Where did Catholic students go?

March 3, 2010 By

Sometime this morning, more than a few Catholic educators in Baltimore are going to get some very bad news. Once again, it’s time for a major urban archdiocese to shut down some schools — permanently.

As you would expect, the Baltimore Sun ran a lengthy news feature several days ago that focused on the impact these closings will have on families and neighborhoods. That’s a completely valid angle, of course. Thus, we read:

Over the past decade, Principal Pamela K. Sanders has watched as enrollment at St. Ambrose Catholic School has fallen by more than half. Now she wonders if she’ll soon have no school at all.

On Wednesday, the Archdiocese of Baltimore will tell principals, teachers, parents and students about plans to close many of its 64 schools at the end of the academic year and reorganize the system of 22,700 students.

Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien is taking the steps in the face of rising costs and falling enrollments, problems affecting many of the oldest and largest Catholic school systems in the country.

“We’ve been praying, the parish has been praying,” said Sanders, who has seen the kindergarten to eighth grade at St. Ambrose drop from 330 students when she arrived in 2000 to 160 today. On Wednesday, she said, “at least the uncertainty will be over. So much anxiety comes from the uncertainty.”

If you know anything about newspaper writing, then you know what comes next.

Some journalists call it the “nut graph,” the “summary statement” or even one or two other nicknames that cannot be used in a family weblog. The basic idea is that the reporter is supposed to let you know the “why” of the story, the reason this event is taking place and why it matters. So here is the “nut graph” for this report:

If the school on Park Heights Avenue, in a neighborhood of boarded-up homes and empty lots, is an extreme case of distress, it still reflects the broader challenges confronting Catholic schools in the traditional urban strongholds of the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic and New England. The faithful have fled the cities for the suburbs, teaching sisters available to provide instruction at little cost have dwindled in number, and families have been less willing or able to pay rising tuitions.

Clearly, we are dealing with declining statistics in some key areas. My question is simple: Might there be other causes for some of these declining statistics? Is this really a story that is rooted in economics, alone?

I have asked some of these questions before and I will ask them again. How healthy are the parishes linked to these schools? The story focuses on suburban flight and that is clearly an issue. But there are other reasons that there are declining numbers of students in some Catholic schools, just as there are multiple reasons that there are declining numbers of women and men taking vows and serving as sisters, brothers and priests.

The bottom line: Where did the Catholic students go? Why give readers only one answer to that question, when there are others? Here’s a trail worth following: Does the Catholic school system in Baltimore have critics, on the left or the right?

Some students have gone to other schools, primarily public schools in the suburbs. But what about Catholics who have chosen to send their children to other private schools, including religious schools? (A personal confession: My family is Orthodox, but our son attends a Protestant school that has attracted a number of very dedicated Catholic families. One Catholic mother once told me that her children have been treated better, as conservative Catholics, in this Protestant school than in the Catholic school they used to attend in Baltimore.)

And then there is this:

As the 1960s saw historic peaks for Mass attendance and priestly vocations in the United States, so also was the era a high-water mark for Catholic education. In the decades since, the flight to the suburbs has emptied classrooms. The ranks of religious orders have thinned, depriving the schools of teachers who worked for next to nothing, meaning that Catholic schools could no longer be free, or nearly so.

As the bonds of church for many families have loosened, a Catholic education has seemed less essential. The National Catholic Education Association estimates that about half of Catholic children attended Catholic elementary schools in the 1960s. Today, the figure is about 15 percent.

So, have there been other trends since the 1960s that have impacted Catholic statistics, broadly defined? What has happened to Catholic birthrates, especially among Anglos and families with old ties to Catholic churches in Europe? What about Catholic birthrates in urban zip codes? What has happened to Mass attendance? To religious vocations?

I know that these stories cannot cover every possible angle on this kind of issue. But, in story after school-closings story, we see the same factors discussed as the “why” factor. At some point, journalists need to ask some new questions, as they seek answers to that question, “Where did the Catholic students go?”

Photo: From a website offering tips on decorating classroom doors in Catholic schools.

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Filed Under: Academia, Catholicism, Marriage & family, Sex, Worship
About TMatt

Terry Mattingly directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. He writes a weekly column for the Scripps Howard News Service.

  • Suzanne

    I notice this story also doesn’t address Catholic children with special needs, many of whom are shut out of a Catholic school education. Considering the rising rates of autism diagnosis, this is likely to have at least some bearing on Catholic school enrollment decline.

  • Deacon John M. Bresnahan

    I’m not surprised one mother told you her conservative values were more respected in a Protestant school than in a Catholic school. Sadly, too many Catholic schools are “Catholic” in name only and spend too much of their time selling secular society’s morals and values instead of being genuinely Catholic or even Christian. I see a lot of articles in the Catholic media along these lines. But it doesn’t seem to cross-over as something worth covering in any important way in the MSM.

  • mcyoder

    I’m not Catholic, but I am a homeschooling mom. This is anecdotal I know, but I meet lots of homeschooling Catholics both online and in the “real” world. Most of these folks are very conservative. I would imagine if a journalist did the research, they would find that homeschooling has taken the place of Catholic school for a good number of people. I would guess in some cases, it’s the cheaper route. (The families I know have many children.) Some probably have had the same experiences your friend did. I live in a rural/suburban area in northeastern Ohio. The school closings in Cleveland as well as some of the other more urban areas near here have gotten attention, but I’ve never heard anyone talk about the increase in Catholic homeschooling families as being part of the issue. I guess the media needs to dig a little deeper.

  • http://www.ncregister.com Tim Drake

    The reasons for the decline are many and varied. They include the following: 1) the disappearance of nuns and priests from the classroom, 2) the watering down of the Catholic faith at many Catholic schools. In many cases, as Catholic schools have accepted greater numbers of non-Catholic faculty and students, the faith aspect has been de-emphasized. As a former Catholic school educator I can tell you that the curriculum and textbooks at many Catholic schools do not differ from those used at their secular counterparts. Why pay more when you’re receiving essentially the same thing? 3) the widespread acceptance and use of birth control and the resulting smaller family size, 4) shifting demographics, from urban to suburban populations, 5) rising tuition – those families that tend to have more than 2 children cannot afford the cost of sending all of their children to a Catholic school. It used to be that larger families were given a tuition break. That’s not always the case today. As a result, Catholic education has become an option only for the most wealthy, and larger families are opting for home education in many cases.

    I for one, am not going to send my children to a Catholic school, and spend money I do not have, if the school is “Catholic” in name only, and what it offers is not substantially different from what I can receive elsewhere.

    For an example of Catholic education done right, the reporter might have looked into the Diocese of Wichita, where families are expected to tithe for the express purpose of Catholic education, and where every child that desires a Catholic education can receive it at little or no cost.

  • Cy

    I am a Catholic and father of four children; the two oldest of which attend parochial school.

    This article highlights and important trend which, as one might expect, the popular media gets wrong.

    As to why the schools are closing, I am reminded of the quote by President Ronald Reagan about why he left the Democrat party. He said, “I did not leave it, rather it left me.”

    I think our Catholic schools are suffering from loss of parent (and Catholic community) participation not because students are leaving but because the schools have left them first.

    When real elevated things (the Eucharist) is reduced to the commonplace (a coloring book) and the commonplace and often banal (popular culture festivities) are made elevated in the experience of children and families (Halloween pageants and parades), then the school has decided to “leave” its children in favor of the culture. It chooses to emphasize the finite over the infinite.

    It is a crisis of integrity. And a poverty of integrity always, eventually, results in failure.

  • Blake Helgoth

    Some ramblings of a homeschool parent:
    I would ad that our decision to homeschool instead of sending our children to the parochial school was financial, but not primarily. The most important reasons were a complete Catholic curriculum, not just a religion class and socialization. That means – Catholic science, math, reading, writing, history, etc. In most schools, all of the teachers are not even Catholic (because we pay them so little, so we take what ever we can get). I was a youth minister for a parish with a 5 – 8th grade school and saw 1st hand how bad the social atmosphere was there. The likelihood that a child is parochial school is exposed to inappropriate media, life situations, contracepting parents, families with mixed religion, families that send their children there for the academics, but think the religion is pick and choose, etc., etc. Add to that, my son would probably be put on Ritalin the moment he stepped in the door and by 7th or 8th grade most of the boys have been rooted out – because they act like boys. Not that anything goes, but boys are going to behave different than girls. Also, having girls and boys, especially at 6th grade on interact so much is asking for problems. So, I support the idea of parochial school, and think it is better than public school. One could question – gasp – directing so many resources to parochial schools instead of adult formation. Seems to me, that if we focus on adult education we might do better. Maybe, just maybe, the time for parochial schools is waning because the enfaces need to be on the parents.

  • Curmudgeon

    It really isn’t a question of liberal vs. conservative. I’m speaking as someone who has worked in parishes with schools for over 25 years.

    We are seen as a ‘conservative’ parish, but that is not why parents choose our school. In fact, since we require mass attendance for the sacrament preparation programs, we have Catholic families who decide that their child won’t receive the sacraments because they don’t want to be committed to weekly mass attendance. (And in the years it is not a requirement for the kids, only about 25% of the families go. That 25% figure holds true in every school/parish where I have worked regardless of socio-economic status, suburban, urban, what have you.)

    The reason that enrollment declines is that it is unaffordable for most. Catholic school tuition when I was in fourth grade was $10 a month. That was .8% of my family’s income. For a family to afford our tuition (about $6000 a year), they would have to make almost $90,000. I realize that is not impossible for professionals. But it is impossible for the immigrants and blue collar families I serve in my religious education program.

    So, our school is booming and has a waiting list, because it is a good school. If it was a completely non-religious school, that would make some parents happy. (Others, not, but they would not be the majority.) However, 10 years ago, we were ‘on the bubble’ because the working class families couldn’t afford us. When the neighborhood gentrified and we marketed ourselves to a different economic class, voila! We had a viable school.

    Long story short, we ran these schools on the backs of women religious who were barely paid a salary. Now that we have to pay them (if they still teach, they get a market salary as they have to support the retired sisters) or we have to pay a lay staff, then schools become unaffordable for most.

    I am very uncomfortable with this. I don’t think it is what Jesus quite had in mind for the church – a service to the wealthy. But, that is the situation we are in.

  • Fr. Sine Nomine

    All who have posted comments thus far make excellent points. I am not from Baltimore but am the pastor of what was once a large and active parish in Philadelphia. We are now facing the possible closure of our school. My take: God, the Church and the active practice of the faith mean very little to the vast majority of school families. Catholic schools for many are simply a safe haven from the violent urban public schools. Because there is little faith these families do not invest themselves in the parish or school. The collapse of the school system was inevitable given all the variables. God does not bless any venture which does not honor Him.

  • dalea

    How do Hispanic immigrants fit into this story? Where I live, the RC schools are filled with the children of immigrants. The website shows a vibrant and apparently financially secure school. The parish has transitioned to a student body of mainly Hispanic students. Are there Hispanic immigrants in Baltimore?

  • http://www.tmatt.net tmatt

    Excellent point on the homeschooling angle. That is a movement built, in many regions, on large families — many of them Catholic.

    The Latino question goes without saying. I wonder how the schools are doing in the rather conservative dioceses in the Mountain West?

  • Jerry

    I wonder if there are any schools where the parishioners and parents help out and where the teachers are willing to work for less than the going market salary because they are dedicated to the mission of the school? If there are, it would certainly be nice to hear about them.

  • Blake Helgoth

    Out here in Colorado the Catholic schools are struggling. Often there are private schools that offer higher academic standards as well and people are sending their children there. Plus, Catholic schools have not been around quite as long, so the average Catholic, if he grew up around here, probably did not have a parochial education so he does not think to give his child one. However, I should say that the public schools are struggling as well. When I lived in Indiana, there were far more Catholics schools, but many struggled to keep enrollment up. I think it does boil down to the fact that there are very few families that attend Sunday Mass who think passing on the Faith to their Children is the MOST important thing they can do as parents. They have made numerous concessions to the world so they do not see any problem sending their children to public school. From my perspective, one has to question whether or not sending a child to public school is even a morally licit option. Most families that attend Sunday Mass would not even be able to comprehend the question. Most that send their children to Catholic school, probably at least 85%, send them so they can have an academic edge. In Indiana, when a new high school was opened they had to have a huge football field and a full fledge athletic program in order to convince families that their teens would not be missing out on anything by going to Catholic School. I think missing out on things is half the point. I want my children to miss out on a bunch of stuff that goes on in public schools. The problem is, I also want them to miss out on a bunch that goes on in parochial schools as well. The other half of the point is what they get that they don’t get elsewhere. Many families only tolerate the religious aspects of the school, although they appreciate the high behavioral standards.

  • Chris

    I suspect that Latino Catholic children are much under-represented at East Coast Catholic schools. The Church has no rule that requires Catholic parents to send their children to a Catholic school. Parents are responsible for informally and formally educating their children in the Catholic faith–but other options exist besides a K-12 Catholic school. CCD (ie, “Sunday School”) classes are an example. Tuition per child at schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore is now between $5000-6000 per year. Most parents must transport their children to and from school. At our growing, working-class parish on a given Sunday, the majority of young children are Latino. CCD classes (including Confirmation and High-school classes) are 25-50% Latino, and the CCD program has steadily increased in size. However, I don’t see many Latino children at the parish-allied Catholic school. I suspect they cannot afford the tuition, or the transportation time commitment.

  • http://timhollingworth.blogspot.com Tim H.

    I’ll tell y’all where the Catholic students went… to the Archdioces of Atlanta! We can’t build schools fast enough.

    We have 15 new priests, 15 new Deacons and a new Auxilliary Bishop just this year. Tripple the number of Catholics in the past 20 years and set to top one million soon. 2015 participated in the Rite of Election this year (converts from Souther Baptist I hope) and will enter the Church this easter.

    Y’all come down, ya hear!

    -Tim-

  • Deacon John M. Bresnahan

    Tim–I heah you in Boston. My daughtah and her family live right outside Atlanta in Lilburn–and her parish is exploding in size. It would be nice if Catholic Atlanta got some MSM play.

  • trierr

    Tmatt,

    Something that I think you hinted at in your questions that I would like to see some coverage of is “what effect has the decline of religious orders (and the accompanying decline in the priesthood) had on the Catholic schools?” There was a time when these schools could be run inexpensively because the teachers were nuns. Now, many, if not most of the teachers are from the laity and need to earn a salary, meager though it may be.

    One of my seminary classmates is now teaching at a school in a large diocese in the Southwest. The school is very prestigious and many extraordinarily wealthy people send their kids there, although many (most?) are not Catholic. Even with this clientele, the school is struggling in the current economy.

  • Left Coast Conservative

    I will not send my children to Catholic High School in the Archdiocese of Portland. The odds of the children retaining their faith is so small as to be neglible. Until there is a return to faith in the Catholic High Schools, our children will continue to drift away.
    This problem starts in the diocese – with the archbishop, his team and his teachings. Is he clear? Is the chancellor clear? Do they support the parents or do they ignore our needs. Do they look for opportunities to bring grace into our archdiocese or do diminish access to the sacraments.
    Until they stand up and believe with their actions, the people will not follow.
    We in the archdiocese of Portland are living in the desert.

  • Luci

    My husband and I are Traditional Catholics (converts). We started with our oldest in the parish school, but are now homeschooling. Why? Well, for starters, I got really discouraged by the teachers who knew less about the faith than my child, but who were supposed to “prepare” her for First Holy Communion. Seriously, her second grade teacher marked as incorrect the following: Question – how many Mysteries of the Rosary are there? My child’s answer was 15 (correct at the time) – the teacher’s answer was 5. When I asked the teacher about this she rattled off the Joyful Mysteries while ticking them off on her fingers. I responded “What about the Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries?”
    Her response “The WHAT?” I thought she was joking at first, then realized she was SERIOUS.

    But my absolute NO-MORE moment came the following fall, when I overheard the 5th grade teacher discussing with another parent her policy of only using girls in the “student” Mass. Basically, this teacher openly stated that she did everything she could to keep the boys out of the student Mass process – girls as lectors and servers, girls to take up the gifts – and she actively discouraged the boys from becoming altar servers. Because, as she reasoned, if we can completely discourage an entire generation of boys, they’ll have to let women become priests.

    After both of these incidents I tried voicing my concerns to the priest – his response was that the first teacher was very well liked by the students and anyway, he wasn’t sure the 2nd graders were really ready for the “drama” of the Sorrowful Mysteries. The second teacher was apparently entitled to her opinions and he would support her in running her class as she saw fit – if I had a complaint involving one of my children I should talk to the school administration – did I mention that the principal was a Baptist?

    I know of a number of families from this parish who now homeschool – all told probably close to 3 dozen children in K-8th range. And they wonder why.

  • Suzanne C.

    In my area, Luci’s story would be commonplace. At our parish school, I asked one of the teachers why they don’t do the angelus when the bells ring at noon. The answer: They don’t know the angelus. I asked the music teacher if the school choir could participate in the Mass once per month and she said no because she is a Methodist and doesn’t know anything about the music we use at Mass or liturgy, so she couldn’t prepare the students to sing at Mass.

    I gave up. I homeschool.

  • Anne B.

    A Catholic school is only as good as its principal. Under the seventeen-year long leadership of a holy and humble religious sister, our school has maintained a traditional and conservative environment which continues to attract families of every socio-economic level throughout a three-county area. Our lay teachers work long hours for little pay out of love for and loyalty to our Catholic faith, our students and our good Sister.

    This kind of leadership is sadly lacking in many Catholic schools, not necessarily through the fault of the schools themselves. Today, a Catholic school principal must manage the incredibly demanding job of juggling dwindling funds with rising expenses, dealing with technology needs, aged and crumbling school buildings, lack of diocesan and pastoral support, poorly catechized parents (sometimes teachers too) and must be of high moral character, a true leader and a Godly man or woman. It’s a round-the-clock, seven day a week, on-call job– all on a meager salary. Is it a wonder that our schools are struggling?