Catholic schools in archdiocese receive $5.4 million grant from Lilly Endowment

Special to The Criterion

The archdiocese has received a $5.4 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Marion County K-12 Private Schools Initiative.

The grant is designed to help strengthen the academic achievement of students in Indianapolis and improve their prospects for success after high school.

With the grant, the 29 parochial and archdiocesan Catholic schools in Marion County will implement Project Magi: Know Your Gifts, Grow Your Gifts, Share Your Gifts.

The schools, which serve nearly 11,000 students, will collaborate with the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Schools (OCS) to initiate, enhance and expand evidence-based programs to support improved academic achievement.

Three private Catholic high schools in Indianapolis also received similar grants from Lilly Endowment: Brebeuf Jesuit, Cathedral and Providence Cristo Rey.

Although Project Magi will focus on schools in Marion County, OCS will share what it learns through the project with education leaders throughout the archdiocese. Within the archdiocese, Catholic schools serve nearly 23,000 students in 69 schools.

The awarding of the grant thrilled Brian Disney, superintendent of Catholic schools in the archdiocese.

“We are truly blessed by the generosity of Lilly Endowment to positively impact our students and schools,” Disney said. “Project Magi will support our ongoing efforts to provide outstanding Catholic education focused on making saints, preparing students for post-secondary success through offering rigorous academics and extracurriculars, and growing every day.”

Disney noted that Project Magi will build on the excellence of the Catholic schools in Marion County during the next five years. The project’s major initiatives include a comprehensive review of each school’s instructional programs, including classroom instruction, integration of the Catholic faith, assessment practices, its support systems, and the ways it meets the diverse needs of students.

With the findings from the reviews and other school data, the project will focus on improving and enhancing the efforts of the schools in these areas:

• Professional development for early career teachers and ongoing coaching to equip educators with the skills needed to be successful Catholic school educators.
• Development of student wellness programs that support mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being, ensuring that students are equipped for success both inside and outside the classroom.
• Development of adult wellness programs that foster a culture of wellness among educators and parents, recognizing that the well-being of adults directly impacts the school community.

The plans for Project Magi were developed with significant feedback from stakeholders. A steering committee was formed with school leaders representing a cross-section of archdiocesan schools in Marion County, OCS staff members and partners from Marian University in Indianapolis. Focus groups of school leaders and staff members were held in September.

Lilly Endowment is also making grants to public schools in Indianapolis through a separate, complementary initiative.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr., and his sons, Eli and J.K., Jr., through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company.

In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. The endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, and maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. †