Since 2015, the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence (CSCOE) has raised and distributed millions of dollars to preschool-8th grade Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, and in 2022, we started working with every preschool-8th grade Catholic school in Minnesota.
CSCOE invests in professional development for principals and teachers, literacy, math, STEM and arts programing for students, technology, preschools, teacher compensation, and marketing and development activities in the schools, among other important initiatives.
We love supporting Catholic elementary schools! Thank you for helping Catholic schools survive and thrive for generations to come – through your prayers, volunteer efforts, and financial support.
Mission
Our mission at the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence (CSCOE) is to enhance excellence and increase enrollment in preschool-8th grade Catholic schools in Minnesota.
Vision
Our vision is to transform education through an innovative and entrepreneurial approach that produces a sustainable, “best-in-class” model for preschool-8th grade education.
Our Story
In the two decades before CSCOE’s founding, more than 20 Minneapolis-St. Paul area Catholic schools closed their doors. Others teetered on the brink of closure. Many more were fast losing the funds to invest in their classrooms. The conversation was one of decline. We wanted to help change that narrative to one of hope, possibility, growth and thinking big for Catholic schools.
In 2014, we conducted an extensive school survey and personally visited every preschool-8th grade school in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis to understand their challenges and our opportunities to support them. Armed with the survey results, CSCOE was formed as an independent nonprofit composed of lay people who love Catholic schools and work tirelessly to see them thrive. The vision and generosity of our key funder, Dick Schulze and the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation launched us, and today, a whole community of Catholic school supporters make our mission possible.
How We Work
We are entrepreneurial and driven. We relentlessly pursue excellence. We keep our promises. And we honor and respect partner schools.
Our approach is bottom-up. We listen to principals and teachers and implement the best ideas that will have the greatest impact. We are 100% opt-in and are proud that every preschool-8th grade Catholic school in Minnesota has chosen to join us.
When looking for solutions, we seek out the best of the best to provide world-class partners and top resources for our schools. And we recognize the local experts within the walls of our schools. Thus, we fund solutions that increase excellence in the system as a whole, while still respecting the uniqueness of each school.