Cutbacks Are Part of Plan to Save [NYC] Parochial Schools

[Beau_Ouiville]

"For more than a quarter-century, while Roman Catholic leaders around the country have closed parochial schools by the dozens in the face of rising costs and falling enrollments, the Archdiocese of New York has conducted a more stately retreat. It has shuttered schools a handful at a time, in a reluctant if relentless downsizing that has come to be known among some church leaders as “the melancholy rite.”

Now, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan is signaling that he will soon mount a more aggressive effort to prune the number of schools and ensure the future of those that remain.

In speeches and articles over the last few months, the archbishop has sketched the broad outlines of a plan that includes consolidating or closing many of the 216 elementary schools in the system, changing the way parochial schools are financed and — for the first time in the archdiocese’s 160-year history — redefining the basic relationship between Catholics and their schools.

Each elementary school has until now been financed mainly by members of its local parish. But in the proposed reorganization, the cost of educating roughly 56,000 grade school students would be spread among all the parishes, and all the plate-passing churchgoers among 2.5 million Catholics in the archdiocese.

…“We must admit that the days of expecting a parish by itself to support its school are coming to an end,” the archbishop wrote last week in the archdiocesan newspaper, Catholic New York."

nytimes.com/2010/09/21/nyregion/21parochial.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

 

[manualman]

Wow! As a catholic school parent, I’m encouraged to finally hear about someone with some faith and boldness in leadership that seems to want to save authentically catholic education.

I don’t see any mention of what I believe his BIGGEST task is though: explaining to catholic parents why it matters.

100 years ago penniless catholic immigrants lived in near squalor, but banded together enough to build the world’s mightiest private educational system. Today, we their rich descendants pretend that we can’t even afford to maintain it. Poppycock! We don’t maintain it because we just don’t care enough to prioritize it.

Back then, public school kids were taught that Jesuits assassinated Lincoln and that the Pope was always up to schemes of world domination. (Google Know - Nothings if you doubt me). It wasn’t too hard to see the threat to the faith posed by the culture catholics lived in and to convince them to love their children enough to shelter them from that culture during their formative years. And so those penniless immigrants lived without luxuries and saw their children educated in the faith.

Today, parents whine that they can’t afford it, but routinely write a $100+ a month cable TV bill, $50 cell phone bill, Netflix, airplane/hotel vacations, buy new cars less often than every 100k miles and a myriad of other less important expenditures. In reality, they can afford it, they just don’t believe it is worth it. Be honest.

After Vatican II, catholics were encouraged to “get out of the ghetto” and become a part of the larger world. They did so naively, forgetting how much of that world was hostile to their values and blindly inviting in evil influences without recognizing what they were. Catholic parents today largely do not perceive any value in providing their children with a uniquely catholic culture for their formative years before being exposed to the fury of a secular world that hates our faith.

Even worse, some catholic schools have abandoned their identity and now have little difference compared to public schools, save lesser paid teacher, cheaper facilities and a religion class tacked on to an otherwise utterly secular environment. Catholic parents RIGHTLY shun such schools as they more often serve to innoculate children against the faith rather than instill it in them.

So I say GO, Archbishop Dolan. Reform the schools and make them uniquely and consistently catholic environments again. THEN tell the parents to love their children more than their own comfort.

 

[Barbkw]

It’s BS that Christian parents have to pay twice. The great majority of voters are Christian, vouchers need to be put on the ballot.

And, it would be very helpful if Catholic religious would return to teach in Catholic schools.

 

[manualman]

It’s BS that Christian parents have to pay twice. The great majority of voters are Christian, vouchers need to be put on the ballot.

And, it would be very helpful if Catholic religious would return to teach in Catholic schools.

Agreed on both counts. But we have a LOT more power to affect the second part of that equation: make babies and raise them right!

 

[Beau_Ouiville]

I can tell you that the economics of running a Catholic school are far different now than they were in the sixties. It is much more expensive as to required curriculum, necessary facilities and staff and instructional salaries. Those priest, nuns and brothers worked real cheap but there are far fewer of them now.

Plus, the NY archdiocese was run by the master builder, Cardinal Spellman, for many years up until 1968. There is no question that he over-built and to grammar schools and high schools.

So, at least the present cardinal is democratizing the issue: All parishes will talk part in paying for all schools. Yes, there were parishes with lots of money and parishes with lots less money – and it showed.

I hope the cardinal is successful in his quest to save the Catholic schools.

 

[manualman]

I can tell you that the economics of running a Catholic school are far different now than they were in the sixties.

Fortunately we catholics generally fall far further upwards on the income chart than we did in the 60’s as well.

The real problem is that the public schools keep raising their financial grab. Where I grew up (in the 70’s and 80’s) there was a 60’s era public school that was closed down because it was considered no longer adequate in facilities by current standards. They proceeded to build a much larger and nicer school to replace it and made the old one a park district facility. The old school is to this day more deluxe than the catholic school I attended that is still open today.

This hits catholic parents with a double whammy. They are forced to pay for exorbitantly expensive public school facilities and are faced with giving up all those hard paid for benefits to then pay again for private schooling. The more they squeeze us for public schools, the harder it is to pay for both.

But I still believe that if catholic parents did a reality check on their lifestyle versus their grandparents standard of living we could easily afford it again. Especially once we replenish our religious communities.

 

[JoanREDirector]

The American parochial school system was built on the backs of orders of Catholic sisters. Those sisters are mostly gone. Why and how are issues for a different thread.

 

[sojo]

The whole issue of parochial schools is an urban topic. Those of us in rural areas have lacked any prospect for supporting a Catholic school for many years. There is only one Nun in our entire county, and she is largely occupied in social justice issues. All our Priests cover multiple locations and many miles a week to serve their parishes. Our closest Catholic school is over 1-1/2 hours away, over a mountain pass, and only one (the farthest, a non-parish, independent school) would accept my son with Down syndrome in any case.

Now the bleak economic situation of the cities is causing a reduction in parochial schools as we in the rural areas have endured for years. Meanwhile the Catholic Homeschool movement is growing and vibrant. Perhaps this is the silver lining, secret blessing in the situation? I would love to see the dioceses showing more support and embracing the work of the Catholic homeschoolers in their midst.

I apologize if I have sidetracked the conversation, but I feel it is important to recognize that Catholic Education doesn’t end when the parochial schools close.

 

[JoanREDirector]

Sojo, you are so right. I am from the Seattle area. Even though this is an urban area, Catholic parishes are few, especially compared to cities back East. In rural areas in Washington state, the situation re Catholic schools and Catholic homeschoolers is exactly as you describe.

 

[Beau_Ouiville]

Our closest Catholic school is over 1-1/2 hours away, over a mountain pass …

Well, my high school was 1 1/2 hours away, over a city line and took three buses to get to in the city of the Bronx. The parochial schools in my hometown were full from 1955 to 1975. Some Catholic kids just could not find a school to attend. So urban areas are not so different.

 

[Elizabeth502]

And, it would be very helpful if Catholic religious would return to teach in Catholic schools.

I so agree. And personally I think it’s BS that zero religious have any charism to teach any longer. That math just does not compute. When lay and religious complain about nuns teaching inappropriately, they’re talking about singular previous missions of particular Orders, when women entered either not knowing whether they had the gift/inclination to teach, and/or not thinking about the mission attached to that Order, and where, once vowed, there existed no alternative options for them in that Order.

Now there is a great variety of active Orders, and some of those include many charisms and foci within one Order, even in the same location.

To extend the Archbishop’s vision, I would like to suggest (I thought about this after reading his piece in America) that Catholic schools be staffed with more than one teaching Order. This would take the pressure off a particular Order to maintain a school, while still allowing staff to consist of religious. It doesn’t mean that no lay people would be included in such staffing, but that there would be a mixture, with at least half being religious.

 

[sojo]

Well, my high school was 1 1/2 hours away, over a city line and took three buses to get to in the city of the Bronx. The parochial schools in my hometown were full from 1955 to 1975. Some Catholic kids just could not find a school to attend. So urban areas are not so different.

Well a little bit different. There is no public transportation here. Since we only have one vehicle, that my husband uses to get to work, there is no humanly possible way to get to a school 1-1/2 hours away. Cities have poor to good (mostly just adequate) public transportation to schools. Rural areas sometimes have little to none. Even the public schools are shutting down school buses.

I think it is an important issue - centralized education, either public or private.

 

[Beau_Ouiville]

To extend the Archbishop’s vision, I would like to suggest (I thought about this after reading his piece in America) that Catholic schools be staffed with more than one teaching Order.

I would like to see the ‘Teach America’ concept applied to parochial schools. In that way young, enthusiastic teachers could serve one or two years teaching in a parish school which really could not afford their talents.

 

[unafraid]

My oldest daughter attends kindergarten at a Catholic school. Last night she beamed as she told us how she had just learned that God knows every hair on her head, a fact which seemed to greatly impress her. She also expressed dismay that the teacher is teaching the Our Father too slowly, as, proudly, she already knows it.

So, we’ll sell the cookie dough, the candles, the candy, etc. with great enthusiasm. Each morning they open the day (my daughter informed me) with the “Pledge of Allegiance”, followed by a morning prayer from the teacher with the kids making the sgn of the cross. I got misty-eyed when she told me this, standing before me in her school jumper. Her tuition was the best money we have ever spent. She loves her school. I’m a little bummed that she doesn’t have the nuns, like I had, but otherwise we are very satisfied.