Closing the Achievement Gap
Archdiocese of Detroit Receives Grant for Urban Catholic Schools

For Release June 19, 2007

Contact: Susan Leslie 
(313) 237-5750

The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) has awarded the Archdiocese of Detroit Office for Catholic Schools a grant for $10,000 through the Father Michael J. McGivney Memorial Fund for New Initiatives in Catholic Education.

The project, Closing the Achievement Gap in Detroit City Catholic Schools, will serve all urban elementary Catholic schools in an effort to narrow the achievement gap in math and reading and increase scores on annual standardized tests. According to the U.S. Department of Education, since 1965 the math and reading scores of urban children living in poverty have been consistently lower than those of other students,

The grant will fund the purchase of a formative testing software package designed to assess and monitor math and reading skills for students in grades three through seven. Testing will be conducted each marking period. Teachers will receive immediate feedback on individual students' skill levels and offered strategies on how to structure and differentiate lesson plans according to the unique needs of the student. Teachers will also receive professional development to ensure that the application of the testing results is effective.

According to Susan Leslie, associate superintendent and curriculum director in the Archdiocese of Detroit, "We are very grateful to the NCEA and the Knights of Columbus for this grant. Through this grant, we hope to raise math and reading skills for those with deficiencies and, at the same time, ensure that our more gifted students are achieving to their fullest potential. By testing each child, we can individualize the instruction which is best for each student and continue the Catholic school tradition of academic excellence."

The Father Michael J. McGivney Memorial Fund is an endowed fund established by the Knights of Columbus in 1980 in memory of its founder and is designed to address specific needs and concerns of urban and inner-city Catholic schools on a national, regional or diocesan level in the U.S. and Canada.

The Archdiocese of Detroit currently has ten elementary schools in Detroit.