The HALO Initiative (HALO) works alongside the Catholic Schools Office (CSO) of the Diocese of Dallas to help more families have access to Catholic education. We believe that Catholic education transforms families and communities. We believe that academically excellent schools rooted in the teachings of the Gospel should be accessible to all who desire it.

Founded in 2020 as an independent 501 (c) 3, HALO connects the CSO, donors, and the community at large to strengthen the entire Dallas Catholic school system. While Catholic schools across the nation are closing, HALO recognizes that our schools are strong because of excellent leadership at the CSO and the generosity of our community. We are learning what barriers exist for accessing Catholic education and are working to remove them. We are testing and developing new strategies and tactics to increase awareness and add students to fill existing capacity.

HALO manages the tuition assistance program for the CSO, coordinating donations and awarding approximately  $2 million dollars in tuition assistance for families each year. We work with funding partners like the Diocesan Educational Education Trust (DEET), the Bishop’s Invitational Golf Tournament, private foundations, and individual donors to provide help where it is needed most.

The unique partnership between HALO and the CSO enables supporters to have a collective impact on Catholic schools, lifting the entire system. This allows the CSO to continue nurturing and developing saints and scholars.

Our Dallas area Catholic Schools stand tall among other educational experiences across the nation and are poised to reach greater heights.

Still Focused on Learning. Our school leaders, teachers and staff members have been proactive and resilient through many pandemic-related challenges. With about 95% of students in person and 5% online alongside their classmates throughout the 2020-2021 school year, learning and growing continues to be the focus.

School Health & Safety. While new protocols to maintain health in our school and parish communities has been required, we have been able to do what few organizations have over the past year. For example, we became the only school system in the state approved to provide vaccines.

Celebrating our Teachers. In a remarkable year, it means a great deal to earn the HALO Educator of the Year Award. Please join us in congratulating this year’s winners:

• Mrs. Kim A. Nguyen, Saint Joseph Catholic School, Richardson
• Mrs. Estela Valdez, Saint Cecilia
• Mr. Michael Alfers, Bishop Dunne

Congratulations also to the honorable mentions:

• Ms. Kirstian Hillier, Saint Monica
• Mr. Mike Rock, John Paul II

We are proud of our educators and now that it is summer, we hope they will soon be enjoying a very restful, wonderful break.

In the meantime, The HALO Initiative is working hard to find more new families who are ready to join out school communities and support for these efforts. If you would like to learn more about how you can help, please reach out to gayla@haloinitiative.org