Large diocesan families choose Catholic school education

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
Jan. 25, 2007

Several large families in the Diocese of Sioux City have made the choice to send their children to Catholic schools.

Ken and Lisa Madsen of Denison have eight children. Three of their children, Alexander (10th grade), Anastasia (ninth grade) and Christina (seventh grade), have graduated from sixth grade at St. Rose of Lima School. Currently two of their children, Elizabeth (fourth grade) and Nicholas (first grade), are attending at St. Rose. The other three children include Tatiana (5), who will start at St. Rose next fall, Victoria (3) and Virginia (six months).

Lisa pointed out that she and her husband decided to send their children to a Catholic school "so that they would have a good faith-based education and that they could carry that on and have a closer relationship with God."

She wants her children to be able to show their faith and the fact that they are Christians to other people.

"They want to go to church. Anastasia makes sure that she makes it to Mass. They pray before meals. I can see that it has been instilled in them more. I did not go to Catholic school until college. I see a huge difference," said Lisa.

She added that her children know the rosary and it is a normal part of their life.

"They have that close relationship to God and hopefully that will carry on through the rest of their lives too," said Lisa.

The Madsens plan to send their three youngest children to Catholic school once they are old enough.

Kenny and Jill Powers of Pocahontas have five children. Maria (eighth grade), Joey (sixth grade), graduates of Pocahontas Catholic; Mitchell (second grade) and Sarah (prep-school) are students at Pocahontas Catholic. Their fifth child, Nicholas, is a 1-year-old.

One of the reasons the couple sends their children to the Catholic school is the teacher to student ratio - ten to one.

"We like the way the setting is and being able to pray in school. That is worth a lot to us," said Jill. "I do think the teachers do an exceptional job in educating our kids."

She noted that she likes how the teachers are able to have one-on-one time with a child if they have special need. She sees a lot of value in that.

"At other schools, teachers don't have time to give them individual attention. To me, the attention, is worth a lot of value," said Jill.

Kenny attended Pocahontas Catholic along with several brothers and sisters. Jill noted that this was a factor in the couple sending their own children to the school.

Jeff and Barb Fitzsimmons of Vail have six children, five of which have attended or are attending school in the Carroll Kuemper School System. Megan and Jessie graduated from Kuemper and are currently attending Creighton University in Omaha. Jake is in high school. Nick is in junior high and Mitch is in elementary school. Tommy, the youngest, will go to school in the Kuemper system in a few years.

"We just thought it gave them a good base for making good decisions, thinking of other people, how to be a good person and how your faith can be part of everything that you do - not just something you do on Sundays. It is part of every class and every part of your day," said Barb. "We wanted them to have that."

She commented that sending the children to a Catholic school is a challenge and a priority - "it's not cheap."

"We have qualified for a few grants or scholarships," said Barb. "We have definitely made it a priority. We have had to cut back in other areas to make it work. We have always felt it was worth it."

Barb pointed out that the Catholic school atmosphere is an "accepting" one.

"They see that each one of us is a gift from God whether we have strengths or weaknesses," said the mother of six. "They are going to accept you either way."

Another family with five children, the Byrkeland family, has children at Algona Bishop Garrigan High School and Seton Grade School. Rachel, a senior, and Holly, a sophomore, are students at Garrigan. Hannah, sixth grade and Gianna, first grade, are students at Seton. Isaiah, the youngest, is three. Rachel plans to attend a Catholic college in the fall.

John Byrkeland is a 1977 graduate of Garrigan and currently the fourth grade teacher and guidance counselor at Seton Grade School. Beth Byrkeland is the business manager for the Garrigan School System.

According to Beth, the couple made the decision to send their children to a Catholic school "because we feel that a Catholic education is the best choice for our kids, especially in this day and age when there are so many issues out there."

"I think the teachers that we have in the system are excellent," said Beth. "A lot of them have been here for many years. Over 50 percent have been here for 15 years or more. They (kids) learn about God every day this way, instead of just once a week."

Beth mentioned that she went to religious education (CCD) classes growing up in Fort Dodge. She has learned a lot from her children and husband, who are going to a Catholic school or went to a Catholic school.

"It is a sacrifice that you make for your kids," said Beth. "If we worked in the public school system, we could be making a lot more money. We could choose for the kids to go to the public school and it wouldn't cost as much, but that is not the reason that we are here. We work for the system because we believe in it. We want our kids to get the best education that they can. We think that they can get their best education right here in the Catholic school."

Beth hopes her children will also see the value in Catholic education and will send their children to a Catholic school in the future as well.

Jim and Terry Foell of Storm Lake have five children that have graduated from or are currently going to St. Mary's in Storm Lake. Their children include Amy, Nicholas, Mindy, Jeff and Jon. Terry is the pre-kindergarten through eighth grade secretary at St. Mary's.

Amy and her husband Jamey Wojciechowski live in Plymouth, Minn. Nicholas and his wife Kim live in Storm Lake. Mindy and her husband Bret Wiltse live in Burlington, Iowa. Jeff is a sophomore at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., and Jon is a junior at Storm Lake St. Mary High School.

Terry expressed that she and Jim decided to send their five children to Catholic school because "I wanted them to be able to experience their faith all hours of the day. I wanted them to be able to hear and pray together as a group. I wanted them to say the name of Jesus and Christ while they are at school."

"I wanted them to learn to be more service-oriented," said Terry. "You try to teach them to be aware and be more Christ-like. The opportunity here is greater and more often."

She mentioned that their son Nick and his wife Kim had a child with severe health issues. Their daughter passed away a year ago.

"The school family embraced all of us, which was a wonderful scenario," said Terry. "It reinforces why we chose Catholic schools. It is another opportunity to show by actually doing things."

Terry is glad that her children have the faith-base from Catholic schools to help get through different circumstances in life. She thinks that "those things help strengthen them and they experience growth."

"Jeff is at St. John's, a Catholic college. He is strong enough that he wants to know more about his faith, so he has joined a Bible study on his own without any prompting from us," said Terry. "I think it is pretty amazing, for a boy especially, to recognize those things. Sometimes I don't think that happens without that faith-base going on ahead of time that they got from going to Catholic school."

She added that her oldest daughter, Amy, graduated from a Catholic college and met her husband there. Amy and Jamey have been a sponsor couple and helped chair a mission group.

"They are very strong in their faith life. Their young sons are now learning their prayers," said Terry. "Without that faith-base, they wouldn't be doing any of those things."