By Thea Jarvis

“We want to be able to reach all segments of family life,” says Sister Patricia Clune of her goal as principal of St. Anthony’s Elementary School in southwest Atlanta.

To do just that, to prevent quality Catholic education in the inner city from becoming an “elite” experience, as Sister Patricia puts it, the Archdiocese of Atlanta proposes the establishment of an endowment fund to provide scholarships for students who would otherwise have to forego the alternative of a Catholic education.

For St. Anthony’s and Our Lady of Lourdes School in northeast Atlanta, such a fund would allow the schools to continue the tradition, begun in 1921 and 1913 respectively, of maintaining a strong and effective Catholic presence in the heart of the city and within the Black community in particular.

Over the years, both schools have demonstrated their ability to maintain high educational standards and attract a dedicated and experienced faculty. Enrichment programs enhance the core curriculum and extended day programs allow children of working parents to remain after school hours.

Active parent participation in school projects and functions bears testimony to the trust and esteem accorded the schools by the community they serve.

The continued rise in the cost of maintaining these facilities is skyrocketing, however. The archdiocese presently subsidizes per student allotments and families continue to sacrifice to meet tuition fees.

With the addition of an endowment fund, more funds could be generated for the express purpose of enabling worthy students to pursue their education in the unique and affirming environment available within the Catholic school.

“We can’t reach the poor without scholarship aid,” Sister Patricia Clune knows from her first-hand experience. Moreover, the availability of the proposed scholarship funds would mean that both Lourdes and St. Anthony’s would “better serve neighborhood children” who might otherwise be excluded from the schools because of escalating costs.

Lourdes and St. Anthony’s represent a commitment by the Church in north Georgia to preserve the integrity of the inner city environment and to uphold a Catholic presence in the Black community of metropolitan Atlanta.

The proposed endowment fund for scholarship aid would further strengthen this commitment and enhance the mission of the Church in the inner city.