Presents the media center network of the Diocese of Pittsburgh as a model of how a network of parish media centers, functioning as satellites of the central diocesan media center, can be developed within a diocese. Media center networking services offered within and beyond the diocese are described. (two references) (Author/CLB)

Provides a historical overview of Catholic education in Canada, with particular emphasis on Ontario's publicly funded Separate School System. Discusses the administrative structure, financial resources, and flaws of this system. (DMM)

Discusses five elements in the effective involvement of parents as volunteers in Catholic school communities: receptivity of faculty and staff to volunteers, school organization and structure, recruitment, training, and recognition of the parents' contributions. Offers examples from St. Pius X/St. Leo School's (Omaha, Nebraska) volunteer program.…

As the number of Catholic teachers in British Catholic schools declines, Catholic authorities are forced to recruit more non-Catholic teachers. This presents problems for the nature and character of the Catholic school. To counteract increasingly secular attitudes and beliefs, the Catholic community must address the crisis in the training and…

The Tohono O'odham built Mission San Xavier del Bac for Franciscan missionaries in the late 1700s and have protected and cared for it through changing circumstances ever since. As part of a massive restoration project, outstanding experts have been restoring the church's painted and sculpted interior and training local Tohono O'odham to be…

Addresses the crisis in health care, considering costs, lack of access, and system ineffectiveness. Reviews "Setting Relationships Right," the Catholic Health Association's proposal for health care reform. Advocates educators' awareness of children's health needs and health care reform issues and support for the Every Fifth Child Act of…

In granting and enforcing collective rights of linguistic (French) and religious (Catholic) minorities, dramatic and decisive political action occurred in Ontario's schools during the 1980s. The new diversity was not a victory for neoconservatism but signaled an expansion of the individual child's right to a relevant, effective education. (31…

Summarizes findings from the "National Study Regarding At-Risk Students." Discusses the role of Catholic religious educators and pastoral ministers working in rural areas. Suggests that they seek individual ministry opportunities, target the individual rather than the group, see religious education through the lens of the family, and develop…

Describes the Student/Sponsor Partnership (SSP) in New York. Businesspersons pay part or all of the tuition for disadvantaged students from zoned innercity public high schools to attend private innercity schools, most of which are Catholic. Examines the program's growth, sponsor recruitment, and success. (LAM)

Describes the Child Care and Development Block Grants provisions of Congress's Omnibus Reconciliation Act and the new options it will provide for funding Catholic education. Highlights the act's establishment of the primacy of parental choice and its avoidance of privileged preference for public school prekindergarten programs. (DMM)

Discusses the role of education in preventing student from undertaking high-risk health behaviors such as smoking or using drugs. Lists the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended components for a comprehensive school health program. (MAB)

Director of women's studies program asks crucial questions about inherent conflict between feminist values and Catholic values in teaching. Considers whether those who teach women's studies courses compromise their feminist identities and if so, at what price. Wonders how far feminists can communicate the range of opinions without alienating very…

The growth of Catholic education peaked in 1965, with 14,296 schools. By 1990, attendance had decreased by 3 million; by 1996, only 8,243 Catholic schools remained, accompanied by a sharply declining clergy and a growing lay faculty. Catholic schools have stressed student achievement, worked effectively with disadvantaged children, and maintained…

Observes that pupils in Catholic schools in England and Wales obtain high marks at Key Stages Two and Four compared with those attending other schools, but that their achievements in advanced-level examinations are lower than expected. Points to evidence of a long-standing pattern of similar performance and speculates on possible causes. (DSK)

David Baker and Cornelius Riordan mistakenly claim that Catholic schools failed in the 1950s because they were mediocre. Their article is a house of cards built on a distortion of history and a single new finding that Catholic schools' social-class composition has changed. The "elitism" problem, stemming from rising costs, can be remedied by more…