Honoring the past, braving the future
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A large crowd was in attendence at Rutland Catholic Schools’ Honor Our Past scholarship fundraising event on Tuesday evening in Rutland. Cassandra Hotaling / Rutland Herald |
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By Cristina Kumka Staff Writer - Published: July 29, 2009
It was a night when school spirit reigned supreme.
Alumni, friends, teachers and school leaders from the new Rutland Catholic Schools collaboration of Mount St. Joseph Academy and Christ The King came together at an "Honor Our Past" scholarship fundraising event Tuesday night at Rutland's Holiday Inn to honor former students with the hope that they will ensure a sustainable education in the religious tradition in the face of dwindling class numbers.
Flanked by an image of the MSJ Mounties football team deep in prayer, nearly 300 attendees bid on top raffle prizes, acknowledged four key school contributors and reconnected with each other before dinner was served.
The gathering was held in the name of planning for the schools' future by acknowledging the importance of the private Catholic institutions' past — all the proceeds from the benefit went toward scholarships for families who may not be able to afford tuition to send their children to the schools.
"It's very important that children today have an opportunity to go to a school that gives them exposure to the basic values of life," said 30-year donor and 1955 graduate Richard Polzello. "Integrity, honesty, compassion for others and the ambition to give back."
Fifty-seven percent of MSJ students and 40 percent of Christ The King students attend the schools on scholarships, according to event organizer and alumnus B.J. Costello.
The newly formed Rutland Catholic Schools Development Committee wanted to further those marks in light of enrollment woes and increasing costs of education, according to Costello, also the committee chairman.
"Students will not be inhibited for economic reasons," Costello said.
In a span of 50 years, senior class size at MSJ — one of only two Catholic secondary schools in Vermont — has declined by more than two-thirds.
Nineteen students graduated in the Class of 2009, compared to 61 in the Class of 1959.
Total school enrollment at MSJ was 76 as of June 8 this year, according to the Catholic Schools Office in Burlington.
The target for the forthcoming school year — nearly 100.
Catholic school leaders addressed the challenge and what the Catholic school community as a whole can do to buck the trend.
"Vermont is becoming the state with the highest percentage of elderly people," Vermont Bishop Salvatore Matano said from his Burlington office prior to Tuesday's event. "Many young people have to leave the state because of a lack of job opportunities here … the young people that remain aren't as many as we hoped there would be."
But what remains consistent, according to Matano, is the value of a private Catholic education.
"It's hard to speak about Western civilization without (including) Jesus Christ," he said. "It (Catholic education) is a solid investment into the future."
Fundraising is only one tactic being taken by Rutland Catholic Schools to attract more students — the school hired a full-time technology coordinator to make MSJ one of the leading technological schools in the area, and joined with Christ The King to ease the transition to Catholic high school.
Then there's word of mouth by former students and generous donors.
"I think one important thing, and part of the purpose behind the event, is that there is a lot of scholarship money available," said 1994 graduate Tom Valente.
"We have to find ways to get everyone thinking that Rutland Catholic Schools are an option for them."
According to Costello, tradition will continue at MSJ with a broader view of what the future holds for the school.
"When a student makes a decision on a grade school, we don't want them to base it on economics but rather, education."
For more information on Rutland Catholic Schools, go to www.rutlandcatholicschools.org.
cristina.kumka@rutlandherald.com
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