ICSF Back to Class Bus Tour Visits Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy

The Catholic Schools Foundation hosted the Back to Class Bus Tour on Wednesday May 20, 2009, visiting one of the 89 schools supported by its signature program, the Inner-City Scholarship Fund (ICSF). Over 60 donors and friends of the ICSF attended the Back to Class field trip to the Columbia Campus of Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy (PJP II), to see first-hand how their support of the ICSF helps to transform students' lives.

Guests were treated to student-led tours of the school, lunch with students and a musical performance including bells and violins by students in grades K1-5. Regional Director of PJP II, Mary Russo, and Principal for PJP II's Columbia Campus, Claire Sheridan, welcomed guests and highlighted some of the recent successes of PJP students - success stories which would be impossible without the generosity of donors to the ICSF.

Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy is the result of the consolidation of eight elementary schools in the Dorchester and Mattapan neighborhoods of Boston into one regional school on five campuses enrolling 1,400 students. Mike Reardon, Executive Director of the Catholic Schools Foundation, shared that nearly 5,400 scholarships were distributed in the current school year, with over $1 million in scholarships and program aid disbursed to help students at PJP II. Chairman of the ICSF, Peter Lynch, thanked donors for investing in the formula for success that Catholic schools provide.