Catholic Schools Week Jan. 30-Feb. 5
SAN FRANCISCO (Jan. 27, 2011) --- Catholic elementary and secondary school students in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, which includes the Counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin, are gearing up to celebrate Catholic Schools Week Jan. 30 – Feb. 5.
Catholic Schools Week is celebrated annually across the United States, where approximately 2.1 million students are enrolled at Catholic schools. About 1.5 million students attend Catholic elementary schools, and about 600,000 students at Catholic high schools in the U.S.
Nearly 17,000 students are enrolled at Catholic elementary schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and nearly 8,000 students attend secondary schools in the three counties of the archdiocese. Teachers, administrators and support staff members number more than 2,600 in both elementary and high schools.
Catholic elementary schools in San Francisco provide an education to nearly 8,500 students. In San Mateo, about 6,400 students attend Catholic elementary schools, and in Marin the enrollment is nearly 1,900.
Maureen Huntington, Superintendent for Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, points with pride at the record of Catholic education in the area, as well as continuing efforts to improve learning and student performance.
She noted in particular improvement recorded at Catholic schools serving inner-city students in San Francisco.
Huntington said, “Thanks to differentiated instructional training introduced at our Mission Alliance schools in the past several years, we have seen student test scores increase and overall improvement in student performance.”
She also noted many bright spots at suburban Catholic schools in San Mateo and Marin. All of the 14 Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco have programs that support students with special needs, Huntington said.
Huntington, now in her ninth year as Superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, also said the area’s Catholic schools have extraordinary ethnic diversity and, particularly, in San Francisco, a large number of non-Catholic students.
The Archdiocese of San Francisco was founded in 1853 and today includes 100 churches in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties. Among its ministries are the St. Vincent de Paul Society, parish-based outreach to poor; and Catholic Charities CYO, the social service arm of the Archdiocese, which is one of the largest social service agencies in the West.
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: 415-614-5634
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