The Role of Catholic Schools in Education

So it has been a while since I last posted and feel like I should get back up on the ball. Blog posting keeps me up to date with the world in reality and forces me to reflect on it. So here it goes.

A few days ago (probably week now) I ran across an article from the NY Times Samuel Freedman called "As Catholic Schools Close in Major Cities, the Need Only Grows." Looking at the closing of one Catholic School in New York, it raises some interesting points about the future of these schools and what role they will play in upcoming year.

I admit, I am a child of the Catholic School system. I attended a Baptist Pre-K where I was taught to read by learning passages from the Bible, and from Kindergarden until my senior year in high school I went to Catholic Schools. Yes, my family is Roman Catholic, but there was a greater reason for me to go there than just a "religious education." The schools were better, especially compared to the option I had. The East Baton Rouge Public Schools, which ranks as some of the lowest in the country. To attend a Catholic School was to attend a school that would put me ahead of the game, and being from rural Louisiana, that means something.

Yes, I received an over arching religious education, but if anything the people graduating from Catholic Schools end up in another religion. The fact is, they attend a private school that is run by religious leaders (who are doing the work for free) and typically it is in a strong community environment. If anything I recognize the benefit I had in receiving such benefits.

But the fact is, the Catholic Schools are losing enrollment and it has to do a lot with the cost of these schools and the funding coming in. I've known a few people on scholarship who went to my high school, but most were either the well off families who could afford it or were like mine, who had to take out a second mortgage on their house to let me go. As the article mentions, the parishes are pulling funding from small pools, and if they don't give, they miss out. Sure, Catholic Schools can apply for federal grants, but many times they do not. Why? They lack the staff to apply for them or simply they feel like they can't because they are a religious school.

How do I know this? I worked as a contracted technology consultant for an elementary to middle school Catholic School in rural Louisiana that was constantly fearing they couldn't show certain videos or do certain things on the technology they received from grants. Thus, the resources they had were out of date or they simply did not look for funding. Of course, this is not always the case, but it was something I noticed.

In any case, I feel like losing the Catholic Schools will be a lose to the US education system. These schools can reach students who make fall on the fringes of society and provide them with valuable education that puts them forward in life, be them in the urban or rural schools. Look at me. I am attending of tier 1 liberal arts college in the US on scholarship and have been introduced to many leaders in Louisiana as well as in the academic world. I could have attending my rural public high school, but I was able to test into a Catholic School that let me travel and develop as a person. It gave me the chance to go places, and shutting the door of these institutions does not only mean the power bill for that spot is ending. It means the door of opportunity for someone's future my also be closing.