Has ideas on funding education

The new director of development for the Catholic schools of the Albany Diocese says she "thrives on energy." That's a good thing, because she has lofty goals for strengthening all of the Catholic elementary and high schools in the Diocese.

Nicki Pezzulo told The Evangelist that she hadn't considered leaving her position as development director for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Capital Region -- until she heard about the opening in the Catholic Schools Office.

As soon as she read the job description, she said, "I fell in love with it."

Potential seen

Ms. Pezzulo, a Latham native and alumnus of Siena College in Loudonville, believes there is "a lot of potential" for development to support Catholic education.

"So many of the schools have such a need for development," she explained. "It's unbelievable that there aren't any scholarships that are centralized for the Diocese."

However, she cautioned, school administrators, board members and other leaders must understand that development is an ongoing need, not a simple fundraiser.

"It's not a bake sale; it's not Bingo," Ms. Pezzulo stated. "It's building sustainable funds."

Goals

Already, the new director has developed two major goals:

* raising money for the "Power Schools" initiative, a web-based management system for schools through which parents can check their children's grades and attendance online; and

* beginning a tuition assistance program for urban families with children in Catholic schools.

"I'm really excited about it," she said of the latter project.

Pluses of schools

Ms. Pezzulo told The Evangelist that development for Catholic schools should become easier as people start seeing how crucial it is to support them.

Catholic schools, she said, provide both quality education and a "spiritual presence," and also "teach Christian values, right decision-making processes and giving back to the community."

Ms. Pezzulo pointed out that many non-Catholic families, particularly in inner-city areas, send their children to Catholic schools because of those values.

Having listened to local principals speak about their neediest students at a recent meeting, the director said, "I was so moved that I know people are going to want to participate in scholarship funds, as well."

(Ms. Pezzulo urged Catholics to contact her with questions or suggestions at 453-6666.)

(1/26/06) [[In-content Ad]]