Celebrating Catholic School Values
Superintendent says educational experience helped shape his support of school vouchers in Indiana
An archdiocesan celebration of Catholic education on Oct. 26 honored six individuals whose Catholic values mark their lives. Standing, from left, are honoree Glenn Tebbe, keynote speaker and Indiana superintendent of public instruction Tony Bennett, Bishop Christopher J. Coyne and honoree Dr. Louis Wright. Sitting, from left, are honorees Eduardo Parada, Robert Steiner, Ann Steiner and Msgr. Joseph Riedman. (Photo by Rob Banayote)
By John Shaughnessy
Two unsettling scenes from his childhood have never been forgotten by Tony Bennett, Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction.
Indeed, the two scenes from his days as a student at St. Anthony of Padua School in Clarksville guided Bennett earlier this year as he worked and fought to turn the proposed Indiana voucher program into law—a program which now offers financial assistance to families of certain income levels to help them select a school of their choice for their children.
“I went to school with a lot of kids that on Sundays I went to church with,” Bennett said in his keynote speech during the Celebrating Catholic School Values: 2011 Scholarship and Career Achievement Awards Dinner on Oct. 26. “I also went to church with a lot of kids who didn’t go to my school Monday through Friday. That was a little disconnect for me. What I later found out was that maybe their moms and dads couldn’t afford that.
“Later, some of my classmates had to leave St. Anthony’s in the middle of the year. I later found out it was because their moms and dads couldn’t afford for them to continue either. That memory in grade school days I’ve carried every day of my life. Because I think the greatest social injustice we have in education is the fact that far too many times the demography of a child determines their destiny. How much money do mom and dad have? If mom and dad are even together.”
Believing that a child’s background shouldn’t determine his or her destiny, Bennett pushed for what he called “the nation’s most expansive voucher program,” which went into effect on July 1 in Indiana. He called it a “very difficult fight,” but one that has already produced great rewards.
“We have 4,000 children—about 3,000 of which are attending Catholic schools—who are from low- and moderate-income families who never had a choice in their life attending schools that meet their needs,” Bennett told the 800 people at the dinner at the JW Marriott Hotel in Indianapolis.
The push for the voucher program complements the efforts of the Scholarship and Career Achievement Awards Dinner—the 16th annual event that has now raised more than $4.6 million through the years to provide tuition assistance for disadvantaged students who want to attend archdiocesan schools.
In his speech, which he titled “Everything I Ever Needed to Know about School Reform, I Learned in Catholic Schools,” Bennett focused on four main points—great teachers and great principals make a difference, choice of schools provides the best opportunity for families and children, the importance of resolve, and the value of prayer.
He recalled his second-grade teacher, who “instilled in me a love of reading that has never left me.” He remembered a history teacher at Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School in Clarksville, who gave him a piece of advice that has stayed with him: “You have a lot of talents. The greatest sin you can commit is not using the most of them.”
Turning to the importance of school choice, Bennett said, “Regardless of where a child goes to school, regardless of the color of a child’s skin, regardless of how much money their parents have, regardless of how dysfunctional their home life is, our job is to give them the best education we can. And that includes letting them go to a school and having the state fund the education that meets their needs and allows them to be successful.”
At the same time, Bennett stressed that the push for a voucher program was achieved only through resolve—a resolve that he says will have to continue in the future because the opponents of the program are determined to end it.
Emphasizing the importance of resolve, Bennett shared the example of one of his heroes, Robert Larkin, a former principal of Providence High School.
“He was the principal in the early 1970s when a decision was made that maybe Providence High School should close,” Bennett said. “Bob Larkin was a paraplegic and walked on crutches. He saved Providence High School. And today, Providence High School is alive and well and accepting vouchers and changing the lives of children because Bob Larkin had resolve. He had the resolve to go to our deanery parishes and say, ‘Invest in children. Invest in success.’ ”
Bennett concluded his speech by sharing a Franciscan prayer that ended with this blessing, “May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really can make a difference in this world so that you’re able, with God’s grace, to do what others believe can’t be done.”
“For too many years, we heard that educational choice was not available and not an option in this state,” Bennett noted. “But through always remembering that you provide great teachers and leaders, by always remembering that choice is the best opportunity for families and children, through resolve and through the power of prayer, we made a difference in 2011.” †
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