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| Taking part in the workshop and summit were, from left, Dr. Roger Macias, chairman of the School Council Planning Committee; Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantú; and Daniel Curtain, executive director of the Department of Chief Administrators of Catholic Education for the National Catholic Educational Association.
Jordan McMorrough | Today's Catholic |
SAN ANTONIO - Keeping Catholic schools available and accessible, financing private school education and advocating for parental advocacy — all issues central to Catholic school education in the archdiocese — were examined at “Catholic Education: Past, Present and Future,” a recent workshop and leadership summit for pastors, principals, school councils and Parent Teacher Council (PTC) officers.
The event was held at St. Mary’s University on Sept. 19, and was sponsored by the archdiocesan Catholic Schools Council and PTC Federation. This gathering was the local follow-up to a bishops’ summit on the future of Catholic schools in Texas that took place in February in Fort Worth. Key topics examined at that event were strengthening Catholic identity; attracting, retaining and serving Hispanic students and their families; responding and serving students with special needs and their families; and bolstering school finances.
Among the action items that came forward from that gathering were the need for intentional faith formation of Catholic school principals, faculty and parents; having clergy promote attendance of Hispanic students at Catholic schools; within five years have every elementary school put in place processes for assessment, identification and assisting students with special needs; and have parishes with no school on-site financially support Catholic schools as a ministry of the whole church.
In opening remarks, Archbishop José H. Gomez said Catholic schools present the truth to children, their families and society. “It is a great responsibility and a wonderful adventure,” he said. “Men and women who have faith have to relate our openness to the truths of God.” The archbishop continued, “We have the possibility of making a huge difference in our society if we are a people of faith. We need to work together for the future of our country and our Catholic schools.”
Archbishop Gomez stressed the importance of parental involvement in this effort, along with commitments from private as well as public financial initiatives. “We are doing a lot financially for Catholic schools, but we need the involvement of everyone,” the prelate emphasized, citing the reality of changing demographics for many urban Catholic institutions.
That theme was further elaborated upon by the keynote speaker for the workshop, Daniel Curtain. He serves as the executive director for the Department of Chief Administrators of Catholic Education (CACE) for the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) in Washington, D.C. The title for his presentation was, “Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium.”
Curtain’s report contained many sobering statistics regarding enrollment trends for Catholic schools in the United States.
From 1960 to 2009, the number of Catholic schools declined from 12,893 about 50 years ago to 7,248 today, a drop of 44 percent.
And, in just the past decade, national enrollment trends show a decline of almost half a million students, or 17 percent, for about 2.2 million Catholic school students this year. Also in that time frame, 895 Catholic elementary schools have shut their doors, with 162 Catholic schools closing or consolidating in just 2009 alone.
However, on a positive note, 374 new Catholic schools were opened in the years 2000 to 2008, and in 2009 31 Catholic elementary and secondary schools opened nationwide.
In Texas, during the 1998 to 2009 timeframe, 12 Catholic elementary schools have closed their doors, but eight new Catholic high schools have opened. In addition, student enrollment has risen by 221 students during that 10-year period.
Although encouraging, Curtain tempered his praise of that number by adding, “But the Catholic population of the state has increased by 1.8 million during this time period.”
The NCEA administrator described charter schools as “a big challenge” to Catholic school systems in the Lone Star State. In Texas, 333 charter schools educate 108,541 students, and across the country, they enroll 1.34 million students in 4,295 institutions.
Curtain discussed an NCEA study from 2005 that examined the trends, challenges and outlook of Catholic elementary schools. Long term-trends included population realignments and the weakening of Catholic attachment to parish life, with tipping points being financial issues and the impact of the church sexual abuse scandals.
The results of the report were cautiously optimistic. Outside of the Rust Belt, Catholic schools are generally healthy, with parents wanting a quality religious education and academic excellence for their children. Findings included the need to educate the public to solicit support for schools, especially from those who experienced Catholic elementary education themselves.
“Church leaders also need to understand when and where Catholic population is and will be and building according to what it will support,” Curtain said. “This requires touch decisions about the viability of schools in areas of population loss and economic depression.”
Curtain emphasized that the availability of vouchers, tax credits, scholarships and other forms of tuition assistance made it much more likely that parents in diverse settings of Catholic elementary schools would enroll their children. “Catholic schools are the church’s most effective contribution to poor and disadvantaged families, especially in poor inner city and rural areas,” he said.
The CACE executive director stressed that financing of Catholic schools must be the responsibility of all — not just those who use them — and he called for expanded development and fundraising efforts, as well as seeking support from the business community.
“Our Catholic schools are a vital part of the teaching mission of the church,” he concluded. “The challenges ahead are many, but our spirit and will to succeed are strong.”
Following Curtain’s presentation, roundtable discussions were held in which each of the schools represented were asked to talk about and identify two or three initial steps they could take to address each area identified by the bishops of Texas, along with one immediate goal.