A parent-led movement for Catholic grade schools
Anchor your school in the Golden Rule.
One page. Eight promises. Signed by families who want the Faith their children are taught in religion class to be just as visible in the hallway, the lunchroom, and the group chat.
Why it exists
The Faith is not just a subject.
We choose a Catholic school on purpose, not for the academics alone, but because the Faith is to be taught in religion class and lived in the hallway, the lunchroom, the sports field, and the group chat. That is what we are here for, and what we ought to be able to expect: of our children, of ourselves, and of this community.
- Every child is made in the image of God and bears a dignity no one else’s behavior may diminish.
- The Golden Rule is the standard of a Christian community, not merely its aspiration.
- How children treat one another is an essential part of Catholic formation, not an interruption to it.
- Parents are the first educators of their children; the school is our indispensable partner, never our replacement.
And it often does not look like that.
Not because anyone intends otherwise, but because whatever is merely tolerated becomes normal, and normal eventually becomes the goal.
Among the children
The "harmless" teasing that was "just kidding". The group chat that turns against one of the children. The same child left out of the gathering again.
Among the parents — the harder half
Parents choose to gripe to others over direct communication. When a parent chooses direct communication, they are immediately met with the defensive "not my child" or "your child is the real problem".
Closing that gap is what this is for. Families. On purpose. Together.
Read the Convictions in full →The pledge
Eight promises, one page.
This is the whole ask — signed as a household, renewed each fall, and made first of all about ourselves.
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”Matthew 7:12
- 01The standardWe hold the Golden Rule as the standard for our children and ourselves — not an aspiration.
- 02HumilityOur child is capable of unkindness. If another parent comes to us, we listen and look for the truth before we defend.
- 03DirectnessA concern about another family’s child goes to that family — privately and promptly, never to the group chat.
- 04TeachingWe teach our children to include the excluded and to refuse to be an audience for cruelty.
- 05RepairWhen our child causes harm, we require apology, restitution, and changed behavior — at home, whatever the school does.
- 06DevicesFiltered, supervised, out of bedrooms overnight, and open to our review at any time.
- 07PresenceWe show up — for gatherings, and for other families in a hard season.
- 08PrayerWe pray for the children of this school by name, especially the ones hardest to love.
How it starts
Sign privately. Nobody stands alone.
- 1You sign, privatelyNo one is told — not the other parents, not the school.
- 2Eight families activate a gradeAll eight are introduced at once. No family stands alone.
- 3A Homeroom Host holds the roomOne or two families per classroom — the point of contact, so every family hears about it and nobody goes unnoticed.
Start there, and nowhere else.
A first year needs the pledge and a few families willing to hold it — two or three to lead, a host per homeroom. From there a community adds whatever it has appetite for: formation nights, a children's program, trained facilitators. All of it is offered, none of it is required, and it tends to arrive on its own as the standard takes root.
Before you sign
The three things people ask first.
Will this put me crosswise with the school?
No. The pledge is a promise about our own households — how we raise our own children, and how we bring a concern to another family. It names no one and asks nothing of the school. This runs alongside the school, not against it: same mission, parents doing their part of it.
Will anyone know I signed?
Not until eight families in your child’s grade have. Until then your signature is private. The school is never notified and receives no list.
Am I signing up for meetings?
No. The pledge is the commitment; everything else is an invitation. Formation nights, gatherings, a children’s program — all offered, never required, and taken up as a community has appetite for them.
St. Dominic Savio
Our patron
A schoolboy — fourteen when he died, canonized for the holiness of an ordinary school life. At his school he organized his classmates into a company of mutual care: he defended the smallest boys from bullying, broke up fights, and befriended the friendless. He is exactly what this asks our children to become.