If we’ve learned nothing else during the last two and a half school years, we can definitively say this: significant changes in school routines are disruptive. They create challenges in operating schools and school systems. They add stress to parents and guardians. Most importantly—and most concerningly—they wreak havoc on learning outcomes for children.
The benefits of a Catholic education have never been as apparent as they were during the pandemic. Catholic school leaders and teachers managed to continue delivering best-in-class education experiences for children. Their success throughout this period of time was, in large part, due to their ability to limit the number of disruptions to their students’ routine. When you add stability to the long and well-documented list of other Catholic school benefits, we know kids thrive—even in the midst of unprecedented challenges. It’s no wonder enrollment is up for the second year in a row across the Archdiocese!
Like Catholic schools, at the Aim Higher Foundation, we have also implemented practices that limit disruptions and increase stability for children and their families. Because our scholarships follow a student through 8th grade, we not only empower a student to access a Catholic school, we also ensure he or she can stay enrolled in a Catholic school. Through our scholarships, the Aim Higher Foundation is proud to help provide access and stability to Catholic schools for more than 10% of all K-8 students in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis—more than 2,100 children!
Still, we need your help. We received an additional 700 applications this past year from families who fully qualified for our scholarships. Unfortunately, we were unable to award scholarships to those families.
To meet the growing need, we have embarked on the Aim Ever Higher campaign, our first, multi-year fundraising initiative aimed at increasing the number of children we support today as well as our capacity to serve those scholars each year in the future. As we enter the final stage of our campaign, we hope you’ll consider joining us in this effort by making a multi-year pledge. Gifts made over three or five years enable us to give children the strong, stable foundation they need to excel for years to come.
