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Worthy of the Name | A Vision for the Future of Catholic Schools

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2 | DenverCatholicSchools.com Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila, S.T.L. Archbishop of Denver Kevin D. Kijewski, J.D. Superintendent of Catholic Schools Dear friend of Catholic schools, "Come and see." "Come follow me." ese are words of invitation to the disciples by Jesus to encounter him and to learn from him. After spending a few hours with Jesus, Andrew goes and tells Peter, "We have found the Messiah!" ose same words of invitation are spoken to every human being today, and most especially to clergy, parents, administrators and sta s of our schools. e mission of our Catholic schools is to assist parents in helping their children encounter Jesus Christ and the gift of our Catholic faith. e message of Jesus is for every human person, and like Jesus, we are to invite others to open their hearts to him who is "the way, the life and the truth." Faith in Jesus Christ is what led St. Paul to proclaim Christ no matter what the cost, even imprisonment and martyrdom. When he wrote from prison to the Christians in Philippi, St. Paul urged them to conduct themselves in a way that was worthy of the Gospel (Phil. 1:27), despite attempts by their opponents to intimidate them. Like the early Christians, the world we live in is changing and we are challenged because of our faith, especially in the educational realm. We must ensure that our schools remain worthy of the name Catholic. In October 2015, we convoked a two-day Catholic Schools Symposium to develop a response to this reality. We were blessed to have over 200 people attend that gathering and discuss the hard questions that must be answered in order for Catholic schools to reverse their downward enrollment trajectory and thrive. Speci cally, we focused on schools helping parents raise their children as disciples of Jesus Christ, ways to increase enrollment and tap into the desire for specialized academic training, and nally how to sustainably fund our schools. ose fruitful discussions helped create the vision for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Denver that you will read about in these pages. is vision is ambitious, but rightly so, since the issues we are facing are signi cant and cannot be remedied without robust solutions. e process of creating this vision document has been very involved and our gratitude goes to all those who made it possible. In particular, we would like to thank those who participated in the Schools Symposium, the clergy, the teachers and principals who sta our schools, the O ce of Catholics Schools, the benefactors and business administrators of our parishes and schools, and the members of the Pastoral Center sta . Although the world is changing rapidly, we are con dent that this vision will help our school system become one of the best in the country, while remaining authentically Catholic, academically excellent, and nancially strong. Jesus told his disciples, "knock and the door will be opened to you" (Mt. 7:7). With the process of crafting this vision, we have prayerfully knocked and we trust that Christ will open the door to an exciting future for our Catholic schools. We know in faith that as Jesus has promised us in John 15, when we abide and remain in him we will bear much fruit, and apart from him we can do nothing. Together as an archdiocese, we invite you to work with us to ensure our schools thrive and remain worthy of their Catholic name. Sincerely yours in Christ,

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