Diocese prepares strategic plan to save Catholic education as schools brace for shake-up
- Status
P
pianistclare
Guest
What’s the tuition like there? In our Diocese, the tuition is the big problem. People simply can’t afford tuition that runs as much as state university tuition in some cases.
When you employ almost exclusively lay people, costs are really high. Sadly, the sisters are not as available as they were when we were young.
C
ChurchSoldier
Guest
One of the unintended side effects of widespread birth control.
C
Cricket2
Guest
I am sure the decline is the number of children being born is a factor in this, but so is cost. People can barely put food on the table anymore, let alone come up with tuition. Also, as far as public schooling goes, a lot of people are fed up with the mediocrity of the system and are choosing to home school their children.
Maybe the Catholic Church should design home schooling options that allow folks to do some of the schooling at home and some in class. Sort of a hybrid which allow people to pay less than if the kid was going full time.
Maybe the Catholic Church should design home schooling options that allow folks to do some of the schooling at home and some in class. Sort of a hybrid which allow people to pay less than if the kid was going full time.
I
irishpatrick
Guest
Catholics who cannot afford tuition for their own children, can still contribute some money toward the tuition of others–as ALL Catholics should do, if financially able.
A
april32010
Guest
A
april32010
Guest
was it unintended?
C
Coatimundi
Guest
I checked the tuition rates for the school which is pictured at the top of the news article: St. Benedict School in Eggertsville.
Tuition for non-parishioners is roughly $4000/year.
Tuition for parishioners is lower: roughly $3000/year for the first child, and $2500/year for additional children.
I
irishpatrick
Guest
Those are not terrible rates…some schools approach the 8-10k levels.
I
irishpatrick
Guest
Sending children to Catholic schools is a sacrifice that separates Catholics from the world. Catholic parents who sacrifice by placing their children in RCC schools are making a sacrifice that goes hand-in-hand with their vocation as parents.
Think about the many men and women who become Priests and Nuns, and the personal sacrifice they make for their vocations. Lay Catholics are also called to make sacrifices for the advancement of the Lord’s Kingdom–in any way that they can.
In today’s culture, RCC schools should be filled to the brim with waiting lists, and we should be building additional schools.
In the vast majority of RCC schools, students go to regular Mass and confession and they receive reasonable formation classes…which in most cases is much more than they get at home. In addition, RCC schools provide a firewall against the greater culture, which is probably more important today, than ever before. We need to raise more Catholics to adulthood, not less, and that will take sacrifice. Catholic adults who have no children, or who have grown children, and who have financial means, should contribute to RCC schools so that more kids can attend (even $50 per month helps when multiplied by many parishioners). Rebuilding Catholic culture will not be easy, cheap, or quick–yet, helping to bring more Christ into the world is the only hope for the USA, and for the world.
We are all part of one body–and we are ALL called to help build the Lord’s Kingdom–every Catholic, every Christian.
Think about the many men and women who become Priests and Nuns, and the personal sacrifice they make for their vocations. Lay Catholics are also called to make sacrifices for the advancement of the Lord’s Kingdom–in any way that they can.
In today’s culture, RCC schools should be filled to the brim with waiting lists, and we should be building additional schools.
In the vast majority of RCC schools, students go to regular Mass and confession and they receive reasonable formation classes…which in most cases is much more than they get at home. In addition, RCC schools provide a firewall against the greater culture, which is probably more important today, than ever before. We need to raise more Catholics to adulthood, not less, and that will take sacrifice. Catholic adults who have no children, or who have grown children, and who have financial means, should contribute to RCC schools so that more kids can attend (even $50 per month helps when multiplied by many parishioners). Rebuilding Catholic culture will not be easy, cheap, or quick–yet, helping to bring more Christ into the world is the only hope for the USA, and for the world.
We are all part of one body–and we are ALL called to help build the Lord’s Kingdom–every Catholic, every Christian.
M
maryj
Guest
I’m going to guess that educating one child per year costs more than $2500-$3000. Our catholic school is heavily subsidized by our parish, which I will also guess is the case of this catholic school. So if we want our children educated within our catholic school systems, put those envelopes in the donation basket!! And PRAY!!
B
Boatswain2PA
Guest
I am incredibly fortunate enough to live in a large, active diocese who has a policy that parishes pay the tuition for children of active catholic families. Go to mass, tithe 8%, be active in your parish, and your kids receive a catholic education.
This is in a city where the two catholic high schools are far superior to any of the public high schools.
This is in a city where the two catholic high schools are far superior to any of the public high schools.
I
irishpatrick
Guest
In most cases, you would need to give a reasonable offering each Sunday, and then those rates do apply. BTW, most parishes subsidize their schools.
M
maryj
Guest
We have a policy at our school. It came into effect because of one thing…all day everyday kindergarten. All public schools in our city do half day kindergarten, every other day. We have a very long waiting list to get into our school,(recent capital improvements has given us a brand new school to replace the almost 100 year old school that the two catholic schools in town were consolidated into) but the unforeseen issue was that once the child got through kindergarten or first grade, the parents pulled them to put them into public school. Our policy is simply that parents are “active” members of the catholic church. which includes a yearly donation of at minimum $300.00, that the families are attending Mass on Sundays and are participating through volunteering at the school. Once this policy was in place, our school is full again in all grade levels. Once parents are involved and participating, active members of the church…God takes care of the rest!! Jesus I trust in you.
P
pianistclare
Guest
WOW! That’s cheap. It’s more than double that in our Diocese for elementary school. And no discount for multiple children.
High School is around 11 grand. Per year.
C
commenter
Guest
In the Buffalo diocese, Catholic high schools seem to give very little attention to family life, enormous focus on college and career. They give very little attention to doctrinal content - everything is “values”, not really much different from the values that are promoted in public schools. In the schools I am familiar with, there is little going on that would encourage anyone to have a big family, or to emphasize family life. Some devout Catholics are still coming from Buffalo Catholic high schools, but I think they are getting that from their home life, not the school.
The diocese formerly operated some high schools, but no longer. The diocese doesn’t hold anyone at the Catholic high school, or any of the local “Catholic” colleges, responsible for the Catholicity of the institution. With regard to grammar schools, which the article is about, the pastor is responsible, or for regional schools a priest is appointed by the bishop as “canonical administrator” responsible for the Catholic identity. The absence of children in Catholic grammar schools today is a result of parents who attended weak Catholic high schools and colleges in recent years.
The only bright spot in Buffalo I can see is the growth of home schooling, sometimes with cooperative pastors, where parents cooperate and support each other, perhaps one day a week at the parish buildings. In my time as a parochial school parent, parent (name removed by moderator)ut was discouraged. We were allowed to choose whether to hold the ice scream social in April, or in May, but had no say over things like sex education, choice of religion texts, sacramental preparation, etc.
The diocese formerly operated some high schools, but no longer. The diocese doesn’t hold anyone at the Catholic high school, or any of the local “Catholic” colleges, responsible for the Catholicity of the institution. With regard to grammar schools, which the article is about, the pastor is responsible, or for regional schools a priest is appointed by the bishop as “canonical administrator” responsible for the Catholic identity. The absence of children in Catholic grammar schools today is a result of parents who attended weak Catholic high schools and colleges in recent years.
The only bright spot in Buffalo I can see is the growth of home schooling, sometimes with cooperative pastors, where parents cooperate and support each other, perhaps one day a week at the parish buildings. In my time as a parochial school parent, parent (name removed by moderator)ut was discouraged. We were allowed to choose whether to hold the ice scream social in April, or in May, but had no say over things like sex education, choice of religion texts, sacramental preparation, etc.
I
irishpatrick
Guest
C
crcurrie
Guest
In our Archdiocese, there are no high schools that cheap. And tuition goes up double the rate of inflation each year. That squeezes the primary schools, since parents who can’t afford to pay both primary and high school tuition will usually put the younger child(ren) in public school. Many primary schools have closed, and now the high schools are feeling the pinch because the pipeline is drying up.
I
InigoMontoya
Guest
Wonderful!
C
crcurrie
Guest
The article in the Buffalo News makes clear that strategic closures are just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The problem is a shrinking market for Catholic schooling, and closing schools just accelerates that process, as demonstrated by the continued enrollment declines in surviving schools.
The only real solution is to expand the market, and the only way to expand the market is to improve the product. My parish’s school was one of 13 slated for possible closure in the Washington Archdiocese five years ago, having experienced a 50% enrollment decline in eight years. The parish decided not only to fight to keep the school open, but to “make the school worth saving,” as members of a new Curriculum Committee put it. The Committee created a Catholic Classical educational plan, which is now in its fourth year.
The results? The other 12 endangered schools all closed. Our school is now at full enrollment, with waiting lists, and our plan is being implemented at other Catholic schools around the country – including one in upstate New York.
We succeeded not by shrinking the supply, but by growing the demand. This can be replicated anywhere in the country. People are willing to sacrifice to give their children an education that is truly excellent, and one that is fully grounded in the riches of the Catholic tradition.
Our success story has been reported on in secular media like the Washington Post, National Public Radio, and CNN. Here is a recent EWTN news video about the miracle at our school:
youtu.be/4krWDbZwseE?t=…
I hope the Catholics in Buffalo don’t give up on Catholic education. There IS a way out of the crisis.
The only real solution is to expand the market, and the only way to expand the market is to improve the product. My parish’s school was one of 13 slated for possible closure in the Washington Archdiocese five years ago, having experienced a 50% enrollment decline in eight years. The parish decided not only to fight to keep the school open, but to “make the school worth saving,” as members of a new Curriculum Committee put it. The Committee created a Catholic Classical educational plan, which is now in its fourth year.
The results? The other 12 endangered schools all closed. Our school is now at full enrollment, with waiting lists, and our plan is being implemented at other Catholic schools around the country – including one in upstate New York.
We succeeded not by shrinking the supply, but by growing the demand. This can be replicated anywhere in the country. People are willing to sacrifice to give their children an education that is truly excellent, and one that is fully grounded in the riches of the Catholic tradition.
Our success story has been reported on in secular media like the Washington Post, National Public Radio, and CNN. Here is a recent EWTN news video about the miracle at our school:
youtu.be/4krWDbZwseE?t=…
I hope the Catholics in Buffalo don’t give up on Catholic education. There IS a way out of the crisis.
- Status