Catholic schools enjoy a renaissance in '90s

National Catholic Reporter, March 27, 1998 by Leonard DeFiore

Enrollments are up nationwide in Catholic schools -- not a blip on the,chart but a five-year trend. Waiting lists exist in most suburban schools. New schools are being built -- 174 in a little more than a decade. When tuition support is available for inner-city Catholic schools, Ivy League-like waiting lists and admission lotteries result. Prominent national news magazines and city newspapers feature stories on the good news in education -- Catholic schools. Catholic education in the '90s is experiencing a renaissance.

However, even with an improved enrollment picture and with research and media attention focused on the impressive performance of Catholic schools, their teachers and students, major challenges remain.

The most compelling challenge for our schools is that they retain their strong Catholic identity and culture. In earlier times, this was a given. Catholic schools were staffed with large numbers of sisters, brothers and priests, and the American culture was more supportive of traditional Christian values. Now we need to be much more intentional about this area. Lay teachers comprise over 90 percent of faculties, challenging church leaders to provide more support and preparation in spiritual and theological formation for teachers -- activities that occurred routinely within formation programs for both religious and clergy.

There is a sound foundation for ongoing formation programs. Recent of Catholic school teachers believe they have an obligation to promote the religious faith of their students. They further believe that the most important objective in the religion classes they teach is that their students respond to life's situations in a Christian manner. Over 77 percent have taken courses or are enrolled in courses to be certified to teach religion. Perhaps the most important finding of this research is that the longer teachers serve in Catholic schools, the more knowledgeable they become about their religion and the deeper they are committed to the teachings of the church.

Developing leaders

Leadership development is a related issue that demands our attention. When religious communities staffed the schools, this, too, was part of the "system." Now, we face an unprecedented need to identify and prepare large numbers of lay professionals for church leadership -- to be done in large measure by current lay leaders. This situation is exceptional in modern church history and deserves our highest priority. Our current Catholic educational leaders must be more deliberate in identifying, cultivating, preparing and supporting lay leadership.

At the National Catholic Educational Association, we are expanding our role in leadership development for all of Catholic education, both in professional areas as well as in faith formation. We are increasing our support for existing activities in dioceses, at Catholic colleges and universities, at the association itself and elsewhere to spur the development of new programs and services.

Beyond the schools, there is the challenge of the catechetical and religious educational effectiveness of parish programs. The new Cathechism of the Catholic Church and the General Directory for Catechesis will provide major assistance, but only if coupled with an investment in the improved Preparation of teachers and catechists. Catholic schools and other Parish Programs will continue to become increasingly supportive and collaborative with one another.

In some ways, money has been the issue of the last three decades. Through the mid-1960s, the financial structure of Catholic education was built on the foundation of the vow of poverty of religious who staffed the schools. The small stipends the religious received supported a system of no or low tuition. The Catholic community believed that the rate of religious vocations and their generous gift would continue. When that subsidy waned and when young Catholic families began migrating to the suburbs (away from established school buildings to neighborhoods where schools did not exist,) many schools were faced with a financial crisis.

Today, the financial situation except among schools serving the poor is more stable but still fragile. Enrollments are up and many Catholics are much more affluent than a decade or two ago. A financial system has emerged that relies on a combination of modest tuition, parish subsidy, fundraising, development efforts and below-market salaries for lay teachers. This is unsatisfactory as a permanent solution. Teachers are the heart of our schools and their tremendous commitment to their mission and our Catholic faith has been key to our success. We must work to give them fair wages and benefits.

Tide of history

This discussion leads inevitably to the issue of public policy and schooling. Without launching a major presentation about school choice, voucher and tax credits, I would merely assert that the tide of history for these initiatives is on our side. These are the just and right things to do from a variety of perspectives: parental rights, relief for the poor and disadvantaged, the reform of public schools and the U. S. economy.