Celebrating Your Catholic School: A Catholic Schools Week Guide for Leaders

Each year, Catholic Schools Week (CSW) offers Catholic school administrators a powerful opportunity to celebrate your community and reinforce your faith-filled mission.

There are more than 1.68 million students in 5,852 Catholic schools nationwide according to National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) data. Your school’s story matters as part of this national story. This article provides practical tips and a checklist to help you tell this story in and beyond your community.

The Value of a Catholic Education

Catholic school leaders likely need no reminder about the value and impact of a Catholic education for students. In the 2024 NAEP assessments for grades 4 and 8, students in Catholic schools out‑scored their public‑school peers. Catholic schools have 99% high school graduation rates and 86% college attendance rates. Catholic schools are providing $24 billion in savings each year for the nation based on average public school per pupil cost.

Beyond data and metrics, a Catholic education forms the whole child—mind, heart, and spirit—fostering moral development, social responsibility, and a sense of purpose. Students learn how to live out faith in daily life, cultivate virtues, and develop a commitment to service and community. This holistic formation helps young people grow into alumni and adults who lead with character, empathy, and a lifelong love of learning rooted in their Catholic identity.

The Importance of Catholic Schools Week

Catholic Schools Week provides a dedicated moment to showcase the unique strengths of a Catholic education from academic excellence to faith formation and community engagement. For Catholic school leaders, it is an opportunity to reflect on the essential work of spiritual leadership in guiding their communities to form the next generation of disciples. It is also an opportunity to tell the unique stories of schools, to celebrate achievements, and to create meaningful connections with families and parish partners.

Catholic Schools Week is a reminder of the profound impact of a Catholic education on students, families, and communities. See a Welcome to Catholic Schools Week from Robert Birdsell, President of Catholic Education Services.

The National Context

Catholic Schools Week is observed annually from the last Sunday in January through the following Saturday. In the 2024–25 school year, NCEA reported more than 1.5 million students enrolled in nearly 6,000 Catholic schools across the United States, showing the enduring relevance and importance of Catholic education in the United States, certainly cause for celebration.

Mission + Marketing = An Opportunity

Although a second week, Discover Catholic Schools Week, is held annually in the fall to help schools connect with prospective families, donors, educators and community members, January’s Catholic Schools Week celebration is also an opportunity to tell your story to the wider community. CSW is both a celebration and an invitation. Catholic schools can use this week to deepen relationships with current families and invite those who would like to learn more about a Catholic education at your school. The 2026 theme— “Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community” —provides a foundation on which to build targeted communications that align mission, academic quality, and community life.

Celebrate and share your school’s mission with clarity and confidence with this checklist for leaders and administrators for Catholic Schools Week.

How to Share Your Story During Catholic Schools Week

Here are some ways that Catholic schools can use the opportunity of Catholic Schools Week to tell their own unique story within and beyond the community. Incorporate some of these strategies and suggestions into your Catholic School Week celebrations in January.

Refine What Success Looks Like at Your School

What objectives would complement your ongoing mission: new family inquiries, prospective student tour engagement, volunteer participation, alumni involvement? Layer these with narrative goals—stories of student achievement, faculty impact, or partnerships—to capture the full breadth of your school’s contribution.

Highlight growth in student faith formation, service-learning impact, and alumni engagement alongside enrollment numbers. Using a holistic approach helps communicate to both internal and external audiences that Catholic Schools Week can be a lens into the full, unique story of your school community. Measuring success this way not only informs Catholic Schools Week planning but will also inform and strengthen year-round communications.

Planning Steps to Consider

Build a Collaborative Leadership Team

Consider including faculty who lead faith formation, service projects, curricular innovations, or student leadership. Student leaders, parent ambassadors, and alumni provide authentic perspectives, ensuring that your week of celebration is meaningful and resonates with your entire community. This ensures that each CSW day, whether celebrating parish, students, or families, reflects multiple perspectives and deepens engagement across the community.

Adapt the National Theme with Local Identity

Leverage the NCEA theme of “Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community” as a flexible framework. Deepen it with school-specific storytelling: highlighting partnerships with local parishes, faith-based service projects, or academic innovation. Craft messaging that resonates with both your mission and community voice, reinforcing your school’s identity while connecting to the national celebration.

Make a Daily Catholic Schools Week Plan

Assign each day of CSW to a purposeful focus that aligns with your ongoing mission and engagement goals:

• Sunday: Celebrating Your Parish—acknowledge the foundational partnership between parish and school, including kickoff Masses or parish-wide welcomes.
• Monday: Celebrating Your Community—highlight service projects, outreach initiatives, and collaborations with local organizations.
• Tuesday: Celebrating Your Students—showcase student achievements, projects, and personal stories that reflect faith and learning in action.
• Wednesday: Celebrating the Nation—reflect on the broader impact of Catholic education and engage civic leaders, community partners, or alumni.
• Thursday: Celebrating Vocations—focus on calls to service, including teachers, clergy, lay ministry, and student vocations in action.
• Friday: Celebrating Faculty, Staff, and Volunteers—recognize the dedication of educators, staff, and volunteers who make Catholic education possible.
• Saturday: Celebrating Families—honor parents, guardians, and family involvement through interactive events, recognition, and storytelling.

Each day of Catholic Schools Week can reinforce your unique narrative, highlight partnerships, and complement your existing initiatives to ensure that your Catholic Schools Week celebration is an opportunity to engage.

Communication and Outreach Strategy

CSW should be both aspirational and grounded in your school’s story. Highlight faith formation, academic excellence, or success stories of partnerships. Incorporate statistics, alumni stories, and service milestones to showcase impact, while emphasizing your school’s unique identity. NCEA provides multiple resources and suggestions for promotion.

Deepen Engagement with Current and Prospective Families

Use your CSW touchpoints to integrate meaningful interactions with students, faculty, and alumni that feature your school’s unique story as a faith-filled learning community. Telling this story is a natural chance to connect with those who are interested in a Catholic education at your school.

Use Digital and Social Channels to Expand Reach

Consider amplifying your story on social media to encourage family and student participation in creating content, such as testimonials, service highlights, and classroom showcases. High-quality, authentic visual content extends your reach and reinforces your school’s commitment to faith, learning, and service and builds a community connection around your celebration efforts.

Creative CSW Ideas

As you plan to celebrate your school’s unique story and the value of a Catholic education, here are a few ideas to consider.

• Service-Centered Initiatives
  • Integrate service opportunities with existing programs.
  • Organize community service drives, student-led outreach, or partnership projects with local parishes.
  • Highlight contributions in communications to showcase faith in action.
• Visual Storytelling Showcases
  • Capture the week with compelling photos or short videos.
  • Consider features like “A Day in the Life at Our Catholic School” or alumni reflections.
  • Use content for recruitment, mission messaging, and year-round storytelling.
• Engagement
  • Consider faculty-led demonstrations and student showcases.
  • Include thematic displays connecting faith, learning, and community.
  • Prepare staff and volunteers to consistently reinforce the school’s narrative, during CSW and beyond.
• Alumni and Parish Partnerships
  • Invite alumni to share stories of long-term impact from their Catholic education.
  • Engage parish leaders to emphasize the broader community and mission connection.

Promote Retention and Enrollment with Expertise

Engage Current Families

Recognize and celebrate existing families, alumni, and volunteers as integral parts of your school’s story. Share behind-the-scenes moments, invite families to participate in leadership roles, and amplify their voices campaigns. Engaged families naturally become ambassadors, supporting both retention and outreach.

Keep the CSW Momentum Going

Your Catholic Schools Week efforts and celebrations can last all year. Keep up your most effective efforts: family engagement, social content, volunteer participation, and stories of impact. Year-round communications, programming, and admissions strategies can continue from the momentum of this week.

Catholic Schools Week is a celebration and a chance to share your Catholic school’s unique story, reinforce mission, deepen community, and expand your reach to prospective families. By leveraging partnerships, storytelling, and thoughtful communications and initiatives, your school can ensure that this celebratory week amplifies its impact throughout the year.