Catholic Schools Week set for Jan. 27-Feb. 2

By Huntington Learning Center

The Rockford Huntington Learning Center supports Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 27-Feb. 2), a celebration of Catholic schools in America.

Catholic Schools Week is a joint project of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCES) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The celebration became an annual event in 1974.

“Huntington Learning Center is honored to join Catholic schools in Rockford and around the country to celebrate Catholic Schools Week 2013,” said Orville McElfresh of the Rockford Huntington Learning Center. “With the recent release of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools, this year is an important one for our nation’s Catholic schools as they strive to implement principles and practices that foster effective education.”

The 2013 theme of Catholic Schools Week is “Catholic Schools Raise the Standards.” This year’s theme supports the recent launch of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools, which ensure the effective operation and responsible governance Catholic schools across the country, thus promoting high academic standards.

According to the NCES, 84.9 percent of 2010 12th-grade Catholic school students went on to attend a four-year college. The 2010 Catholic high school graduation rate was 99.4 percent.

“At Huntington Learning Center, we’re very proud to support our nation’s schools, and we applaud those who uphold high academic standards,” said McElfresh. “Without a doubt, Catholic schools are highly focused on rigorous academics and giving their students an excellent education. We are excited to celebrate this important week with our nation’s Catholic schools and all other schools of excellence as we all join together to make American education as strong as possible.”

Huntington supports a variety of national events focused on education, including Read Across America, American Education Week, National Teacher Day and National Library Week.

For more about Huntington Learning Center of Rockford, contact McElfresh at (815) 395-1011 or mcelfresho@hlcmail.com, or visit www.huntingtonhelps.com.

From the Jan. 23-29, 2013, issue