Why Are the Catholic Schools Closing?
The New York Times reports that the Diocese of Brooklyn, which includes both Brooklyn and Queens, is closing at least 14 elementary schools due to lack of enrollment, in addition to the 32 it’s already closed since 2005. The Diocese says enrollment has dropped and they need to consolidate.
But why is this? Catholic schools are a tremendous institution in New York City. They have a much-touted record of producing high academic achievement without high spending or exorbitant tuition. They have served as a stepping stone from the working class to the middle class for generations of immigrations, first from Ireland and Italy and more recently from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
If I had to guess at a reason, it would be the changing demographic profile of the city’s immigrants: European Catholic immigrants were initially replaced by Latino and Caribbean immigrants, but the current wave of immigrants to Brooklyn and Queens are not Catholic. They come predominantly from Asia, Russia and the Middle East. My secondary guess would be that the proliferation of charter and magnet public schools has given other choices to the sort of families who sent their kids to outer-borough Catholic schools — people with a strong commitment to their children’s education, but not a ton of money.
Indeed, the Times has a pair of stories on both trends I mention: new immigration patterns and more charter schools. One is about a Hebrew-language charter school that was just approved to open. It is expected to cater to Russian and Israeli immigrants in Brooklyn. Another reports that in Minneapolis, East African immigrants cluster in certain charter schools.
Still, neither of these explanations is completely satisfying. New York has an extraordinary number of students in private or parochial schools — more than half of all high-school students in the city attend school outside the public system. If the kids are not going to Catholic school they must be going somewhere. I’d like to know more about why this trend is happening and what it means for New York City and education.
Ben Adler joins Next American City as an Urban Leaders Fellow based in Washington, D.C. He will be focusing on Washington and the role of the federal government in urban policy. Ben covered the 2008 election and Congress as a staff writer for Politico. Prior to joining Politico Ben was the editor of CampusProgress.org, a daily online political and cultural magazine at the Center for American Progress, a regular contributor to The American Prospect Online and its award-winning blog, TAPPED, and a reporter-researcher at The New Republic. His writing has also appeared in Newsweek, The Washington Monthly, In These Times, The Nation and the websites of The Guardian and The Atlantic among other publications.
Dan in Hollywood CA on Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 2:40pm
If enrollment is down and they need to consolidate I don’t see the issue.
So long as kids can still attend these schools should the parents choose to send them there I see no reason for alarm or concern.
Perhaps the consolidation will lead to better teachers, improved ammenities and a more diverse classroom comprised of people from a larger array of neighborhoods.
Dave Steele on Wed, Jan 14, 2009 at 1:13pm
Catholic and relgious schools in urban areas are struggling financially all over the country, and have been for a long time, long before our current crisis. I think it has do with changing demographics, as you point out. But even schools serving neighborhoods that are predomimantly Latino, and therefore Catholic, are having trouble making ends meet. These church-run schools suffer because their sponsoring churches are suffering for lack of funds. They don’t bring in as much money at the colllection plate from their members because their new clientele is poorer. They don’t bring in as much from people willing their estates to the church because their new members do not have estates to will.
My great-aunt went door to door in the 1930s and helped raise the neccessary funds to build a new Catholic school on the West Side of Milwaukee. The building was financed entirely through thousands of small donations from the surrounding neighborhood. The school is still there, but the neighborhood is mostly low-income. Sadly, the days of supporting a school through the collection plate and door to door to fundraising are long gone for urban Catholic schools.
Matt in Philadelphia on Thu, Jan 15, 2009 at 5:18pm
The upside is that many new Charter schools will have the opportunity to buy or lease some pretty well built schools in walkable locations, as many Catholic Schools are. The Catholic Church is one of the most important urban institutional landowners and should be educated as to the benefits of that situation.
Another point to investigate may be whether Catholic school enrollment is declining throughout the entire metro region, not just the city. While that while many ARE closing because of “declining enrollment,” many others are closing because their parishioners have moved further out in the suburbs…and some are actually building new in the hinterlands. I can think of one example in Maryland, for a new Catholic High School that I was a project architect on a few years ago. I asked why they were abandoning a beautiful and still functioning building in an inner ring suburb and was told “we are following our parishioners.”
So, “why is this trend happening?” the author asks? For the same reasons as most other urban problems: people are running away to chase an imaginary ideal called “The American dream,” which still continues to be located farther and farther out. Even if gas prices rise and the trend of re-urbanization continues, it remains to be seen how long “suburban thinking” will color the decision-making process.
Someone needs to reach out to Catholic Churches to educate them on the importance of their role in urban planning and how that correlates with their enrollment figures. If there are good examples of this already happening, it might make a compelling NAC article…
Dan in Hollywood, Ca on Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 4:10pm
Here is an article on a former Catholic school building in Buffalo that was recently purchased and is being re-developed as a mixed use loft/retail space.
http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/01/academy-school-project-advances.html
Jane in Chicago on Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 12:37am
It’s heart breaking to see Catholic Schools closing. The little communities filled with faith and hope in the inner city are what I grew up having. Now that my family lives in affluent suburb, I still find so much value in my children’s Catholic education. I am not protecting them from the same things my parents were protecting me from, but from gross materialism. They are learning how to really contribute in society and getting a top notch education. Our school does not have any teachers waiting out big pensions…....they are there because they love to teach! Most enjoyed Catholic schools growing up and are compelled to give back. In many cases they are overqualified for their positions. I encourage anyone who took anything good from a Catholic School education to consider them for their children regardless of where you live. You will see that the great communities our parents and grandparents enjoyed still exist today. It’s our responsibility to NOT let them go away!!! Check one out in your town today!! Don’t let faith based education, and these excellent institutions leave American culture! They still are here….......I am cherishing my experience and giving my children the gift of a life time NOW!! Skip Disney and spring for the Catholic education that our parents did without to give to us!!