Catholic Education
by Paul M. Weyrich

The pessimistic story about Catholic education is no doubt a familiar one to many readers of major newspapers. Numerous school closures have occurred in large urban cities. The eulogy-like recitation of Catholic school closures obscures the more optimistic news about Catholic education. While the reports may dwell on declining school enrollment, the more important story is what Catholic school students accomplish and how much more they can accomplish.

Michael Guerra, President of the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA), asserts that the news about closed Catholic schools ignores a more complex truth. During the last five years at least 135 schools were closed annually, mostly in the inner cities of the Northeast and Midwest, while 35 new Catholic schools opened in suburbs and southern and western cities. This year the NCEA reported that over one-third of the Catholic schools in these areas have waiting lists, often because the classrooms are not large enough to handle newcomers. There's been a net reduction in students over the five-year period by approximately 200,000. "New schools have been opened, students have been added in many places," Guerra explains. "The temptation is to gauge the schools based on net declines and to miss the growth."

A familiar story about school closures was reported last winter when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn announced that twenty-two Catholic elementary schools in Brooklyn and Queens would close. The schools would close because the population in Brooklyn and Queens has become poorer and costs have increased as lay faculty has replaced the declining number of priests and nuns. The Diocese resisted closing the schools but closing could not be avoided this year.

Closures also have occurred in recent years in cities such as Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Many of the displaced students could attend other Catholic schools some distance from their immediate neighborhoods but many will not enroll because longer hours spent traveling daily to other Catholic schools is inconvenient.

There's no doubt that statistics about Catholic school closing are important. The decline in overall enrollment and Catholic school closings troubles Catholics, particularly the devout who realize the importance of Catholic education in sustaining their faith. To help reverse the statistics in urban areas, the Knights of Columbus, which has contributed to the NCEA for over twenty years, donated $300,000 this year to fund research on reversing the decline of Catholic schools there. "Research testifies that these schools have done an outstanding job in educating young people - many of whom would never have had the chance to succeed in life, were it not for the academic and moral education instilled in them in their Catholic schools. Saving these schools translates into saving productive lives," said Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight, when the donation was announced.

Many students who currently benefit from Catholic education are minority students, some of whom are not of the Catholic Faith. One such student is the son of Virginia Walden-Ford, Executive Director of D.C. Parents for School Choice, and the author of the recently published book, Voices, Choices, and Second Chances: How to Win the Battle to Bring Opportunity to Your State, that provides parental advice on waging a successful campaign for school choice. Her son, William, was constantly in trouble when he attended a public high school in Northeast Washington, D.C. Thanks to a kind neighbor, who provided a scholarship, Mrs. Walden-Ford sent her son to Archbishop Carroll High School.

It was no accident that Mrs. Walden-Ford chose a Catholic school even though her family is Protestant. Growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas, she attended the public schools when the city struggled with desegregation. She remembered that city's Catholic schools as a welcoming place for African-American students. "They just seem to get it when it comes to educating African-Americans," she says. She credits Archbishop Carroll High School with a strong academic program, a secure environment conducive to learning and concerned educators. Her son's behavior and commitment to learning improved - he is now a Marine about to be discharged after service in Iraq - and Mrs. Walden-Ford became a leader in bringing school choice to Washington, D.C.

More Catholics have become concerned about maintaining Catholic education, ensuring that Catholic schools remain open in large cities, and providing parents with schools where children are expected to learn. The Catholic Church feels it must "teach not because they are Catholic, but because we are Catholic," Guerra stressed. He explained that in hiring a teacher a prime consideration often is not the applicant's religion but his or her commitment to support the school's religious mission and to teaching, even if it means tutoring students after school hours.

These achievements prove the importance and effectiveness of Catholic education. Catholic schools and students usually outperform public schools and students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. However, there is another equally compelling test - ask the parents and their children who attend Catholic schools. The NEW YORK TIMES reported that when the Brooklyn school closings were announced one student cried when she heard the news. Her parent said, "Where do you find children in any school anywhere crying about a school closing?" That testimonial speaks volumes about why it is important that Catholic schools stay open in our nation's poorest neighborhoods.

Paul M. Weyrich is the Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.