It is the responsibility of the entire Catholic community—bishops, priests, deacons, religious, and laity—to continue to strive towards the goal of making our Catholic elementary and secondary schools available, accessible, and affordable to all Catholic parents and their children, including those who are poor and middle class. All Catholics must join together in efforts to ensure that Catholic schools have administrators and teachers who are prepared to provide an exceptional educational experience for young people—one that is both truly Catholic and of the highest academic quality (pp. 1).For these reasons, I believe the decision to invest in Catholic education remains the right decision. I also believe it is important for you to know how much of an investment we are making. The cost to educate one student in our parish school is approximately $8,000 whereas our tuition rate for Catholic families is $1,250. While that may appear shocking, the investment has worked for six years! That is amazing news, and it is a testament to the community of St. Martha Parish! Congratulations on making Catholic education available, affordable, and accessible in our area! I am incredibly thankful for your generosity in making this investment possible and real. I am also incredibly thankful to our dedicated and highly qualified teaching faculty, staff, and volunteers and the leadership of our outstanding principal, Mrs. Andrea Patton.