On the cover of the history textbook The American Venture, students will see a picture of Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet, S.J. (featured photo in this article). Outside the Catholic Church, not many people have heard of him. And even among Catholic students and laity, few have heard of him. Yet Fr. De Smet played a…
Winners of Catholic Textbook Project’s annual history essay contest for Catholic schools were announced this week. “Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s history essay contest. We received many excellent entries from parochial, private, and home schools. Choosing the winners is never easy, and it wasn’t this year, either!,” announced Michael Van Hecke, founder and…
CNA—Police were called to maintain order at a Catholic school board meeting in Ontario, Canada, during a discussion about whether the board should fly a gay pride flag at its central office throughout June to support gay pride month. The York Catholic District School Board met Tuesday night to consider the proposal. After hearing two…
Catholic Business Journal sponsor CATHOLIC TEXTBOOK PROJECT, the creator of superior history textbooks for Catholic students and now used in Catholic schools in more than 100 dioceses and in English-speaking pockets of Catholic schools around the world, has a remarkable offer for Catholic schools only… “I wholeheartedly endorse the Catholic Textbook Project for the Diocese…
“If today’s Catholic educators are re-awakening to the true nature of what a Catholic school community should be,” notes Michael J. Van Hecke, founder of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education (ICLE), “it is natural that we should turn our thoughts and attention to how we form, or re-form, our communities to align with the…
The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education (ICLE) recently announced its enthusiastic support for Classic Learning Test’s summative, end-of-year assessments for young learners in grades 3-6, saying that these assessments meet a great need for Catholic schools and teachers by complementing beautiful, faithful education. Classic Learning Test (CLT) is currently recruiting schools to participate in the…
The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education offers a robust alternative to state teacher licensure: a national credential that prepares educators to infuse a deeply Catholic philosophy and practice of education into their teaching, namely the Catholic Educator Formation and Credential (CEFC) program.. The pilot program, launched in 2021 for Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver,…
The Catholic Textbook Project recently announced its 2023 history essay contest, which is open to all students in Grades 4-12 in Catholic schools – parochial, private and homeschool.The deadline for submission is March 31, 2023. “We hope teachers and parents will incorporate this essay contest into their lesson plans and encourage their students to participate,”…
Yes, it’s near the end of Giving Tuesday today and there are many wonderful charities to support. But at Catholic Business Journal, we humbly ask you to consider TWO standouts: The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education JP II Life Center and Vitae Clinic See below for our “Why”: 1. The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education…
Loyalty to the educational aims of the Catholic school demands constant self-criticismand return to basic principles, to the motives which inspire the Church’s involvement in education. – Sacred Congregation for Education, The Catholic School, n.67 – ICLE—Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has called for the renewal of Catholic education at all levels, from…
This week is Celebrate Catholic Schools Week across America. Catholic schools enrolled more than 5 million students in the mid-1960s but today just 1.6 million. Many things have contributed to this decline including family economic stress, rising college costs, and other factors. And, of course, massive secularization. The stakes are really high. Now, more than…
The more than $2 TRILLION, so-dubbed “Build Back Better” Act squeeked through Congress by merely seven votes, now it heads for the Senate. Amendments are expected, but as inflation is clearly on a major upswing, who in their right mind would approve two-trillion-dollars… TRILLION.. additional government spending that will ultimately come out of the tax-paying…
National Review—Breaking up large districts would restrain teachers’ unions. The many lessons of the COVID pandemic have included an unwelcome one for public-school parents about the outsized power of American teachers’ unions. Even as private schools remained open or reopened, almost half of public-school districts in the United States continued with “hybrid” learning — the unproven…
NOTE: This lawsuit — objecting to the horrific fines imposed for hiring people aligned with a nonprofit’s principles — directly affects Virginia-based Catholic schools and nonprofits . ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A new lawsuit challenges a Virginia law that forces nonprofit ministries to abandon their core convictions in hiring and other policies or face fines up…
In the name of ending white supremacy and systemic racism, school districts are indoctrinating students with a new radical vision of American society. In fall 2020, a fourth-grade class in Burnsville read a book that warns students that police are “mean” to black people, but “nice” to white people. “Cops stick up for each other,”…
An Ohio mother said Monday that she made a “judgment call” in switching her daughter from public to Catholic school, after coronavirus restrictions made it impossible to virtually teach her children and work her job at the same time. She’s not alone… read more / watch short news video >> Contrary to the National Catholic…
CNA—Enrollment at Catholic schools this academic year has seen its largest drop in nearly half a century, according to a new report. A data brief of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) showed that enrollment at Catholic schools was down 6.4% for the 2020-2021 school year—the biggest percentage drop in enrollment since 1973. The overall…
The Annual History Essay Contest, sponsored by the Catholic Textbook Project textbook publishing company, is now underway! All Catholic private, parochial, and homeschool students in grades 4-12 are invited to participate. “It’s a great way for students to sharpen their history and writing skills. Plus, there are prizes for winners and for their schools!” says…
Popular culture holds a dismissive attitude toward history. Common headlines include “unprecedented times”, “worse than ever”, and “never before.” But how often is that really true? What do we face that is truly without precedent? This mindset—that all things have either escalated or de-escalated, that the present is always somehow more or less than the…
More than 700 Catholic educators from across the country and overseas will gather online next week to explore, celebrate, and strengthen the growing movement to save Catholic schools through the recovery of the Church’s proven tradition of education. The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education’s 8th National Conference was forced to shift to an online format…
