Culture

What makes one name in a database different from another? The short answer is: opportunity.

Michael
Reardon

Every day, I open the Catholic Schools Foundation database, and thousands of names are at my fingertips. These are the names of generous donors who believe that Catholic education changes lives, as well as the thousands of students whose lives are transformed each day. In most cases, these students do not know the donors, and the donors do not know the students. Just looking at the names, there is no distinction between who is the donor and who is the scholarship recipient -- just names of people.
None of us chooses where we are born, or if we have physical gifts or limitations, or whether our brains are wired in a way that makes school easy or hard. The fact that I was born in the United States, born into a family with two loving parents, and without significant physical, mental, or emotional challenges is not something that I have earned. It was a gift for which I am profoundly grateful.
What makes one name in a database different from another? The short answer is: opportunity. For some, it could be as simple as being born in the United States. For others, it is a sacrifice made in search of a better opportunity. For some, the opportunity comes from being born into a stable and economically successful family; for others, it is having an aunt or grandmother who guides you along the right path. Opportunity comes in many forms, and this really hit home for me earlier this week on a visit to Lawrence Catholic Academy (LCA) at St. Patrick Parish.

A few years ago, Boston Magazine profiled Lawrence with the less-than-heartening title: "City of the Damned." The article cataloged stories of drugs, failing schools, poverty, corruption, and high teen pregnancy rates, just to pick a few highlights of this bleak article. It painted a picture of a place left in the industrial past, unable to move forward. After reading this article, the reader is left with an image of a clouded, corrupt city with no hope. However, this is not the feeling you leave Lawrence with if you visit Lawrence Catholic Academy and the vibrant parish life of St. Patrick Parish.
When I last visited Lawrence a few months ago, a new school building was taking shape and getting ready to be sealed for the winter. The sky was gray; construction materials were scattered everywhere, and the students at LCA were attending classes in buildings that were over 100 years old. The basement would routinely flood with sewage, and classroom and tutoring space was carved up to meet the overwhelming demand that exceeded the functional capacity of these century-old buildings. This was the before image.
About 500 students will now walk through the front doors as the new school year begins and will be greeted by faculty and staff who will guide them through a drop-off line and into the front doors of Corey Griffin Hall at Lawrence Catholic Academy. This building is bright, clean, and most of all, has everything the students need to take advantage of the opportunity that a Catholic education offers.
Catholic education changes students. Catholic education changes families. In Lawrence, Catholic education changes communities.
On this block, Lawrence is no longer the "City of the Damned;" this is a city of hope!

- Michael B. Reardon is executive director of the Catholic Schools Foundation, www.CSFBoston.org.

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