The Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Catholic Schools had two extra things to celebrate as it observed Catholic Schools Week from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6.
The first was the $1.4 million Gratitude Fund that gave monetary awards to all archdiocesan school educators and staff. The second was impressive test results from the i-Ready assessment exam, which showed that students in archdiocesan schools exceeded national averages during the pandemic. Through the Gratitude Fund, each full-time employee received $250, which was added to paychecks Feb. 5. Part-time staff received up to $100, depending on the number of weekly work hours. The school system employs about 5,000 people in 159 schools. “The idea originated with just an outpouring of gratitude on the part of the Archdiocese of Chicago and, as chairman of the school board, we also had a generous outpouring of gratitude from the board for our heroic essential workers,” Geno Fernandez, archdiocesan school board president, told the Chicago Catholic, the archdiocesan newspaper. The archdiocese started raising money in early December and readily received donations for the fund from regular and new donors as well as corporations that don’t normally give to faith-based causes, said Jim Rigg, archdiocesan superintendent of schools. “I think there was recognition that our educators and school employees truly had gone above and beyond this year,” he said.
Teachers, administrators and staff are on the front lines educating children and keeping schools open when many schools remain engaged in remote learning and donors appreciated their commitment, Fernandez said. “I have never seen such a unanimous response from major donors, pastors and leaders of parishes, community members and corporations in the Chicagoland area than I have seen in this response,” he said.
Like many others, Fernandez appreciates how educators and staff responded to the pandemic.
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