Helping to make Catholic education affordable often starts with people like George and Mary Kremer. Since 1985, the George and Mary Kremer Foundation, based in Naples, Fla., has provided grants to kindergarten to eighth-grade schools throughout the country to pass along to students most in need of tuition assistance.

This year, four Arkansas schools received up to $10,250: St. Edward School in Little Rock, St. Theresa School in Little Rock, North Little Rock Catholic Academy and St. Paul School in Pocahontas.

“If they were alive today, I do know that they know, I think they’re just in awe of how big it’s gotten,” said foundation executive director Mary Anderson Goddard. “ … They were two very unique individuals that came into a lot of money yet they always remembered their roots and always sympathetic to the common working-class people.”

Both Catholics, the Kremers were looking for a way to give back after George Kremer sold his company — he was an inventor who created the first semi-permanent hair dye — to Revlon in 1978, Goddard said. A light bulb went off, Goddard said, when the couple donated to a local Catholic elementary school when they were told some students wouldn’t be able to afford to stay.

Since most Catholic schools do their best to work with families to avoid turning anyone away based solely on a lack of money for tuition, grants like those from the Kremer Foundation make it easier to accommodate needy families.

Working with families

“We knew we needed to do something just to help serve our families better to help make Catholic education more available,” said St. Edward School principal LaTonya White.

Tuition costs for Catholics are $4,150 and $5,695 a year for non-Catholics.

“We are just delighted. We are very excited we can help families. It’s a blessing to be able to see the smiles on the faces of families, to help minimize the cost of tuition for them.”

It is the first year for St. Edward to receive the grant and since the application process began last year, eight existing students will split the $10,250 grant and the families have been “very excited and grateful,” White said.

Since the foundation was founded, more than $49 million has been given to more than 40,000 elementary schools, according to kremerfoundation.com. This year, money was given to 446 schools in 47 states across 122 dioceses and archdioceses, Goddard said. It benefited about 4,600 students and schools can reapply year-to-year to again receive the grant.

Students at St. Theresa School in Little Rock, North Little Rock Catholic Academy and St. Paul School in Pocahontas have all benefited from the foundation for at least three years.

“For some of the students attending St. Theresa School this is a life changer,” said principal Kristy Dunn. “We’re not rich, we’re not flashy, but we’re providing them stability, a solid education and a desire to know and love God.”

The schools choose which students would qualify for this scholarship and the parents are then tasked with filling out the required forms.

Dunn said this year seven students will split the $10,250 grant. Catholic yearly tuition is $4,040 and $5,450 for non-Catholics. “A lot of times I’d hear the words, ‘every little bit helps,’” she said of the parents.

Sustaining the faith

St. Paul in Pocahontas, which charges $2,600 a year for Catholics and $3,400 for non-Catholics, will receive about $8,000 to benefit four students.

“You know with the economy every little bit helps. My parents are grateful to help get funding for the kids,” said St. Paul principal Maria Dickson. “It’s a huge blessing. All the tuition money goes to pay for teachers and staff salaries. This is not a for-profit organization; any and every little bit helps. It goes to pay the bills, salaries; if we didn’t have this Kremer foundation grant we might be put in a tight spot. I just feel it’s been a blessing from God that he’s helped us out with this.”

Instead of putting it strictly toward tuition costs for students, North Little Rock Catholic Academy said this year 27 students will receive funding to help pay a portion of their costs for textbooks, supplies and technology.

Principal Denise Troutman said the school was “coming up short” every year in terms of funds.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity because we were having to solicit donations and go into our budget” which instead is provided this year from the $10,200 grant, she said.

Like other Catholic schools, Troutman said they work with parents who can’t afford to send their children to the school.

“I put five children through Catholic schools so I know it can sometimes be a real stress but in turn they help you,” Troutman said of the schools. “… Someone will come up on hard times so we work to assist to them in any way we can.”

Thanks to the Kremer grant, donations have now instead gone toward technology upgrades, Troutman said.

White said being able to provide Catholic education because of  grants and donations is a big part of sustaining the faith well into the future.

“It’s the bedrock of our faith,” White said. “The building blocks of the Church are formed through Catholic schools.”

By 2020, Latinos will make up the majority in the Catholic Church. In 2043, they will make up the majority in the United States.

The statistics, pulled from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. Census, are just one of the many truths learned by three Arkansas principals and staff who attended the Latino Enrollment Institute (LEI) at the University of Notre Dame June 26-29 to establish the institute’s plan at their schools for recruitment and retention of Latino students.

“My concern is that there are other denominations that might be trying to get the Latino population to join” their church, despite many having a Catholic upbringing, said Kristy Dunn, principal at St. Theresa School in Little Rock. When that happens, “We lose Catholics. We lose a vibrant faith.”

The Latino Enrollment Institute began in 2012 through the Catholic School Advantage Campaign at Notre Dame in response to the fast-growing Latino population in the United States. LEI program director Manuel Fernandez said some schools over five years of the program have an average of 29 percent growth for Latino students, with many quadrupling enrollment.

This year, two institute sessions were held in June with 63 schools across 40 dioceses participating. Schools with seats to fill and a large Latino population typically were chosen first, he said. Transportation, lodging, meals and materials were all provided. A $500 total registration fee was required for the two to three participants from each school.

“The Catholic Church has been changing for decades, but Catholic schools have not been changing with it. Fifty-seven out of 100 Catholic children from ages zero to 10 are Latino and yet, Catholic schools have basically been ignoring that demographic for decades,” Fernandez said. “And so, many Catholic schools have been closing despite an emerging demographic ripe for recruitment to Catholic schools.”

The four-day program taught principals like Sharon Blentlinger, at Immaculate Conception School in Fort Smith, to reach out more to Latino families in the church and community.

“Catholic schools are for the elite where they came from in Latin America. That for me is a starting point,” she said of educating families on affordability. “I’m going to have a more direct approach to them, one on one. If they have a Hispanic cultural night, I need to go to the Hispanic cultural night.”

Mariella Araujo, director of Hispanic ministry for Immaculate Conception Church, attended LEI with Blentlinger and will help write and implement a plan for the school, which is 35 percent Hispanic.

Fernandez said Latinos who attend Catholic schools are 42 percent more likely to graduate from high school and are two and a half times more likely to graduate from college.

Dunn said St. Theresa has 150 students, with 70 percent Latino. In the 1990s, Dunn said the school had about 200 or more students and she hopes to get back to 180 or 200.

“If Catholic education is just for the rich, white kids, it’s not Catholic education,” she said.

Second-grade St. Theresa School teacher Amanda Williams said she learned not to expect students from another culture to immediately understand “advanced academic language.”

“I’ve had kids that come to us from a public school … who got by just by being present. Our kids are not going to thrive and be successful unless they have that interaction. Kids who speak English build compassion for students coming in,” Williams said. “Just because they don’t speak English, doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to give.”

St. Vincent de Paul School in Rogers has a 10-percent Latino population, a vast difference from the church office’s estimation of 65 percent Latino parishioners, said principal Karla Thielemier, who attended LEI with the school’s Hispanic liaison Mariztella Salinas and pastor Msgr. David LeSieur. However, the school is “a melting pot” with eight languages.

“I came away with an understanding of what a madrina is in their culture,” translated as “godmother,” but also a respected leader in a local Latino community, Thielemier said. “If you make them feel comfortable, then they go out and reach out to their community to say, ‘hey this is an option to you.’”

Welcoming decorations, from signage in other languages to religious statues beyond Anglo traditions — like Our Lady of Guadalupe or Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception — are important.

“We want to create a tapestry of small flags to hang in our foyer to represent all our countries that are in our school,” Thielemier said.

LEI Design Team mentor principals will be in regular contact with the school principals and in February, participants will go to the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, Ariz., in preparation for the 2017-18 school year.

Salinas, originally from Nicaragua whose daughter attended St. Vincent de Paul, said multi-cultural visuals and celebrations will allow other nationalities to think, “this place is for me and my kids.”

“People think it’s going to be way too expensive to send their kids to a private Catholic school. Some have the resources but they feel they won’t fit in,” Salinas said. “… They’re not different than others. We’re all here for one purpose — a good education.”

CONWAY — As students and youth at St. Joseph School and Church in Conway continue to grow and mature these next couple of years, so will the buildings around them.

More than a decade in the making, St. Joseph parish leaders have developed a master plan to revamp its campus to accommodate future growth and needs that will involve phase one of demolishing three existing buildings and replacing them with a two-story, multipurpose building with a covered walkway leading directly into the east side of the church. The Growing Our Faith Capital Campaign aims to raise $10 million for the various improvement projects. So far, $5.5 million has been raised, with $6 million total needed to break ground, said St. Joseph business manager Matt Mallett. The church hopes to start construction in January 2017 and have this first phase of the project completed in 16 to 18 months.

Mallett said solidifying a 25-year master plan presented last fall has been set back throughout the years because of pastor changes and the departure of the Holy Ghost Fathers, which founded St. Joseph as a mission church in 1879 and relinquished guidance of the church in 2010 to the Diocese of Little Rock. The diocese requires all churches to have a master plan. Mallett said the challenges have ultimately worked out to be positive.

“It was probably a blessing in disguise. God’s always got our back, he’s protected us. Some of the plans we had might have been good for the moment, but may not have been the best thing for us long term,” he said.

Creating more space

The 41,873-square-foot multipurpose building will replace the parish administration office, the parish hall and Spiritan Hall, adding 6,290 square feet of building space. Taking down buildings will also provide more church and cemetery parking.

The covered walkway/drop-off area will lead out of the baptistery in the church, preserving the original chapel. 

According to a site plan provided to St. Joseph parishioners, the building will include administrative offices, about eight to 10 classrooms upstairs, bridal suite and an auditorium with a stage that can seat about 600 people versus the roughly 100 people that Spiritan Hall currently seats. Joanna Nabholz, parishioner and lead architect with H+N Architects, said the building will also include a shop and a place for displaying the history of St. Joseph. Currently, parishioners can buy items like Catholic statues and rosaries, but by appointment only.

“The new space will make it a little more visible so parishioners know we have the option. We’re hoping one day there might be someone there instead of just by appointment only,” she said. “We have a lot of historical photos and artifacts that have been collected over the years and it’s been sitting in storage. We want to somehow display that in the small lobby area.”

While the building is for the entire church community, the school and youth in the parish will benefit in specific ways, including a double kitchen in the new building. The current school cafeteria is located in the parish hall.

“One challenge we face right now when we have funerals during the school year, our kids are often asked to brownbag it for the day and eat in the hallway and classrooms,” Mallett said. “This building is designed that we can serve this new hall area in two kitchen points,” allowing a funeral lunch and school lunch or two school lunches to occur simultaneously in separate areas.

Faith formation students, who are currently taught in various buildings on campus, will be able to go straight from the church to the multipurpose building using the walkway, Mallett said.

All together again

One long-term goal is to move the elementary school back to the west side of Harkrider Street. The high school and middle school buildings are on the church campus, but elementary students are across what can often be a busy Harkrider Street.

“The long-term goal to get all the kids on one campus, utilize just one cafeteria,” in the multipurpose building and “not having to bus kids back and forth to church,” Nabholz said.

Elementary school principal Matthew Tucker said in addition to logistics, having the school closer to the church will give priests the opportunity to hopefully stop by more and give religion teachers more freedom to bring their students to adoration.

“Right now that’s not really an option for us,” Tucker said with bussing students. “That to me is just a huge piece for getting us across there.”

The estimated cost for the multipurpose building, walkway and demolishing the three other buildings is $6,585,000. The remaining campaign money will go toward landscaping, a new prayer plaza and expanding the parking lot, which will add at least 100 spaces; new restrooms on the east side of the chapel; hazardous material removal from the old buildings; plus fees, furniture, equipment and a maintenance fund.

While the long-term plan is for the whole St. Joseph community, Tucker said the benefits for young people in the parish are exciting.

“I can only imagine in terms of faith formation what they’ll be able to do having some good designated space,” he said.

Christy Koprovic

St. Joseph, Paris

• Hometown: Fort Smith

• Education: Non-Public School Administration Certification, University of Dallas, 2008; master’s degree in early childhood education, University of Phoenix, 2006; bachelor’s degree in English and secondary education, Hendrix College, 1993

• Educational experience: St. Boniface School, Fort Smith, infant-toddler director, sixth-grade and kindergarten teacher, 10 years; Northside High School, English teacher, three years; Mansfield Junior High, English teacher, one year.

• Educational philosophy: A cornerstone of my philosophy of education is to always make decisions by considering what is best for children. Further, I am firmly committed to the Benedictine Catholic philosophy of prayer, work and service.

•  Benefits of Catholic education: A Catholic school education is an investment in that child’s future. Because most children spend their days in school and then activities, family time is harder to find for most families. It is difficult to give children a firm Catholic foundation of faith, tradition and service when they spend so much time immersed in the secular world. Being in a Catholic school means that children are taught the values, morality, respect and love they will need to be successful in life. Even when times are hard as the child grows old, they can draw from the foundation that they received from their Catholic school. A child can learn to read almost anywhere, but a Catholic school is where a child comes to grow in character and live in community.

• Favorite saint or Scripture: My favorite saints are St. Monica and St. Therese of Lisieux  (“Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.”)

• Hobbies: I have nine kids. Kids are my hobby! Seriously though, I like to read (and try to find quiet places to do so!) and do arts and crafts stuff. We also love to “glamp” (camping with style) as a family.

Diane Wolfe

St. Joseph High School, Conway

• Hometown:  Little Rock

• Education: doctoral candidate, Interdisciplinary Leadership, 2016, University of Central Arkansas, Conway; master’s degree in school leadership, management and administration, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, 2008; bachelor’s degree in secondary education, Louisiana State University-Shreveport, 1983

• Educational experience: math teacher, Colorado Springs Colo., two years; Shreveport, La., one year; Central High School, Little Rock, nine years; Immaculate Conception North Little Rock, four years; Mount St. Mary Academy, Little Rock, three years; principal, Immaculate Conception, North Little Rock, three years; and Mount St. Mary Academy, Little Rock, five years.

• Educational philosophy: Beyond striving to ensure that students learn the fundamental content of the curriculum, my objective as an administrator is to cultivate an environment steeped in academic excellence and service in a community of faith.

• Benefits of Catholic education: I believe we are all called to serve as examples and walk in the steps of Jesus Christ.  There is no better way to prepare our children for this path than to provide an environment steeped in values, morality and spirituality.  The ability to pray with our students and share our spirituality is very powerful.  Catholic education understands this.

• Favorite saint or Scripture: My favorite Scripture is actually quite simple but again, very powerful: “Do everything in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:14)

• Hobbies: Currently, my hobbies revolve around the research I am doing in order to finish my dissertation.

The number of states offering some form of voucher program for school choice has gained momentum in many states over the past 20 years.

The school choice movement was begun by Nobel Prize-winning economist Dr. Milton Freidman. Friedman believed that all children have a right to high-quality education, no matter their ZIP code, and that in many cases, the government monopoly in K-12 education was failing to provide the education opportunities for many children. Twenty years ago he and his wife Rose established the Freidman Foundation and charged it with advancing educational freedom for all children. Over the years this foundation has provided research, information and guidance to policymakers on school choice.

In the 2016 publication of “The ABCs of School Choice,” published by the Freidman Foundation there is comprehensive information and guidance on school choice and what is happening state by state to provide private school choice.

Currently there are 29 states that have some form of private school choice programs with some states having multiple programs. The school choice programs are impacting 399,280 students.

To find out more information on school choice, visit edchoice.com where the publication can be downloaded.

Arkansas has enacted its first voucher program beginning with the 2016-2017 school year. In 2015 the legislators approved the Succeed Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities. This is the first step for vouchers for private school choice but is also restrictive. Not all students are eligible and not all private schools can meet the requirements for approved schools.

STUDENTS

A parent or legal guardian of a public school student with a disability may apply for a Succeed Scholarship to enroll his or her child in a private school if the student is currently enrolled in a public school district and has attended public school for at least the one full school year immediately prior to the school year for which the scholarship payments would be disbursed.

SCHOOLS

The private school must meet the accreditation requirements set by the State Board of Education; the Arkansas Non-Public Accrediting Association or its successor; or another accrediting association recognized by the State Board of Education.

To view the complete policy and guidelines, go to http://ark sped.k12.ar.us.

As of Aug. 12, four Catholic schools, St. John School in Hot Springs, St. Edward School in Little Rock and Trinity Junior High School and Immaculate Conception School in Fort Smith, have been approved by Arkansas Department of Education to accept students on the Succeed Scholarship.

Hopefully this is just the beginning for providing affordable education for parents who wish to send their children to private schools. The success of this program will depend how well informed parents are about the program, on the numbers of schools that can be approved and the number of students who actually enroll.

Private school choice does not happen overnight. According to an article in the summer 2016 edition of the NCEA Momentum, Indiana’s successful choice program has depended on coalitions, champions and community support. 

If you are one of these stakeholders and are interested in pursuing private school choice, you might begin by reading research on the school choice movement at state levels, talking with your local business and civic leaders and forming coalition groups to be at the table while legislation is being drafted.

Aug. 15: First day of school

Sept. 5: Labor Day, schools closed

Sept. 23: Professional Day for teachers, schools closed

Nov. 23-25: Thanksgiving break, schools closed

Dec. 19-30: Christmas break, schools closed

Jan. 2: Schools reopen after break

Jan. 16: Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, schools closed

Feb. 20: Presidents Day, schools closed

March 20-24: Spring break, schools closed

April 3-13: Window to administer standardized tests

April 14: Good Friday, schools closed

May 26: Last day of school

This calendar includes 180 days of school with two snow days built in. If snow days are unused, each school can decide what additional days to cancel classes. If more than two snow days are needed, schools can add additional days to their calendar or schedule cyber days.