AMU to host Catholic group's national meeting

When the National Association of Private Catholic* and Independent Schools (NAPC*IS) comes to Ave Maria University later this week, AMU event coordinator Jack Rook hopes both organizations will benefit from the eighth annual conference.

This is the second time the university will host the California-based nonprofit organization, said Eileen Cubanski, executive director of NAPC*IS. Prior to holding the conference at AMU, NAPC*IS has held the conference at Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Mich. The two organizations have had a relationship since the early days, Rook said, because of shared interests.

"We are, in a certain sense, partners in ministry because our missions overlap," Rook said. "We are both encouraging Catholic education in private and independent schools. Their level of support is just in K-12."

NAPC*IS is a national organization that works to organize and foster private and independent education based in the Catholic faith. Most of the more than 60 NAPC*IS schools are not approved by a diocese and were started by groups of lay Catholics looking to give community members a different option to diocesan schools, Cubanski said.

There is only one NAPC*IS school in Florida, Cubanski said, but Ave Maria Grammar and Preparatory School, the kindergarten through 12th-grade school planned for the town of Ave Maria, is expected to be a NAPC*IS member school as well.

NAPC*IS has more than 60 member schools, and a mailing list of about 180 private and independent schools based in the Catholic faith, Cubanski said. More than 50 people are expected to attend the three-day leadership conference this weekend, Rook said.

The conference is open to anyone interested in private and independent Catholic education, Rook said.

The conference starts on Friday evening and goes through Monday afternoon. While the three-day conference is geared toward anyone interested in private and independent Catholic education, supplemental workshops will be held before and after the main conference for administrators, Rook said.

The conference won't only be of benefit to community members, though. Rook said AMU faculty members generally attend the conference as a way to assess the needs of future students.

Hosting the conference also gives K-12 education leaders a chance to learn more about the growing university.

"We want to get to know our colleagues better, but we also want people to get to know us better," Rook said. "One of the interesting things happening here is that lots of people know about us, but we are growing and changing so fast that they can't know exactly what's happening every day."

The conference will give faculty members a chance to sit down with NAPC*IS members and tell them our story, Rook said.

"(Conference goers) will have a great chance to interact with our students and faculty," Rook said. "It's really one big happy family. They're just good, solid citizens who are very interested in the faith."

Rook said there are still spots open for community members interested in participating in the conference. For more information or to register for the NAPC*IS conference, call Rook at (239) 280-2500.