Mission
School of Faith is a program of catechesis and Catholic
formation created in response to John Paul II's call within
the "New Evangelization" to help both university
students and Catholic adults deepen their faith. The primary
work of School of Faith is to provide Catholic formation in
cooperation with the local Bishop on university campuses and
within local parishes. School of Faith also provides teacher
training for Catholic schools in the work of renewing a
Catholic identity in Catholic primary and secondary schools.
In 2004 John Paul II encouraged the creation of
campus-based "schools of faith" where students
might harmonize their academic formation with their Catholic
beliefs. Envisioning the schools of faith that he hoped
would soon become a reality, the Holy Father said:
"I am delighted with the suggestion to promote
schools of faith (italics in original) in the heart of
university institutions, or outside them but with their
support, for they are particularly well-suited to providing
high-quality teaching, faithful to the Magisterium, in a
perspective that is not only intellectual but also concerned
to develop the spiritual and liturgical life of the
Christian people and help them discover the moral
requirements associated with living in accordance with the
Gospel…this harmonization between rational understanding
of the gift revealed and an inculturated transmission of it
is one of the world's challenges today."
It is the mission of School of Faith to realize this
vision.
Currently, School of Faith provides classes in nine
parishes within the Archdiocese of Kansas City, as well as
teacher formation for one of the local high schools, and
instruction to over three hundred university students at the
University of Kansas. The School of Faith instructors also
speak at a variety of Catholic education conferences and
workshops.
Tuition
School of Faith is a non-profit and independently funded
501(c)3 organization. Teacher salaries and organizational
overhead is funded by private donations and course tuition.
While no interested student is turned away, the suggested
tuition per student per semester is $250, or $400 per
couple. This enables School of Faith to provide free
education and formation for over 300 university students at
the University of Kansas. School of Faith is also building
its teaching capacity in order to expand to other large
cities and non-Catholic universities in the near future.
Over ninety percent of Catholic university students
attend non-Catholic schools, and without a strong Catholic
student center, many of these students do not have an
opportunity to develop their spiritual lives along with
their intellectual formation. It is also interesting to note
that most Catholic primary and secondary school teachers
attended non-Catholic universities. If these teachers did
not receive Catholic formation during college, it is likely
they will not be fully prepared to provide Catholic
formation to their students. School of Faith is building a
model of university Catholic formation to provide better
formation for our future teachers. Since School of Faith
does not receive any financial support from the Archdiocese,
or individual parishes, the tuition for School of Faith is
needed for staff salaries and overhead, and to develop a
training program for other university student centers.
With each class students receive notes and handouts and
full access to our website, which includes audio files of
each class and on-line postings of class notes. If tuition
is a hardship, scholarships are available. We will not turn
any student away due to tuition.
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