Please take a moment to view this special message from Archbishop Joseph Naumann
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How do we choose which high school to attend? That’s the question faced by many students and parents in the coming months.
Current parents of high schoolers and high school graduates offer the following advice: When choosing a school, peers and friends are overrated, while parents and families are very much underrated. Families are “in” with our young people for the long haul. The values and virtues we espouse as moms and dads will, for the most part, be adopted by our children at some time in their lives. The unconditional love given by grandparents can be of tremendous help, while aunts and uncles reinforce family ties, and brothers and sisters form a support system for each other.
The Church has long understood this critical relationship as the Catechism teaches that parents are the primary teachers of our children - a responsibility and a trust that can never be abdicated to others. Although our young adults may claim they want or need relationships with peers and begin to insist on separating themselves from the adult role models in their families, don’t be fooled. In fact, they need (and deep inside, truly want) parental leadership and direction at this critical time in their lives.
Where does this lead in the discussion of high school choice, especially when we are so blessed with many excellent options? After gathering all the facts, studying all the options, and prayerfully reflecting on the best climate for your individual child, the St. James Academy administration asserts that the parent must ultimately choose what environment will be the best for that young person. While sports and other extracurricular programs hold some place in the discussion, there are two things our children must receive, precious gifts that they will never lose: their faith and their education.
It has been said that our children should be considered as messages left in a bottle, setting them adrift in the ocean, we send them into the generations of our future. How they live their faith, love one another, and raise their families will say much about the virtues we, as parents, instilled in them. High school is another step on this journey; one too important to leave to anyone else but the folks the young people love, admire and respect the most – even when they won’t admit it!
Best of luck and God’s blessings in your selection.
