A Vision of Hope: Catholic Schooling in Massachusetts

At a time when Catholic secondary schools are closing all across the country, this book, edited by Cara Stillings Candal and Chris Sinacola, reviews the successes of this education model in Massachusetts, and offers recommendations to help these schools increase student enrollment. It includes chapters from a range of renowned experts; a foreword by George Weigel, author of an international bestselling two-part biography of Pope St. John Paul II; and an introduction from former Ambassadors to the Holy See Raymond Flynn and Mary Ann Glendon. The book contends that Catholic schools in Massachusetts must focus on the characteristics that make them academically successful and distinguish them from traditional public schools, but must also seek new models and governance structures that will help them achieve financial sustainability. At the same time, barriers to public support of the schools should be eliminated. Catholic schools in Massachusetts deliver high test scores, high college attendance and graduation rates. The majority of elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Boston are in urban areas and disproportionately serve poor and minority families. Parents of all faiths and beliefs are also drawn to the unrelenting focus on achievement, classic liberal arts education, discipline and values that are part of a Catholic education. Catholic educators are developing new models to address these challenges, and the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue was an important step toward invalidating so-called Blaine Amendments to the constitutions of Massachusetts and many other states that prohibit public money from flowing to religious schools parents. Among its many recommendations, the book includes a proposal for a tax credit scholarship program for Massachusetts that would likely have been impermissible prior to Espinoza.Reviews: “Pioneer’s book A Vision of Hope: Catholic Schooling in Massachusetts highlights why K–12 Catholic education is the crown jewel in a state long known for academic excellence. This is a must read for those who care about the future of Catholic schools in the Commonwealth, while also offering key lessons for policy makers across the country.” - GRACE COTTER REGAN, PRESIDENT, BOSTON COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL“For over two millennia, the Church’s sacred mission has kept alive the West’s precious heritage and culture, while serving as a spiritual beacon to the world. As Pioneer Institute’s new book, A Vision of Hope, makes clear, K–12 Catholic schooling helps lead the young toward these ideals, which are needed now more than ever.” - ANTHONY ESOLEN, PROFESSOR AND WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE, MAGDALEN COLLEGE OF THE LIBERAL ARTS“Pioneer Institute has done a great service by bringing together a range of leading thinkers on the vital role Catholic schools play in forming the next generation: shaping the whole human person through moral, theological, and philosophical instruction. This is an important book for the future of K–12 Catholic education and religious liberty.” - MONTSE ALVARADO, VICE PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE BECKET FUND FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY“Catholic schools play an enormously important role in K–12 education in America, especially in the inner city. Pioneer Institute’s new book, A Vision of Hope: Catholic Schooling in Massachusetts, shines a light on the great work Catholic schools do, the innovations they’ve made in the last 25 years, and the need to support them through school choice legislation.” - G.R. KEARNEY, AUTHOR OF MORE THAN A DREAM: THE CRISTO REY STORY: HOW ONE SCHOOL’S VISION IS CHANGING THE WORLD