Honoring The Contributions Of Catholic Schools

HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS -- (House of Representatives - January 22, 2007)

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Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 51, offered by the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. DAN LIPINSKI. This resolution increases the awareness of Catholic education while honoring the contributions of America's Catholic schools. They are dedicated to not only educating their students academically, but to developing their moral, intellectual, physical and social values.

January 28 through February 3, 2007, is Catholic Schools Week, an annual tradition in its 33rd year and jointly sponsored by the National Catholic Education Association and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The purpose of this resolution and Catholic Schools Week is to celebrate the vital role Catholic elementary and secondary schools play in providing a values-added education with high standards of quality and excellence to millions of children in America.

As President George W. Bush has noted, Catholic educators share the basic conviction that every child can learn, which is the grounding principle behind the No Child Left Behind Act.

Catholic schools have also played a vital role in the gulf coast's path to recovery after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. They worked as quickly as possible to reenroll their students, while also opening their doors to thousands of public school students displaced by the storm.

Catholic schools continue to demonstrate their faith in every student and commitment to excellence with overwhelming results. According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic schools have a greater than 99 percent graduation rate, and about 97 percent of Catholic high school graduates go on to postsecondary training at 4-year colleges, community colleges, or technical schools.

I know firsthand of the significance of Catholic schools in that my new daughter-in-law, Jennifer Miskewicz Wilson of Fairfield, New Jersey, was influenced by a Catholic education.

I appreciate the great work being done by Catholic schools, their administrators and teachers, as well as their parents and volunteers. Catholic schools carry out their servant mission by building the academic achievement, character and values of their students. I commend my colleague from Illinois for introducing this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

I would like to congratulate and thank Mrs. Davis and Mr. Lipinski for their leadership on the past two resolutions.

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