Bob Schaffer: “Mr. Speaker, America's Catholic schools are internationally acclaimed for their academic excellence. They also provide…”

“Mr. Speaker, America's Catholic schools are internationally acclaimed for their academic excellence. They also provide students more than a superior scholastic education. Catholic schools ensure a broad values-added education, emphasizing the life-long development of moral, intellectual, fiscal, and social values in America's young people. The total Catholic school student enrollment for 1998 and 1999 was 2,646,844. The total number of Catholic schools is 8,217, and the student/teacher ratio in those institutions is less than 17-to-1. Catholic schools provide more than $17 billion a year in savings to the Nation based on the average school per pupil cost. Catholic schools teach a diverse group of students and over 25 percent of school children enrolled in Catholic schools are minority students. The graduation rate of Catholic schools is 95 percent. Only 3 percent of Catholic high school students drop out of school and 83 percent of Catholic high school graduates go on to college. Catholic schools produce students strongly dedicated to their faith, their values, their families and communities by providing an intellectually stimulating environment rich in spiritual character and moral development.”