Making Catholic Education Inclusive and Accessible

Abriana Chilelli describes the beginning of Fire Foundation Denver as nothing short of providential. Just as Covid came on the scene, several parents of children with disabilities wrote in large numbers to the Archdiocese of Denver with the request for support to help them educate their children in Catholic schools, many of which were not prepared for special needs students. Soon, with Archbishop Aquila’s blessing, a group of mothers of special needs children organized to start Fire Foundation Denver, replicating Fire Foundation Kansas City where the model began. With a board in place, the foundation began fundraising and awarding grants right away. With success stories to share, the foundation grew in three years from granting $100,000 to three schools to granting $500,000 to fourteen schools.

Kyle Van Frank champions Catholic education, saying it has always been a vanguard for forming young people in a way that recognizes “dignity, truth, goodness in the child and to form them in very apt and appropriate settings. I think this is the next chapter for Catholic education across our country.” 

The Church’s vision of the dignity of the human person orients the true nature of education. “It’s not for production, it’s not skills training, it’s not career preparation,” Abriana states, adding, “Education is the whole formation of the human person, for the human person himself, in order to see reality well, both naturally and supernaturally, and to come to understand the truth and the freedom of Jesus Christ himself, the Logos who created and ordered all things.” Kyle adds, “At the end of the day, the aim and purpose is to prepare our young children to be saints.” In this regard, kids with disabilities, who often live without malice, are great peacemakers and are a blessing to those around them. “All hearts are widened as a result of this work.”

Guests: Abriana Chilelli, Assistant Director of Catholic Education, Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon; Kyle Van Frank, Executive Director, Fire Foundation Denver

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