Dear Catholic School Community,   I hope that all of our Catholic school students and families had a great Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 26 to Feb. 1).  It was a blessing to visit with students, staff, faculty and school communities across the diocese.  Personally, the highlight of the week was being able to facilitate the opportunity for all of our schools to join together in prayer.  A close second was moderating the vocations panel at Auburn Area Catholic School.   
   From an advocacy standpoint winter and spring traditionally mean two things, budget and policy.  First, revisions and omissions to the state education budget are concerning. Unfortunately, it appears faith-based schools will once again not be included in or eligible for funding related to numerous proposals (read more on page 3 of the Community Update). It is for these reasons and more that events like Public Policy Day are so important. 
    I look forward to joining various board members, principals as well as a high school student to advocate for our Catholic schools in Lansing on March 20.   
   Over the past few months, we have received multiple indicators that our Catholic schools in the diocese and across the country continue to serve our families well and partner with parents to support the development and growth of our students. National testing once again found that Catholic school continue to beat the national average. If treated as a state, Catholic schools would rank first in the nation (NAEP, NCEA). 
   Finally, I am pleased to announce that the revised preschool through eighth grade religion standards have been reviewed and approved by Bishop Gruss. These standards focus on opportunities for our students to “encounter” the Lord, “grow” in knowledge of the faith and be a “witness” to others.