(RNS) Catholic officials are worried about declining enrollment at Catholic schools in New Orleans and nationwide, including Our Lady of Divine Providence School in Metairie, La. RNS photo by Brett Duke/The Times-Picayune.
The nation’s Catholic schools, facing increasing competition, rising costs and a diminishing core of potential pupils, continue to struggle to keep students and find new ones. But there are some signs of growth in cities including Los Angeles and Indianapolis.
Enrollment in Catholic schools nationwide declined almost 12% for the 2012-13 school year compared with five years ago, a National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) report says.
About 2 million children, from pre-K to 12th grade, attend Catholic schools across the U.S. In 2007-08, there were 2.27 million, says the report, released in February.
That’s consistent with other enrollment drops over the past 10 years. Since 2003 the number of students attending a Catholic school has fallen nearly 22%, according to NCEA’s Annual Statistical Report on Schools, Enrollment and Staffing.
Reasons for the decline are varied, but siphoning of students by charter and magnet schools, steep tuition increases and dwindling numbers of Catholic students in large urban areas are to blame, says Dale McDonald, NCEA director of public policy and educational research.
Average Catholic elementary school tuition (K-8th grade) has climbed 69% over the past 10 years, McDonald says. At Catholic high schools, it’s about double that at 136%. The average Catholic elementary school tuition is $3,673; the average Catholic secondary freshman tuition is $9,622, the report states.
“We are committed to providing a first-rate education and the costs of that keep rising,” said McDonald, who noted tuition assistance is available in cases of need.
Catholic school administrators are working to combat these trends through aggressive marketing efforts and educational improvements, such as offering the Apple TV, individual iPads and smart boards. They’re also reinforcing the idea that a Catholic school education is superior to that available at another private or public facility, says Kevin Baxter, elementary schools superintendent for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has increased the length of the academic year to 200 days and focused on adding the latest technology to the curriculum, Baxter says. The approach is working. After a decade of dropping figures, the Archdiocese saw its first increase — 100 students — in kindergarten through 8th grade in 2011. The number grew by 1,400 in 2012, Baxter says. In all, about 80,000 K-12 students attend Los Angeles area Catholic schools.
“We’ve really articulated clearly to principals that we want to envision growth,” Baxter said.
Strides also are being made in other cities, including Indianapolis, where a voucher program is helping to boost enrollment. In Shreveport, La., enrollment has been steady over the past few years with some growth, says Carol Shively, the Diocese of Shreveport superintendent.