April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
MULTI-SCHOOL MOMS AND DADS
Families juggle schedules of kids in different Catholic schools
All three of Mrs. Field's children attend Catholic schools -- three different Catholic schools. With her youngest, Katie, at St. Pius X School in Loudonville; her middle child, Hannah, at Catholic Central High School in Troy; and her oldest, Jack, at LaSalle Institute in Troy, Mrs. Field and her husband, Rick, are constantly running to school functions.
"Most nights are [about heading] in a different direction," said the busy mom. The family plans very carefully, manages time wisely and takes advantage of the fact that they have a lot of relatives in the Albany Diocese. "We divide and conquer" among grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, Mrs. Field explained.
One thing the Fields do almost every night is eat dinner together - although it may not be at the same time every night.
"It's very informal," Mrs. Field said. "It's the one time at the end of the day where we can touch base with everybody and make sure we are all in contact."
Wait a year
Lisa Kuban, whose daughters, Nadia and Ella, attend, respectively, Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School and St. Kateri Tekakwitha School in Schenectady, is excited for next year, when both are at ND-BG.
Right now, Mrs. Kuban has to make arrangements when only her Ella has a snow day or another day off from school. She also tends to be more involved at St. Kateri's, chairing the Parent-Teacher Organization, arranging teacher-appreciation breakfasts and helping with the elementary school's spring carnival.
"With Gibbons, I'll bake cookies for the musical or the eighth-grade dance, [but] there's not always an opportunity to chaperone something," Mrs. Kuban told The Evangelist.
She has a lot of support from other parents at her daughters' schools, noting that many St. Kateri's families choose ND-BG when their children move on to middle school.
Erminia Holloway is in the same situation: Her daughter, Ava, goes to St. Kateri's, while Sophia attends ND-BG. But Ava isn't too involved in extracurricular activities yet, though her mom knows that she will be once she gets to ND-BG.
By that time, Sophia will have graduated and gone to college. Currently, she's a busy junior at ND-BG: She takes pictures for the yearbook, participates in the National Honor Society and even painted the inside of the school during the summer.
On her own
Her mom is excited for the day Sophia gets her driver's license.
"She already has a car in the driveway that her grandparents gave her," said Mrs. Holloway. Although the mom wants her daughter to be more self-sufficient, she noted that "it will be weird. You get used to carting kids around."
But "it's hard balancing everything," Mrs. Field said. "There's a lot of fundraising to keep these schools moving along."
The payoff? "A huge sense of community," said Mrs. Field. "Because the school tends to be a little bit smaller than the traditional public schools, everyone knows everyone. You always know that you can count on each other."
All about community
Mrs. Kuban noted that, when her oldest was considering attending a Catholic high school instead of a public school, that community feeling at ND-BG sealed the deal.
"The teachers are very supportive," Mrs. Kuban said, remembering that the principal emailed her on Nadia's first day of school, reassuring the nervous mom that her daughter was fitting in well in the new environment.
Running from one Catholic school to another to juggle several children's schedules can be a challenge, all the parents said, but "at the end of the day, it's worth it," said Mrs. Field. "I hope our kids will look back and feel the same way."[[In-content Ad]]
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