Each morning in Catholic schools across the Diocese of Trenton, some 17,000 students begin their day in prayer, centering themselves in Christ and asking God’s blessings on their efforts to learn and grow.“Go and teach all nations.”
(Matt. 28:19)
That focus on their faith sustains them throughout the day, as they move from classes to activities and responsibilities to recreation. In daily prayer, regular Masses, social outreach programs and faith formation classes they learn that they are children of a loving God, and that they are called to love one another.
The good news about Catholic schools in the Diocese of Trenton is that they continue to be unique places, where faith, academic excellence, athletics, service and community combine to provide a robust and enriched educational experience like no other.
For more than 400 years, Catholic schools in the United States have produced accomplished students whose lives are rooted in the Gospel of Christ. Many of these students have become leaders in their fields, transforming their local and global communities through Christian discipleship.
The mission of Catholic education is based on the Gospel command of Jesus to “Go and teach.”
With a mission carried out faithfully in the early American Church by thousands of religious sisters, Catholic schools embraced the poor and disenfranchised, many of whom were immigrants.
Today, in the Diocese of Trenton, Catholic schools in Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties welcome a diverse body of students from many different cultural backgrounds, working in partnership with parents to develop their children’s potential to become life-long learners.
Catholic schools exist to lead students to an encounter with Christ, to enable them to come to know and love God, and to allow that love to transform their lives and the world around them. As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops teaches, “Catholic schools afford the fullest and best opportunity to realize the fourfold purpose of Christian education, namely, to provide an atmosphere in which the Gospel message is proclaimed, community in Christ is experienced, service to our sisters and brothers is the norm, and thanksgiving and worship of God is cultivated” (“In Support of Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools”).
Catholic identity permeates the spirit and climate of each Catholic school. The signs and symbols of Catholic faith define the school environment, but it is through prayer, worship, service, faith and moral formation, and the support of Christian community that the school expresses its Catholic identity as an instrument of Christ’s love.
Students in the Catholic schools of the Diocese are provided with the educational opportunities that prepare them for a wide variety of careers in the 21st century. Curriculum is based on national standards, New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, diocesan expectations and educational research, opening doors to a teaching /learning process that strives to meet the individual needs of students, offers technology education for the digital age and literacy for life in reading, writing and mathematics.
Our elementary students score higher than the national average in reading, language arts and math. With their focus on college prep, our secondary schools see 98 percent of their students take the SAT and/or ACT tests for admission to college and universities. Of our graduates, 96-98 percent go on to either a two- or four-year college.
Athletics in our Catholic schools provide students with the opportunity to strengthen their physical, mental and spiritual lives. Every sport teaches students to work and live as a team, to recognize strengths and weaknesses in themselves and others, to develop a strong work ethic and to strive toward a common goal. Faith is at the heart of Catholic school athletics, encouraging participants to be models of Christian virtue and examples of gratitude for their God-given talents.
High schools in the Diocese are also part of the Catholic Athletes for Christ program. The CAC Cathlete chapters of this national program for professional athletes instill the teachings of the Church on the dignity of the human person, and based the wholeness of the body, mind, and soul as created by God. Cathletes are encouraged to live the core virtues of charity, honesty, humility, meekness, moderation, purity and good-sportsmanship.
The fullness of Catholic life requires service to others. Catholic schools enable students, as well as the entire school community, to embrace their vocation as disciples of Christ, the Servant. At each grade level, students are provided with opportunities for service suitable for their age and development. As students mature and grow in faith and love of God, they learn to take their vibrant, living faith into the world for the benefit of others. These service opportunities form the building blocks of servant leadership, an approach to leadership that makes Catholic school graduates the kind of leaders who transform the world and build the common good.
Catholic schools are places of living the Gospel in community. The collaborative and caring relationship between students, teachers, administrators and parents provides an environment of trust and respect that allows students to explore and develop their unique abilities. Here, students and adults, alike, learn what it means to live in communion with God, with others and with all of creation. Through the shared celebration of the Church’s liturgical life, and the encouragement of dedicated educators, students learn to live their faith, become active members of their parishes and the broader community of the Body of Christ, the Church.