Are there parochial high schools?

[FrenzyJen]

In my area there are a lot of Catholic grade schools (k-8) that are part of an actual church, on the property. I have yet to see a parochial (I think I’m using that adjective in the right sense) high school, where a church is the main facet of the property, with a high school attached.

I went to a Catholic high school, that had a “chapel” on the grounds. But they put a lot of emphasis on sports and advanced academics, so much so that they became a well known good school for the area, and attracted a lot of non-Catholics, and then watered down the “Catholic” part of the Catholic school.

I think at the age when kids really start thinking for themselves, it’s important to keep them where they’ll receive good guidance. So why do I not see (I’m not saying they don’t exist) as many/any Catholic Parish-based high schools?

 

[pensmama87]

Where I live, all of the Catholic high schools are run by the diocese instead of by an individual parish. There are a couple K-8 schools run by the diocese as well, but most of these are parish schools like what you’ve described.

I think the Catholic identity problem is definitely prevalent in Catholic schools, but I’m not sure it has to do with who is running the school (in terms of a parish or diocese - obviously the administrators and their views on faith in the curriculum matter a lot). My husband attended Catholic schools K-12 and the faith was really watered down the whole way. He’s learned more about his faith from me as a convert than he did in school.

Part of the problem too is the perceived prestige of some Catholic high schools that attracts non-Catholic students. Or just the perception that it’s a good place to send troubled kids because they will be “straightened out” there. Or that the schools are a place to avoid all of the problems of public school. All of these are parental/community problems, not school problems. Catholic schools do not “fix” anything in and of themselves, and if whatever negative is still being reinforced at home it’s going to be brought into the school environment too.

I like the model we have in our diocese, and while faith instruction has been lacking in past generations they are doing a lot to bring it back to the curriculum. I’ve been impressed. I think our individual parish, if they had the funds, could probably run a pretty good high school, but there’s a lot of parishes out there with poor K-8 schools that would run poor high schools, too, and not just from funding issues.

 

[AnastasiaRomano]

Sure, there are some… I know of one Catholic school relatively near me that is K-12 and attached to a parish. It’s a very, very good school, and I wanted to send my children there, but it’s just a bit too far to drive every day.

But that’s fairly rare anymore, because the economics frequently don’t make sense. Most Catholic high schools nowadays tend to be run by dioceses or religious orders, so that they can more easily draw students from a wider area etc.

Edited to add that someone recently told me about a parochial Catholic school in Lawton, OK (next to Fort Sill) that recently added grades 9-12 after several decades of being only a K-8 school… They couldn’t necessarily afford a “traditional” high school but they wanted to offer Catholic education in the older grades, so they paired up with an online Catholic school curriculum.

 

[Loving_disciple]

In my area there are a lot of Catholic grade schools (k-8) that are part of an actual church, on the property. I have yet to see a parochial (I think I’m using that adjective in the right sense) high school, where a church is the main facet of the property, with a high school attached.

I went to a Catholic high school, that had a “chapel” on the grounds. But they put a lot of emphasis on sports and advanced academics, so much so that they became a well known good school for the area, and attracted a lot of non-Catholics, and then watered down the “Catholic” part of the Catholic school.

I think at the age when kids really start thinking for themselves, it’s important to keep them where they’ll receive good guidance. So why do I not see (I’m not saying they don’t exist) as many/any Catholic Parish-based high schools?

My school is attached to the Cathedral if that helps

 

[Kelfa28]

We have a ton of Catholic schools in our area. I have 4 within a 3 mile radius of our house. All of them are Parish schools that are K-8.

There are two Catholic high schools in our area that are run by the diocese. They are stand alone schools with both good academics and good sports teams. Yes, they do attract a number of students who aren’t Catholic based on the fact that there isn’t any other private school options.

However, that hasn’t watered down the religious aspect of these schools. I have no issues sending my children to either of the high schools. The one we are planning on putting our kids in is very good.
The Principle, Vice Principle, Religious Director and a number of other faculty members all attend our parish. Our Parish draws a much more Orthodox crowd anyway.

 

[UbiCaritas]

Parochial high schools–at least here in the US–are rare because historically, not every kid went on to high school. If you look back at the 1910s-1950s, kids would often finish eighth grade and then move on to a technical career. As a result, there were fewer kids in high school than there were in grammar school, so it made economic sense for there to be more consolidated Catholic high schools rather than establishing a separate high school for each parish. Also, back in the day, many Catholic high schools were boys- or girls-only, and were taught by religious teachers of the same sex, which differentiated them from most grammar schools.

I agree that Catholic high schools often need a greater focus on Catholicism itself, though. I’ve seen too many (not all, just too many) become schools for those who can afford it rather than schools for Catholic children. Not that the two can’t be one and the same, but a family with three kids in high school and three kids in elementary school, for example, usually can’t afford to pay 10K+ per kid in tuition for the high school kids. On the other hand, since the teaching orders have mostly died out, one can’t reasonably expect lay teachers to teach for nothing. It’s a lose-lose situation in a lot of respects.

 

[WildCatholic]

In my diocese (Lincoln) every school is in a sense parochial. In my county for example, every parish contributes to the school, and thus are parish run. I think a few other dioceses have this where they have schools run by a group of parishes, but I don’t know how common it is.

Also, don’t worry about Catholic identity, no matter who runs the school there will be problems with this. Even in my high school, which is definitely has no problem with Catholic identity, you get parents who don’t practice or don’t really live out a catholic lifestyle who send their kids there just because we happen to have better sports teams or academics, as well as protestants who think we are better academically and athletically (and yes I can say that there is some “recruiting” to Catholic Schools, though sometimes the kids themselves want to be on a winning team. and this is at a small school with low tuition that pretty much accepts anyone, so its not like were some prep school or something.

That being said, I think there are good catholic schools, mediocre catholic schools, and ones that are catholic in name only. I would talk with the administrators. In spite of my struggles I liked having a christ centered education, and it is a great gift for kids if you can do it.

 

[phil19034]

I grew up in the Diocese of Wilmington (Delaware and Eastern Maryland).

Of the two parochial high school I’ve known, one closed in 1987. It was in Dover, DE (Holy Cross Parish). 11 years later, it was later replaced by one run by the Diocese (note: first it was going to be an independent Catholic School, but when the founders could not afford it, the new Bishop took on the work the Lay people did, provided more cash and opened the school).

Sts. Peter & Paul High School in Easton, MD is still parochial.

The rest of the High Schools are either run by the Diocese or they are private (run my Religious Orders). The Padua Academy (a girls’ high school run by the Diocese) was orginally founded by St. Anthony of Padua Parish, but is now independent of the Parish.

In the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (where I live now) all of the High Schools are run by the Diocese or are independent. There are no parochial high schools.

If I were to guess, I would imagine that the parochial high schools left in America are located in isolated areas of the Dioceses. Like the one in Easton, MD; they are far from the population centers and isolated.

 

[EasterJoy]

…why do I not see (I’m not saying they don’t exist) as many/any Catholic Parish-based high schools?

It usually takes a larger student body to offer the kinds of classes and extracurricular offerings that make a grade 9-12 school competitive with other private schools. Even private non-Catholic schools are rarely set up as a single K-12 entity, but rather have smaller private grade schools that feed into a single larger high school with the same founding philosophy. Often the high school is only set up later, after the 1-8 or K-8 school is well-established. Sometimes the diocese or a vicariate of parishes will set up and support a private Catholic high school directly, though, in order to attain that size.

One problem, however, is that for legal reasons a high school may be separated from the parishes or the archdiocese, so that a lawsuit against one will not imperil the holdings of the other. This necessitates giving up some amount of control. Who gains that control determines where the “overtly Catholic” nature of a high school can be won or lost. If a group of parishes sets up a school so that one or more of their pastors are always board members, that will give a very different result than the case where there are no representatives from the Church in the guiding body of the school.

 

[Em_in_FL]

We have MANY parochial K-8 schools… at most parishes locally, in fact.

There is ONE local Catholic high school, which - YES - does sit on the grounds of a parish, right next to one of the K-8 schools.
There are a few other high schools in the diocese, but only one within the metro area…

 

[robwar]

In my area there are a lot of Catholic grade schools (k-8) that are part of an actual church, on the property. I have yet to see a parochial (I think I’m using that adjective in the right sense) high school, where a church is the main facet of the property, with a high school attached.

I went to a Catholic high school, that had a “chapel” on the grounds. But they put a lot of emphasis on sports and advanced academics, so much so that they became a well known good school for the area, and attracted a lot of non-Catholics, and then watered down the “Catholic” part of the Catholic school.

I think at the age when kids really start thinking for themselves, it’s important to keep them where they’ll receive good guidance. So why do I not see (I’m not saying they don’t exist) as many/any Catholic Parish-based high schools?

I think you are asking why don’t you see more Catholic HS as you do K-8. The bottom line is money. Catholic HS are more expensive than your standard Catholic K-8. with some of them having tuition beyond 10,000 per year. That is alot of money for many people and if they are thinking of college and beyond, I know a number of parents that make the choice to save to college and skip Catholic HS. HS are more expensive to run so one needs a number of parishes to support it. Likewise, many sent their children to Charter HS which are free and offer some of the same academic standards. Many parents do not want to send their children to single sex HS which many are. But I think the bottom line is the expense of HS.

 

[commenter]

Where I live, parish high schools closed or evolved into diocesan schools. They and religious order ones seem lacking in Catholic identity and doctrine. ( An individual teacher can be a wonderful exception.). The diocese boasts that “98% of our graduates go to college!!” but there is no interest how many graduates, or current students, are practicing Catholics.

Going to a bad Catholic high school is worse than public school. Public school graduates may be indifferent on some things, but I have seen a resentment against the Church among graduates of Catholic, especially girls high schools.

The best way to evaluate a potential Catholic high school is to find out how many students go to confession.

In our area parents are looking into replicating a Chesterton Academy, which exists in the Minneapolis area. A local pastor is willing to locate them in the closed elementary school and say Mass for them. If they can’t raise enough money to form a free standing school parents may develop a home-school support system meeting at that school, maybe using courses videotaped at the main Chesterton academy.

There may be more “parochial” high schools around than you think. In our area, some groups of “home school” grade school children come to what I had thought of as 2 closed parish school buildings daily for instruction. For various reasons, they can’t advertise it as a “school”, though in one case they even wear uniforms. If this happens at the elementary level, it may be happening at the high school level. The pastors consent to this.

 

[shelby_sun]

Where I live, parish high schools closed or evolved into diocesan schools. They and religious order ones seem lacking in Catholic identity and doctrine. ( An individual teacher can be a wonderful exception.). The diocese boasts that “98% of our graduates go to college!!” but there is no interest how many graduates, or current students, are practicing Catholics.

Going to a bad Catholic high school is worse than public school. Public school graduates may be indifferent on some things, but I have seen a resentment against the Church among graduates of Catholic, especially girls high schools.

The best way to evaluate a potential Catholic high school is to find out how many students go to confession.

In our area parents are looking into replicating a Chesterton Academy, which exists in the Minneapolis area. A local pastor is willing to locate them in the closed elementary school and say Mass for them. If they can’t raise enough money to form a free standing school parents may develop a home-school support system meeting at that school, maybe using courses videotaped at the main Chesterton academy.

I am sorry but I completely disagree with you. I work at a Jesuit high school which my son also attends. My daughter goes to a catholic high school over seen by the diocese. Plus there are 5 or 6 other Catholic school in the area and over 30 catholic grade schools. None of the high schools have a church on their campus, the main reason being they simply do not have the space for it. At our school, we have main large area used for many things, but it has been blessed and is seen as a church when we have Mass.

We have twice as many kids apply to our school than we have spots. We have all different religions represented in our student body. The boys here “love” (their word) their school and most remain deeply attached to this school and to their faith. Many of those non Catholic student too continue to support the school long after they graduate.

I think this was Pope Francis’ point in his thoughts on ideology becoming more important than finding a relationship with God and sharing experience your faith through others. There are parents heart broken every year when their sons cannot get in, but it sounds like some would feel are ideology is watered down. Those who are having issues with Pope Francis would certainly feel that way, yet I don’t know of another school in the area in which the student really love to be at school.

The Church only states we must go to confession once a year.

 

[Kamaduck]

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any. But then, that goes for Protestant denominations, too. There are dozens of K-8 schools run by parishes, and maybe two privately run religious high schools in the area. One is Catholic, and the other is Lutheran. I feel bad given the discussion so far, but I go to the Lutheran school. It’s simply better academically and has tons of resources. From what I hear, the Catholic school isn’t all that Catholic anyways, so I don’t think I’m missing that much.

I’m thinking that a high school is just too much for a single parish to run. They often have have hundreds of students, which is much larger than the parochial K-8 schools in my area (which probably have a maximum of around 100-150 kids, if that). They also need more specialized teachers, and resources to run activities. I suppose a church could support a very small high school, but it would be sad not to have many activities or classes.