Religious Education Supplement

Connecting the secular to the sacred: Indianapolis parishes launch after-school catechesis programs

A student participating in a new after-school religious education program at St. Anthony Parish in Indianapolis colors a picture on Aug. 30, the program’s first day. (Submitted photo)

By Sean Gallagher

Last spring, longtime St. Andrew the Apostle parishioner Michael Noir had concerns when archdiocesan and parish leaders asked Indianapolis and Marion County leaders to convert the former St. Andrew & St. Rita Catholic Academy and St. Anthony School, both in Indianapolis, into publicly funded charter schools.

A graduate of his parish’s school, he wanted to enroll his 5-year-old daughter, Eloa, in the kindergarten program for the 2010-11 academic year, but wanted her to receive faith formation there as well.

So Noir was happy when he heard about plans to offer an after-school catechesis program for Andrew Academy students called Project SAFE (St. Andrew Faith Enrichment).

“For me, it was the fundamental reason why I wanted to keep her in this school,” said Noir as he picked up Eloa on Aug. 23 after Project SAFE’s first day. “It was important for me that the school remains intact, but also that we provide some sort of religious education for our children. That’s the main reason why I was on board for the charter school.”

Andrew Academy and Padua Academy, which are on the grounds of St. Andrew the Apostle and St. Anthony parishes, are public charter schools approved by the City-County Council of Indianapolis and Marion County, and funded by the State of Indiana.

They are managed by ADI Charter Schools Inc., a separate corporation formed by the archdiocese to ensure that all aspects of their governance and operational activities conform to state and federal laws.

The archdiocesan Mother Theodore Catholic Academies have been contracted to oversee the daily operations of the charter schools.

No religious symbols are displayed in the schools, and no religious instruction is allowed during regular school hours.

But catechetical instruction is permitted in the school buildings before or after the school hours. Staff members at St. Andrew and St. Anthony worked hard to put the programs in place by the start of the academic year, which have three to four times the instructional time than most parish-based religious education programs that meet for approximately an hour once a week.

Students in Project SAFE meet for one hour a day four days a week, with one day dedicated to either Mass or Liturgy of the Word. St. Anthony’s after-school religious education program meets one hour a day for three days a week, with one day set aside for Mass.

Hard work

Much of that hard work has fallen on the shoulders of Mary Schaffner, the director of religious education at St. Anthony and Holy Trinity parishes, both in Indianapolis, and Aaron Haag, St. Andrew’s director of religious education.

Despite the big task in front of them, both are excited to take it on.

“I just find it exciting from a parish standpoint,” Schaffner said. “We’re letting the school be the [charter] school and do what it does. And then we’ll have this option for religious education.”

While Haag also lets the “school be the school,” he is excited about how Project SAFE will help the students live out their faith during the school days.

“The beautiful thing about this opportunity is that it puts the secular right in connection with the sacred in a very powerful way that the kids aren’t going to miss,” Haag said. “It’s right there.

“Because of the strong presence [of the programs] three or four days a week, those kids are likely going to develop an identity in that community. That’s a pretty powerful thing.”

Just getting students registered for the programs has been challenging, however. Because the academies are public schools, their staff members are not allowed to share enrollment rosters with Schaffner and Haag.

“As time goes on, more kids will register once people realize what’s going on, that there’s this after-school religious education option,” Schaffner said. “But that won’t come through the school. It will come through the parish. We’ve been announcing it at Masses, [and] in the bulletin. It’s a parish program.”

St. Anthony’s program currently has 52 students. Project SAFE has 40 students, and Haag expects that to increase dramatically in coming weeks.

‘A big Church’

The Catholic identity that Schaffner and Haag hope to form in their students will be marked by their particular cultural backgrounds.

Hispanic and black children make up nearly all of the students at Padua and Andrew academies.

“One of the most important things we can do as Catholics, especially in communities that have very rich traditions, is to make it well known in those communities that those traditions aren’t opposite to the Catholic faith, that they can very much be a rich part of the Catholic faith,” Haag said. “This is a big Church and there’s room for a lot of people and a lot of small ‘t’ traditions. The parish is really committed to making this program work.”

The Hispanic aspects of the after-school program at St. Anthony seemed particularly challenging to Schaffner at first since she doesn’t speak Spanish.

“That was a little bit of a concern,” she said. “What I have found is that the way we communicate is by helping one another. It’s really built a wonderful relationship. They’re just delightful.”

Many of the children in the after-school program at St. Anthony are Catholic. That is not the case with Project SAFE, where most children are not Catholic.

Yet their parents, like Noir, were strong advocates of maintaining a fully Catholic faith formation program for the students once the school became a charter school.

“It’s been a part of their life since they were little, and we didn’t want them to lose that piece,” said Jamya Fisher, a member of a non-denominational Christian congregation who has enrolled two children and a nephew at Andrew Academy and Project SAFE. “You can send your child anywhere, but the Christianity piece is [important].

“We understand that it can’t be during the school day when it’s state-run. But, somewhere, we want our kids to have God in their day. We’re glad that they’re doing it. I think it’s just as important as English and math and science. It’s just as critical.”

Itea Palmer is a fifth-grade student at Andrew Academy who participates in Project SAFE. She is not Catholic.

“I think that it’s neat that they’re introducing this to younger children and children who don’t know Jesus,” she said after the first day of the

after-school religious education program. “Maybe they’ll grow into it, and they’ll start wanting to go [to church] and to learn more about it.”

‘Finding Christ in what they do’

Itea’s words point to a great hope that Deacon Robert Decker, St. Andrew’s parish life coordinator, has for Project SAFE.

“Through this opportunity for faith formation after the school day, we’re hoping that we can give [students] tools to find Christ in all that they do,” he said. “It’s going to be a dynamic program.”

The fact that the parish is reaching out to share the faith with children who are not Catholic is important to Noir.

“That makes me very happy because I know how important my Catholic education was for me,” Noir said. “And the formulation of that Catholic background was extremely critical. The kids will have quite a bit to learn. And it will teach them not only about being good Christians, but also [about] being good citizens.”

Involving the entire family in the after-school religious education program is important for Schaffner.

“I see this more than just teaching the children, but involving the parents and families in what we do as a parish, who we are as a eucharistic and sacramental people,” she said. “That’s the core of what it is.”

Although the choice to convert two Catholic schools into two public charter schools was difficult, having the after-school religious education programs made the tough decision more palatable for many people connected to the schools.

“I think it’s going to work out really well,” said Father John McCaslin, the pastor of St. Anthony and Holy Trinity parishes. “In the end, I think we’ll be able to look back at that and say, ‘This was a reasonable and wise decision to make about ways to continue to be authentically true to the Gospel as well as to address the needs of our children and families.’ ” †