This year the Utah Catholic School system celebrates 145 years since the founding of Saint Mary’s Academy by the Holy Cross Sisters in Salt Lake City. Although in 1876 Salt Lake City had no more than 10 Catholic families in total, by the end of the first year, the school boasted 100 day students and 25 boarders. Eventually students – both Catholic and non-Catholic – were arriving from all over the frontier to attend the school, coming from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Nevada as well as Utah.
Today the Catholic School system in Utah has a total enrollment of 5,000 students in grades pre-school to 12. Those attending our schools range from multi-generational Utah families to recent arrivals to our state and, in some cases, to our country. Whatever the case, these families are all seeking the many blessings that a Catholic education offers.
Catholic Schools offer a safe, welcoming and supportive learning environment.
Catholic Schools provide strong academic and extracurricular programs.
Catholic Schools teach students about the Catholic faith in a community setting where they experience God’s grace and presence in their lives through their relationships with family, friends and teachers.
“Catholic schools afford the fullest and best opportunity to realize the fourfold purpose of Christian education, namely to provide an atmosphere in which the Gospel message is proclaimed, community in Christ is experienced, service to our sisters and brothers is the norm, and thanksgiving and worship of God is cultivated,” states the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2005 document, “Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium.”
This month across the nation we celebrate Catholic Schools’ Week. It is a time when we recognize the hard work of teachers, administrators and staff who have dedicated their lives to the mission of Catholic education. We also recognize the sacrifice and dedication of parents who partner with the school in order to provide their children with the best education possible.
We are indeed blessed to have 16 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Salt Lake City that provide education to the whole child: mind, body and soul. We are indeed grateful for those who came before us and laid the foundation of Catholic education.
If your children are not already enrolled in our schools, I invite you to discover the benefits of a Catholic school education for yourselves. Please contact the schools that you are interested in directly. School websites can be found at https://www.dioslc.org/schools.
Mark Longe
Superintendent of Catholic Schools
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