Biggest lesson after 20 years of special education in Catholic schools

Francesca Pellegrino’s decades-long campaign to help kids with special needs access a Catholic education began with her own son more than 20 years ago.

“We started out with a vision to try and fulfill an unmet need in our Catholic community, and really the inspiration behind it all was my son and the hope that he could go to Catholic school,” she said in an interview with Aleteia.

Pellegrino’s hope for a Catholic-school education for her son led her to found the Catholic Coalition for Special Education to advocate for and facilitate an appropriate, inclusive, high-quality education for students with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities in Catholic schools in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. 

You can read here about the tuition grants, professional development, and targeted assistance that the CCSE makes possible, allowing children with disabilities to attend Catholic schools alongside their siblings and friends.

While unfortunately her son didn’t end up attending Catholic school — “Apparently, the Lord had other plans” — Pellegrino has made it her life’s work to help children with special needs attend Catholic school.

And as for her son? He’s now serving as a teaching aide in a Catholic school in Washington, D.C. “So in his own roundabout way he found himself at Catholic school,” she said.

The Catholic Coalition for Special Education (CCSE) was a one-woman show for 20 years, but its leadership is expanding as the organization enters its third decade. 

For years, Pellegrino served as both chair of the board of directors and as the executive officer. She said, “We’ve now separated those two roles, which I’m hoping will free me up to focus more on implementing our programs and setting the schedule for future growth.”

Now Anna McDermott-Vitak will serve as the new President of the Board of Directors. McDermott-Vitak brings a wealth of business acumen and expertise from both the nonprofit sector and the corporate world. And she has a special personal interest in CCSE’s mission: Her daughter, Breanna, directly experienced the transformative impact of CCSE’s programs. 

“Anna has been a part of CCSE as a parent, donor, volunteer and board member. She knows and loves this organization and its mission,” said Pellegrino. 

If there’s one thing Pellegrino learned in 20 years of advocating for children with special needs to attend Catholic school, it’s that all children benefit from having children with disabilities in the classroom.

“When children with and without disabilities are educated together, all students benefit, academically, socially and spiritually,” Pellegrino said. “I think that is something people don’t always realize. Parents have concerns that for their children without disabilities, the academic rigor might be negatively affected. When programs are well implemented, that is not at all the case.”

Aleteia reached out to a student who took part in a CCSE program. Theresa Brogan was one of the first students to benefit from the founding of CCSE.

She attended St. John the Evangelist Catholic School in Silver Spring, Maryland, and then received a certificate from The Academy of the Holy Cross high school, both schools that received multiple grants from CCSE. 

She recently graduated from a certificate program at Vanderbilt University: “I loved it there,” she said. 

Today Brogan serves as a CCSE Ambassador who represents and assists CCSE through community outreach, fundraising, and social media promotion to advocate for inclusive Catholic education.

“My siblings went to Catholic school and I really want to be like my siblings in going to a Catholic school,” she said. “CCSE benefited my life because they prepared me to go to a Catholic school and they also prepared me for public speaking at their events when I helped over the years.”

If you’d like to learn more or get involved, check out the many resources available on the CCSE website.

CCSE recently published Believe In Me!, a publication outlining guiding principles for teachers and administrators at Catholic schools. You can download it here. A video series outlining these principles is also in the works.

CCSE is beginning preparations for its 20th-anniversary spring benefit in March of 2025. This event not only raises needed funds but is also an opportunity for “educating our audience, raising awareness of the needs, and including students with disabilities,” Pellegrino said.

As CCSE grows, its work is having a national impact as it connects with organizations doing similar work in other parts of the United States.

“In the last 20 years, small organizations have started to emerge in other parts of the country, and we are in touch with each other,” Pellegrino said. “What we are now seeing is a real Catholic-school inclusion movement. There is clearly great interest in our work.”

Read more:Finally, a religious education curriculum designed for kids with special needs

Read more:The saint who reminds me what education is all about