Posted on 11/25/2008 10:22:59 AM PST by Alex Murphy
[snip]
Low enrollment put Cardinal Maida Academy on the brink of closure in 2005, but this year the number of students is up by a third from last year, according to the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg. That success is due in part to non-Catholic students. Though 87 percent of students enrolled at area Catholic schools are Catholic, about 30 percent of Cardinal Maida's students are not.
The diocese saw Catholic school enrollment go down about 6 percent this year, a number diocesan spokesman Jerry Zufelt said is consistent with a declining population of school-age children. Still, Zufelt said, a handful of the diocese's 17 schools have recently increased enrollments.
Families turn to Catholic schools for a number of reasons, including faith-based education, smaller class sizes and discipline, but regardless of who they are, the Diocese of Greensburg welcomes them, Zufelt said.
Queen of Angels Catholic School in North Huntingdon was also in danger of closing. Instead, the number of students has increased by 20 percent over the past five years. In Greensburg, Aquinas Academy's middle school grew almost 6 percent because some children transferred from public school. All Saints Regional School in Masontown, Fayette County, recorded a 5 percent gain over last year. More than a quarter of its students are not Catholic.
Non-Catholic students are helping Catholic schools survive dwindling numbers of students nationwide.
Nationwide, Catholic school enrollment has fallen 14 percent in the past decade, according to the National Catholic Educational Association in Washington, D.C. Hardest hit are the mid-Atlantic states and the Midwest, regions that have also experienced population decline. In these areas, enrollment is down 20 percent, and one in six schools has closed.
"The biggest challenge is shifting demographics," said Karen Ristau, president of the association.
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
When I went to Catholic School, we always had non Catholics in our classes, I’d say about ten percent, that was in the seventies.
Yes I did too. You could tell the parents REALLY cared about their kids getting a good education because they paid more. As a Catholic, it was not a big deal and they were part of the team.
I went to a Catholic High in an area with a high military population. We had many non-Catholics in school. The only difference was that they were not required to attend Mass and religion class.
“In fact I did not know what racism was until after I had left Catholic school.”
You too? I graduated before the Civil Rights Act was passed, but went to school with many blacks. My best friend and lockermate through high school was black. We had a lot in common and included in that was a resigned irritation with Sr. Michael.
There were always a few non catholics in my catholic schools growing up as well. Wasn’t 30%, probably wasn’t even 10%, but it was there.
You wanted to educate your child, you sent them to the catholic school, it was really no more complicated than that, still isn’t.
“Sr. Michael.”
There’s always ONE! LOL.
Saving Pagan babies is so much easier when all you have to do his hand your school mate your lunch money.
i’ve never been catholic but did attend a catholic school
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