New Catholic schools seeking more independence

The National Association of Private Catholic* and Independent Schools is looking to change the face of Catholic education, one community at a time.

NAPC*IS is a national organization that works with interested groups to form and operate schools based upon the Catholic faith, said Eileen Cubanski, executive director of NAPC*IS. There is currently only one NAPC*IS school in Florida, The School of the Immaculata in St. Petersburg, Cubanski said.

There’s a difference between a Catholic school and a NAPC*IS school, said Dan Guernsey, president of Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Mich. Guernsey also sits on the board of directors of NAPC*IS and will head the Ave Maria Grammar and Preparatory School once it opens in 2007.

“According to Catholic canon law, an entity such as a school can only call itself Catholic if a local bishop grants it that status,” Guernsey said. “In the case of the some 150 private schools started by the laity and which focus on teaching the Catholic faith, but are not part of the official diocesan structure, the bishop has the right to determine if they can call themselves Catholic or not.”

More simply, Cubanski said, the more than 60 NAPC*IS-affiliated schools were created by like-minded individuals looking for an alternative to diocesan education.

Royal Palm Academy in North Naples is one of those schools.

Bill Kupersmith, principal at Royal Palm Academy, quickly will correct community members if they ask about his school.

It’s not a Catholic school, he’ll tell them, but an independent school based upon Catholic faith and traditions.

While not a NAPC*IS member school, the school was started eight years ago by community members looking give people in the northern half of the county an opportunity to attend a Catholic-oriented school, since there weren’t any options available for those parents in the area, said Tom Huckins, executive director of Royal Palm Academy.

That’s one reason why private and independent schools based in the Catholic faith are popping up across the country, Guernsey said. The other is that parents are looking for a school that shares a similar belief system, he said.

“(Some people) have the perception that the Catholic school in the area doesn’t meet their religious requirements because it may not be focusing as much on the Catholic doctrine as they like,” Guernsey said.

Cubanski said most NAPC*IS schools, and the majority of the private and independent schools, were established to allow for more community control.

“Our parents are very concerned with what their students are exposed to,” Cubanski said. “Most are looking for a small school environment, and they’re also looking for an environment that is faithful. (Diocesan schools) have very little on-site control of what’s going on, and the schools have lost their control of (curriculum).”

The curriculum at Royal Palm Academy is set by the National Consultants for Education, affiliate of the Legionnaires of Christ, and it’s that curriculum that sets Royal Palm Academy apart from the diocesan schools in the area, Kupersmith said.

Throughout their time at the school, students will not work only on academic excellence, but also focus on Catholic formation, developing a strong sense of character and doing community service.

“I don’t think we’re better than any diocesan school,” Kupersmith said. “I think what distinguishes (our school) is our integral formation.”

Cubanski said her NAPC*IS-affiliated schools were not competing for students with diocesan schools.

“There is a community of good will between the two entities,” Cubanski said. “It is certainly not a closed-door environment.”

The Diocese of Venice did not respond to requests for comment.

Guernsey has said Ave Maria Grammar and Preparatory School will be a NAPC*IS-affiliated school once it opens in 2007.

NAPC*IS also may find a home in the town of Ave Maria, once work on the town is complete, Guernsey said.

“(Ave Maria University) is open to assisting (NAPC*IS) by providing it with operating space near the university because AMU believes in the value of Catholic education at all levels and wishes to assist in the formation and operation of Catholic schools in whatever way it can, whether such schools are opened and operated by religious orders, dioceses, parish priests or member of laity,” Guernsey said in an e-mail. “NAPC*IS is simply one way of many the university hopes to foster support (from) various manifestations of faithful in Catholic education.”