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This is really good-


Thanks Mary Claire-


________________________________

From: B J Cassin [mailto:bjcassin@earthlink.net]
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2011 6:21 PM
To: Mary Claire Ryan
Cc: B.J. Cassin; Brother Ed Siderewicz, FSC; Dan Lagan; Gregory Vaughan;
Jane E. Genster; John Ciccone; John Vatterott; Maureen Hermann; Mike
Rodgers; Patrick Rafferty; Paul Daoust; Paul Minorini; R. Hunter Biden;
Rev. Peter Pabst, SJ; William Whitaker; David Kubacki; Melodie
Wyttenbach
Subject: Re: America Magazine


Mary Claire: Great stuff! bj


On Nov 18, 2011, at 2:14 PM, Mary Claire Ryan wrote:


Dear NMNS Board:


I'm proud to share this article appearing in the current issue of
America Magazine that I co-authored with our friend Rob Birdsell, CEO of
the Cristo Rey Network. We wrote it several months ago, but obviously
the topic is still of interest and quite current.


Have a lovely weekend - Mary Claire


America Magazine


Where Credit Is Due


An Arizona program proves a lifeline for Catholic education.

ROBERT J.
<http://www.americamagazine.org/content/searchresults.cfm?search=Robert%
20J.%20Birdsell%20and%20Mary%20Claire%20Ryan&startrow=1&searchby=2>
BIRDSELL AND MARY CLAIRE RYAN
<http://www.americamagazine.org/content/searchresults.cfm?search=Robert%
20J.%20Birdsell%20and%20Mary%20Claire%20Ryan&startrow=1&searchby=2> |
NOVEMBER 28, 2011

the cover of America, the Catholic magazine

Last spring, the Supreme Court handed down a decision allowing the use
of tax credits to fund religious schools in Arizona. This decision
should be a tipping point in the resurgent "school choice" movement. The
court effectively mapped a route for choice-inclined state legislatures
that skirts the First Amendment bar to government "establishment of
religion." Most reactions have defaulted to polarized arguments that pit
allies of public education against supposed enemies. Instead, we see the
decision as an opportunity to address what President Obama calls "the
civil rights issue of our generation"-the unyielding achievement gap
between poor students and wealthier students.

Could new funding strategies make a difference? Yes.

Consider the history of Catholic schools in America. In an incisive
article published in the spring 2011 issue of National Affairs, Andy
Smarick surveys the rise and decline of urban Catholic schools, tracing
parallel trends in our society's ability to educate working-class and
immigrant children. Millions educated in parochial schools through the
1960s grew up to make vital contributions to U.S. productivity and
culture. Since then demographic shifts, growing Catholic assimilation
into the American mainstream and rising costs-along with failures in
leadership-have led to the closing of thousands of Catholic schools,
especially in inner cities. In the 1960s one in four children in New
York City, for example, attended a Catholic school; today, fewer than
one in 10 does. The remaining traditional Catholic schools often charge
tuition that low-income families cannot afford. A choice in schooling
that served society well has all but vanished.

Meanwhile, society's collective failure in recent decades to educate the
very children who most need good schools has been well documented. A
black male today is more likely to land in prison than in college; a
young Latina enrolled as a freshman in college has about a one in 10
chance of earning a degree.


Cristo Rey and NativityMiguel Networks


Passionate reformers in both the public and the private realms have
taken up the challenge to educate children "left behind." The Cristo Rey
and NativityMiguel networks, which we lead, are two examples of
innovative, independent, faith-based schools-mostly Catholic in
heritage, open to all, founded to serve the urban poor and receiving
little support from the church. Both have been cited as models for
rejuvenating the vital tradition of urban Catholic education. More than
one observer has noted the similarity between well-publicized,
pioneering public charter schools and Catholic school models.

Like the best charter school organizations, our schools take
responsibility for results. Our schools champion quality, transparency
and accountability for student performance-a fair exchange for public
trust. Both the NativityMiguel and Cristo Rey networks set high
standards and monitor curriculum, professional development, graduate
support and academic progress. A partnership with the National Student
Clearinghouse, for example, will provide a reliable source of data on
students' educational paths and success after high school graduation.

Why should all of this matter to citizens and taxpayers? Because schools
like ours have an outstanding record of success in teaching low-income,
minority students. Our graduates master skills, complete high school and
pursue higher education at rates far exceeding peer averages.

In the face of enormous need, however, our networks are relatively
small. The question of economic viability, which has so far depended on
the generosity of private donors and corporate partners, clouds every
strategic plan, every vision of transforming more lives by scaling
programs to meet the strong demand for them.

We are eager and able to grow faster. And we are not the only ones. At a
recent conference organized by the American Center for School Choice, a
wide range of faith-based schools found common ground. The expansion of
state tax credit programs for education would be one of the most
efficient ways to support the growth of strong schools-enabling families
to decide which school is best for their children and avoiding some of
the most contentious issues by channeling funding through nonprofit
organizations rather than through the state or federal government.

Current research on the effects of school choice, in fact, reveals
benefits for both students and nearby public schools, according to a
study published by the Foundation for Educational Choice (Greg Forster,
Ph.D., A Win-Win Solution: The Empirical Evidence on School Vouchers,
2011). And a nonpartisan report prepared for the Florida Legislature's
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
concluded that taxpayers saved $1.49 in state education funding for
every dollar lost in corporate income tax revenue due to tax credits for
scholarship contributions (Report No. 08-68, December 2008).

Why shouldn't bold measures be used to tackle one of the costliest, most
pernicious ills of modern American society? The human impact of better
education for all is not hard to imagine. The economic consequence of
bringing all U.S. students up to a baseline level of proficiency for
developed countries, according to the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, could add $72 trillion to the gross
domestic product. Good schools of many kinds-traditional public, public
charter, secular and faith-based schools-can hasten progress. We
challenge education advocates of all political stripes and lawmakers in
all 50 states to seize this moment of opportunity to enact school
choice.

Robert J. Birdsell is the president and chief executive officer of the
Cristo Rey Network;

Mary Claire Ryan is the executive director of the NativityMiguel Network
of Schools.


Mary Claire Ryan
Executive Director
NativityMiguel Network of Schools
Cell: 917-295-1212
mcryan@nativitymiguel.org <mailto:mcryan@nativitymiguel.org>
www.nativitymiguelschools.org
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