Kids and Families Deserve More: Catholic Education and School Choice
Pioneer held an education forum on Friday, July 31, 2015, “Know-Nothings’ Nativism, Catholic Education and School Choice,” with a keynote address by Salem State University Professor Nancy Lusignan Schultz, author of Fire & Roses: The Burning of the Charlestown Convent, 1834. Dr. Cara Candal presented a policy briefing on a newly released research paper that she co-authored with Dr. Ken Ardon, “Modeling Urban Scholarship Vouchers in Massachusetts.”
The event also included a panel featuring former Ambassador to the Vatican and Boston Mayor, Raymond Flynn; Thomas Gosnell, President of the American Federation of Teachers-Massachusetts; and Kathleen Mears, Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Boston.
Ambassador Flynn devoted his Boston Herald column to the topic of this event (published Sunday, August 2, 2015), “Kids, Families Deserve More“:
All kids deserve a great education — whether it’s in a public or private school — and a forum last week in Boston celebrated the progress that’s being made, especially in Catholic schools.
The Pioneer Institute, a leading research center, hosted the forum, and educational experts such as Kathy Mears, the superintendent of Catholic schools, Dr. Nancy Shultz, an author and expert on school choice, Tom Gosnell, president of the Mass Teachers Union, and Cara Candal, a professor at Boston University, took part.
Read the full article: “Kids, Families Deserve More.” View Ambassador Flynn’s remarks at the event (clip includes all panelists):
View Dr. Schultz’s PowerPoint presentation, referred to in the video clip below:
View Dr. Cara Stillings Candal’s policy presentation (and read the research study that she co-authored with Ken Ardon, “Modeling Urban Scholarship Vouchers in Massachusetts”; also read the press release):
Pioneer’s Center for School Reform Director Jamie Gass provided introductory remarks, watch here:
About the event:
The forum was co-sponsored by the Parents Alliance for Catholic Education, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Harvard’s Program on Education Policy and Governance, and the Friedman Legacy Day 2015.
Dr. Nancy Lusignan Schultz is Professor of English at Salem State University. Her scholarship integrates literature, history, and religion, with expertise in the history of U.S. Catholicism and American literature. Schultz is the author of the award-winning Fire & Roses: The Burning of the Charlestown Convent, 1834.
Ambassador Raymond Flynn is a former three-term Mayor of Boston, U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, and the bestselling author of The Accidental Pope and John Paul II, A Personal Portrait of the Pope and the Man.
Thomas Gosnell is President of the American Federation of Teachers- Massachusetts (AFT-MA). Mr. Gosnell was Vice President of the Boston Teachers Union and a member of its Executive Board. He served as an at-large member of the AFT-MA Executive Board from 1982 until his election as Secretary-Treasurer in 1988. He is a former Latin teacher.
Kathleen Mears is Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Boston. Previously, she was the Executive Director for Elementary Education for the National Catholic Educational Association and Assistant Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Kathleen began her career as Principal of St. Roch Catholic School in Indianapolis.
