point to crying injustice and utter prophetic denunciations; these words will lack weight unless they are accompanied for each individual by a livelier awareness of personal responsibility and by effective action,” For me, it is not enough to only talk about social justice-it must be about action.
