Her parents contacted several local Catholic schools but, unfortunately, they did not have the resources to provide the educational support that Katie needed.
After making a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Good Help in Wisconsin, Katie’s parents were inspired to start Rosewood Foundation to find a way for kids with special needs to receive a Catholic education. After talking with many experts, they realized that all children benefit from an inclusive education and the best plan of action for the Foundation was to work with Catholic schools to help them to provide inclusive education.
With the help of the Archdiocese of Chicago, the family was directed to St. James School in Arlington Heights and started the process for Katie to attend there. They already had a special education program in place but not for students with more significant needs, such as Katie. It took a year to prepare, but with a grant from Fire/Rosewood Foundation, Katie started at St. James Catholic School in 6th grade and thrived there, especially growing in her faith, and graduated from 8th grade in May, 2021.
