Written by Emma, 10th Grade Student, St. Genevieve Parish Schools
“We need to participate for the common good. Sometimes we hear: a good Catholic is not interested in politics. This is not true: good Catholics immerse themselves in politics by offering the best of themselves so that the leader can govern.”
— Pope Francis, Morning Meditation
Pope Francis’ words remind us that good Catholics don’t just stand on the sidelines but are active in helping to shape society. This truth revealed itself on July 4, 2025, when the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), also known as the Federal Tax Credit Scholarship (FTCS), was signed into law. Most students across the country, including my classmates and me, had no idea what this was or how historic this moment would be. As students at St. Genevieve Parish Schools, we were informed that this was our nation’s first federal scholarship tax-credit program with the potential to transform access to education for countless families. At St. Genevieve, 92 percent of our high school students receive financial aid. Our school is constantly working to never let the financial need of a student be the sole reason they can’t attend a Catholic school. As a Leadership class, we immediately understood how much the FTCS could benefit our community, along with other partners in education.
However, there was just one caveat: the governor of each state has to say “yes” to the FTCS. As soon as we learned this, our school knew it had to act, and so did we.
Seeing this opportunity, our school’s leadership team decided to create a new course called Leadership and Advocacy. This class was to learn what leadership and advocacy look like in real life, not just from textbooks, but from our work, specifically to convince Governor Newsom to opt California into the FTCS. We would be learning to become leaders and advocates for our community, not just for this cause, but for many other issues in the future. This course also offers three college credits through Seton Hill University. It seemed like a problem at first that our class schedules were already full. We had to have classes offered outside of the regular school day while also handling our many extracurriculars. However, understanding the impact we can make to help families across the United States, we knew that this class was worth it.
With two teachers—one a St. Genevieve alumnus teaching third grade and the other a high school senior English professor—stepping up to lead the class, and 28 of us. From freshmen to seniors, applying and getting accepted through an interview process, the class was ready to make a change. We were not just joining a class—we were joining a movement. As a leadership class, we started to realize that we could positively shape the education of so many children now and into the future. More than 200,000 students in California attend Catholic schools. As St. Genevieve students, we are fortunate enough to attend a Catholic school and to live and grow in our faith, but what about those other children who aren’t fortunate enough to have that choice? What about those other children who aren’t fortunate enough to expand their education through tutoring, technology, or other resources? It can be challenging to see how students’ potential and opportunities are limited because of economic barriers. We have grown to understand that we are not just advocating for ourselves, but for all 5.8 million K-12 students in California, whether they attend public, private, charter, or Catholic schools. Studying and real leadership experiences have truly shaped our passion and dedication to the cause.
Throughout the fall semester, we met with leaders of the school-choice movement, both locally and nationally, to hear from and ask questions about what it means to be a leader and the challenges we’ll be facing in advocating. We also learned more in-depth what FTCS exactly does and how it impacts other families and us. We hosted our superintendent, members of the California Catholic Conference, a well-known news reporter, and the executive director of a Catholic foundation. We prepared for a January rally for the FTCS on our campus and designed a statewide Purple Postcard Campaign—purple representing bipartisanship—sending thousands of postcards to the governor to convince him to say yes to the FTCS.
In early November, a group of us presented our campaign to more than 30 Catholic school principals, and every single school committed to participating. Our class attended the annual Los Angeles Catholic Prayer Breakfast, and two of our classmates were even invited to sit at the table of a California bishop who serves on the California Catholic Conference Education Committee. Moments like these reminded us that our voices matter—that students can influence real change.
We know that we are still in the early stages of this work, but we also know that this will become so much bigger than any of us. We are in this class advocating for the common good of millions of students all across California. Through this experience, we have come to understand Catholic social teaching in a much deeper way by living it. We are learning what it means to be informed, active citizens, doing the best we can for the good of our state and our country.
And as Pope Francis taught, that is exactly what good Catholics are called to do.
