In New York City and elsewhere, when it comes to student enrollment, St. Joe's parochial school may be losing out to the charter school down the block. Catholic schools have educated urban youths ably for decades—many of them poor, non-Catholic youngsters in desperate need of quality educational alternatives to wretched district schools. Yet urban parochial schools are closing or consolidating in droves, suffering from enrollment declines as potential pupils opt instead for tuition-free charters and from the parallel loss of philanthropic support as donors conclude that these parochial schools are a shaky investment or simply that the charter sector is where the education action is. In response, diocesan school systems in some areas are trimming management costs and trying to spread the fiscal burden across all their parishes, including those without schools. Some dioceses are even considering admitting wealthy students from abroad to subsidize local pupils’ educations. The stakes for American education are high: Continued losses of parochial schools will send more kids back to poorer-quality neighborhood schools, upping the cost to the taxpayer dramatically—and will mean that we’ll have to find ways to create even more quality new schools from scratch. Education philanthropists and voucher proponents: Look alive. You’ve got a chance to do some real good. And never have you been more needed.
“Audacity and Hope at Harlem’s St. Aloysius,” by Sol Stern, City Journal, Spring 2011: Vol. 21, No. 2.
“Making Urban Catholic Schools Viable: Here’s How,” by Patrick J. McCloskey, City Journal, Spring 2011: Vol. 21, No. 2.