In a statement issued at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2005, the topic of diversity was addressed. “Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary & Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium,” speaks to the changing face of the student population in Catholic schools.
There are more than two million children enrolled in Catholic schools in America. Those children come from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances. Just less than 20 percent of the population is comprised of racial minorities. Fourteen percent are Hispanic and Latino. Approximately 15 percent of the total enrollment in Catholic schools represents children who are not Catholic.
Hope Hall is a charter school in Rochester, New York. Sister Diana Dolce, Principal, describes it as a “very racially balanced school with rich diversity: Forty-seven percent of our students are Black,” she notes, “38 percent White, 6 percent Hispanic, 1 percent Asian, and 8 percent of mixed heritage.”
The diversity to which she refers also includes immigrant children. “Two of our students are refugees from Liberia,” she points out, “and one from Somalia. We also have two Guatemalan children who were adopted by American families.”
“Additionally,” she shares, “we have two enrollees from Kosovo and one from Russia. The students from Liberia and Somalia came to the United States about six years ago. The students from Kosovo arrived in the U.S. at the ages of 9 and 10. The boy from Russia came when he was 10. I say this because all of them have had to learn English as well as their academic subjects, and all of them have learning challenges stemming from auditory processing delays (also known as spoken language delays). This made learning and understanding spoken language more difficult.”
Students from Hope Hall do not come from the wealthiest echelons. “Sixty-eight percent of our children qualify for free and reduced lunch,” she notes, “and receive scholarships to attend Hope Hall. Several other families make a little more than the qualifying limit for free and reduced lunch, but are struggling to make ends meet. These families also receive scholarships to attend Hope Hall and are given other support through various school programs funded by private donations.”
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children estimates that more than 150,000 students in America refuse to attend school on any given day because they fear being bullied. Hope Hall is serious about showing respect to everyone within its walls. “Violence” is defined as anything that harms, or threatens to harm, a person's body, feelings, or possessions. Sister Diana elaborates, “Students that gossip, engage in name-calling, teasing, damaging, or taking things that belong to others, are engaged in acts of violence. We take teaching non-violence very seriously at Hope Hall. Our policy permeates all we do in helping students to develop strategies and make choices that will lead to ending personal acts of violence. From my perspective as a Sister of St. Joseph ‘that's Catholic’ education in its broadest sense.”
School is often defined as a building with four walls and tomorrow inside. For students at this institution, tomorrow is synonymous with Hope.