More Catholic Schools Closing Across US

[flashl]

...

As Pope Benedict XVI next week makes his first trip to the U.S. as pontiff, Catholic schools across the country, long a force in educating the underprivileged regardless of their faith, face the same fate as St. Monica.

About 1,267 Catholic schools have closed since 2000 and enrollment nationwide has dropped by 382,125 students, or 14 percent, according to the National Catholic Education Association. The problem is most apparent in inner cities, in schools like St. Monica with large concentrations of minorities whose parents often struggle to pay tuition rather than send them to failing public schools.

''We lose the kids. They can't afford it. And then as the school gets smaller, you have to raise the tuition to pay the costs and it's a vicious cycle,'' said Sister Dale McDonald, the association's director of public policy and education research.

The pope will gather with Catholic educators during his visit, but not those who run elementary schools -- the meeting is with college presidents.

NY Times

[Raven]

1. That figures. The colleges are where the big $ is. n/t

[Submariner]

2. Maybe if the perverts stopped raping children and covering it up

they wouldn't be going out of business. The catholic church is nothing but a brotherhood of mommies boys and sissies with no life experiences that qualify them to teach anything. The ex-Nazi pope thing probably wasn't a good idea either with religions at each others throats nowadays.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. Perhaps you overstate your case... just a little.

>>>The catholic church is nothing but a brotherhood of mommies boys and sissies with no life experiences that qualify them to teach anything.>>>>

It ( the Church) actually does a pretty good jub of providing solid , low-cost, no-frills, 'just the basics' foundational education, which has been like a drop of rain in the desert for working families in areas where the PS system has ceased to function in the interest of the kids.

[Submariner]

4. After 12 years of nuns

PS would have been a great relief. The problem is that as a little child it was my parents choice, not mine, where I went to school. I know my parents thought they were doing the right thing, but they were wrong. Parents should not send their children to religious sect schools. A young developing mind should not be subjected to the whims of people who live in a make believe world of imaginary sky people and the trash religion teachings that go along with it.

A terrible experience that I will forever regret.

[Smarmie Doofus]

5. Sorry your experience was so excruciating.

I'd prefer secular over religious whereever it's an even comparison.

But it's rarely an even comparison. Secular private schools cost about 30K per year; RC privates about 4K. I'm agnostic but sent my son to RC elementary school for three years because I wanted to make sure that someone would teach him how to read and write and do math( no such assurrance from the local ...NYC... PS; I work in the PS system so I know what's up, around here, anyway) and that he wouldn't be picked on 'cause he's Asian. In other words, I wanted a safe and orderly atmosphere where an adult was in charge of the classroom.

I told them he can sit thru catechism class and be tested on it but that he wasn't doing communion/baptism/confirmation or any thing else..... at least not til he was over 18. They accepted those conditions and it worked for him.

Some school personnel in these places are more religious than others ; and some are more dogmatic. I think in our case a kinder, gentler catholicism was pushed by most ( but not all) of the staff.

[Sophia_Karina]

6. I agree.

Religious and dogmatic catholic schools appear to be a thing of the past. Sisters rarely teach now, there's just not too many of them. People are choosing these schools for the environment and quality education at affordable prices. And not all the kids in a classroom are fro catholic families -- I think this is most telling.