Catholic parents helped by vouchers to instill the faith in their children

Indiana’s Choice Scholarships, commonly known as vouchers, have helped the five children of the Hoff family, members of St. Nicholas Parish in Ripley County, receive a Catholic education. David and Michelle Hoff, third and fourth from left, are the parents of Nicholas, left, Zachary, Jacob, Holly and Michael Hoff. (Submitted photo)

By Sean Gallagher

David and Michelle Hoff’s shared Catholic faith is the primary guide in their life together as spouses and the parents of five children.

Their dedication to their call to parenthood led them to have Michelle be a stay-at-home mom when they were first blessed with the new life of a child. At the time, Michelle, trained as an educator at Marian University in Indianapolis, was a teacher at St. Lawrence School in Lawrenceburg.

“It was a conscious decision on our part,” said David. “That was a sacrifice that we felt was the correct decision for the raising of our children.”

“And it’s one that I have thoroughly enjoyed,” Michelle added. “Just being there to experience their lives as they discovered things outside on our farm has been a true joy.”

For more than 20 years, they’ve shared that joy as they’ve raised their children: college students Michael, Nicholas and Jacob; Zachary, an incoming junior at the Oldenburg Academy of the Immaculate Conception in Oldenburg; and Holly, an incoming sixth-grader at St. Nicholas School in Ripley County.

The couple’s priority on their faith and decision to be a one-income family made sending their children to Catholic schools a challenge—but one that was overcome by Indiana’s Choice Scholarships, commonly known as vouchers.

They allowed David and Michelle to have their children educated at St. Nicholas School and the Oldenburg Academy.

“Our faith is very important to us,” said David. “Without vouchers, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for us to send all of our children [to Catholic schools].”

During the past few years as Michael and Nicholas went off to college, David and Michelle have been gratified to see them live out the Catholic faith as young adults that they and the schools have instilled in them. They’ve been involved in Catholic campus ministry—helping give retreats and participating in young adult groups.

“If it wasn’t for that background, whether it was through Catholic education or our promotion of the faith as well, they wouldn’t be doing that,” David said. “The seed has been planted and it’s growing. It’s not just sitting there.”

Michelle is glad to see her children being formed in the faith at St. Nicholas and Oldenburg Academy, two schools she attended when she was growing up.

The year her son Michael graduated from Oldenburg Academy was the 25th anniversary of her high school graduation and the 50th anniversary of her mother’s graduation.

With Catholic schools in her blood and her children getting older, Michelle is glad to return to working part time as a Catholic educator, now at St. Nicholas. She sees Catholic schools “as an extension of our faith.”

“If there’s a conflict on the playground, [teachers] can ask the children, ‘What would Jesus do in this situation?’ ” Michelle said. “I’ve personally seen teachers explain how they talk to God in prayer. They’re leaders by example. It’s the full picture.”

The offer of a quality education infused with the Catholic faith is something that David and Michelle are glad is now available to more Hoosier families with the recent expansion of the income eligibility of the Choice Scholarship. (Related: School choice expansion nears launch, extending the opportunity to almost all Indiana families)

“It goes hand-in-hand with a message that Father Shaun Whittington, our pastor, has said over and over again,” Michelle said. “We’re all on the path to sainthood. Let’s be saints together. We welcome other people—anybody—in joining us on that journey.” †