DUAL LANGUAGE IMMERSION, ARTS AND SPORTS PROGRAMS HIGHLIGHT NATIONAL CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK ACTIVITIES AT LOCAL CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
January 27, 2017  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

Department of Catholic Schools Announces Two New Catholic Schools Offering Dual Language Immersion Programs Beginning Fall 2017

As part of the National Catholic Schools Week, observed in all dioceses in the United States January 29-February 4, schools throughout the tri-county Archdiocese (Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara), serving nearly 80,000 students, will host open houses highlighting unique programs and offerings, special events and Masses.

“Our Catholic schools are communities of learning – serving our families and committed to excellence in the pursuit of knowledge and virtue. Study and human formation go together in our Catholic schools. We are educating the “whole” person,” said Archbishop Gomez. “We realize that our nation is in a time of change — economic, cultural and social. So we are training students who will be ready to solve problems and meet the challenges of what some are calling ‘the next America.’”

Beginning this weekend, Catholic Schools throughout the Archdiocese are welcoming members of the community, family and friends on campus with open houses. For list of open house events, visit http://lacatholicschools.org/catholicschoolsweek/.

Following are some of the Catholic School Week events throughout the Archdiocese:

  • Sunday, Jan. 29 at 9 a.m. – Archbishop José H. Gomez will kick-off Catholic Schools Week by presiding Cathedral High School’s annual Family Mass on Sunday at 9 a.m. located in the campus gym in downtown LA.
  • Ongoing – St. Bonaventure High School in Ventura to launch, during Catholic Schools Week, a school-wide service project to collect canned goods and dried foods goods for Food Share of Ventura County. The effort, coordinated by the Campus Ministry Team and Leadership Academy, will aim at collecting 5,000 food items during the month of February.
  • Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 11 a.m. – Bishop David G. O’Connell, Auxiliary Bishop of the San Gabriel Pastoral Region, will visit dual-language immersion classrooms at All Souls School in Alhambra where he will help teach a Spanish class and learn Mandarin from elementary students.
  • Tuesday, Jan. 31 at noon – Bishop Oscar Solis, Auxiliary Bishop of the San Pedro Pastoral Region, will visit the students of Junipero Serra High School in Gardena focusing on campus ministry and athletics.
  • Thursday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. – STEM program science fair at Our Lady of Assumption in Ventura to coincide with open house. 
  • Friday, Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. – Bishop Joseph V. Brennan, Auxiliary Bishop of the San Fernando Pastoral Region, will visit K–12th grade students at St. Genevieve in Panorama City and offer a voice lesson to students in the Visual and Performing Arts Program.

With nearly 80,000 students in 270 schools, the Archdiocese is one of the largest school and the oldest school system in California. Through a faith-based education, students receive the tools for success in college and in their future careers focused on a commitment to service to their local and global communities. Dual Language Immersion (DLI) is an additive response to the needs of diverse, multi-lingual communities from across the three counties that comprise the ADLA, wherein 224 languages and dialects are spoken.

Beginning with transitional kindergarten and kindergarten, St. Alphonsus (East Los Angeles) and St. Paul (Mid City) join the growing number of established dual language immersion schools in the Archdiocese including All Souls (Alhambra), St. Sebastian (West Los Angeles), and St. Matthias (Huntington Park). All Souls is the only Catholic School in the Country offering two language tracts: Mandarin and Spanish. 

The Archdiocese is committed to making Catholic education a possibility for all families through the Catholic Education Foundation (CEF), which provides tuition assistance to the most financially deserving students.

In 2016, CEF provided $13.3 million to help fund the Catholic educations of more than 10,000 elementary and high school students from families living at or below the poverty line. Students receiving CEF assistance have a graduation rate of 98 percent and a college attendance rate of 98 percent.

The observance of Catholic Schools Week began in 1974. The week also highlights the educational and community successes of Catholic schools around the country, where about 1.9 million students are currently educated in nearly 6,600 Catholic schools. An estimated 98 percent of students graduate from high school and 86 percent of Catholic school graduates attend college. This percentage has been consistent over the past 20 years.

For more information about Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, visit http://lacatholicschools.org/.

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