Guy Ciarrocchi, Esq., Director of the Office for Public Affairs for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and Jill Snyder, Administrator of the Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS), will testify before the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Subcommittee on Basic Education regarding Catholic schools and the need for school choice legislation.

1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, August 24, 1999
Shusterman Hall (Park Mall and Berks Street)
Temple University
Philadelphia

Mr. Ciarrocchi's testimony will detail the primary factors in the overall success of Catholic education, such as parental involvement, a secure school environment, high expectations for student achievement and an emphasis on a core curriculum and religious and spiritual values.

Ms. Snyder will give a briefing on the BLOCS program, which was created twenty years ago to gather financial support for Catholic schools and to offer tuition grants to individuals based on financial need. Over 1,300 students were impacted by BLOC's funding during the 1998-1999 academic year.

In Philadelphia and its suburbs, 122,000 students are educated in 214 parish elementary schools, 22 Archdiocesan high schools and 29 private Catholic schools. During the 1998-1999 academic year, there were nearly 26,000 available spaces for students in those schools.

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