CATHOLIC SCHOOLS SHINE AS EXAMPLES OF SOUND EDUCATION

There is a reason Catholic school enrollment is growing by leaps and bounds. More parents are embracing the fact that sound education principals are combined with spiritual and moral lessons. As the national celebration of Catholic Schools Week comes to a close, it is a good time to reflect on the fine job local Catholic schools are doing.

Catholic schools are an educational rock in many area communities. In some smaller towns, the church and school are the very center of activity. These close ties are reinforced by a curriculum that is family-based.

Excellent programs are flourishing at St. Mary Cathedral School and St. Vincent de Paul School in Cape Girardeau, Immaculate Conception in Jackson, St. Augustine in Kelso, St. Denis in Benton, St. Joseph in Scott City, St. Ambrose in Chaffee, St. Henry in Charleston, Guardian Angel in Oran, St. Francis Xavier in Sikeston and St. Vincent's in Perryville. We salute these fine schools and the talented teachers and staff who enable these programs to thrive.

The continued growth of area elementary schools has funneled a snowballing enrollment to Notre Dame High School. This Cape Girardeau school draws students from throughout Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. There are only two other high schools in the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese -- Springfield and Joplin. Perryville's Catholic high school is in the St. Louis Diocese.

Plans are under way to construct a new high school to handle these growing numbers. So far, $4 million of the needed $5 million has been pledged for the new high school. Again, that kind of support is a tribute to the important role that Catholic schools serve in the region.