How to save Catholic schools: let the revitalization begin.

When the definitive history of American Catholicism is written, inner-city Catholic elementary schools will be remembered as one of the most significant achievements of the U.S. church. At their outset, these schools served the children of European immigrants who, because of prejudice, faced daunting prospects. Thanks in large part to Catholic schools, immigrants and their descendants moved quickly out of poverty and into the middle class.

Yet as the children of immigrants became more successful, especially after World War II, they fled the urban neighborhoods of their upbringing, leaving Catholic schools behind. Predictably, many of these schools closed. But many others remained open and have continued their noble mission of providing an education for children who suffer from poverty and discrimination. Having survived the challenges of the twentieth century, though, these schools face new and more vexing problems in the twenty-first.

Enrollment in Catholic elementary schools grew slightly during the 1990s, but it has been dropping during the past few years. According to the National Catholic Educational Association, 1,992,183 children attended Catholic elementary schools in the 1993-94 school year, and in 1998-99 that number climbed to 2,013,102. But in 2003-04 enrollment declined to 1,842,918, and 123 Catholic schools consolidated or closed. There is every indication that enrollment will continue to decline and that more schools will close in the years ahead. Indeed, on February 9, the Diocese of Brooklyn announced the closure of twenty-two elementary schools; and later that month, the Archdiocese of Chicago reported that twenty-three Catholic schools would close before the fall. The crisis is being felt particularly on the elementary level. The situation in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, is illustrative. In 1999, there were 29,129 elementary school students, but by this year the figure had dropped to 23,835.

What's behind the demise of inner-city Catholic schools? Among the causes usually mentioned are:

* Movement of Catholics from urban centers to the suburbs, and from the Northeast and Midwest to the Sun-belt

* Lack of expendable income among lower- and middle-class families in urban neighborhoods

* A drop in donations to dioceses that traditionally helped support non-self-sustaining schools

* Disenchantment in the wake of the recent sexual-abuse scandal, leading to a drop not only in enrollment, but in the number of teachers and donations

* Lack of the infrastructure needed to conduct sophisticated fundraising

* Insufficient government support through vouchers or other programs

* Aging physical plants

* The high cost of technology.

Unfortunately, the amount of available research on inner-city elementary schools is somewhat scarce. The results of one study, conducted by a team of researchers I led at Boston College, were recently published in Sustaining the Legacy: Inner-city Catholic Elementary Schools in the United States (NCEA, 2004). The data we collected provide insight into the problems inner-city schools face, and point toward possible solutions.

During the 2000-01 academic year, our Boston College team collected survey data from the principals of 384 inner-city Catholic elementary schools nationwide on the following topics: student body demographics; teacher and principal characteristics; student family information; community involvement; curriculum and instruction; finances and development; and religious identity.

The data on student demographics clearly show that Catholic schools continue the legacy of serving children of low-income families. The schools accept almost all of the students who apply, and retention rates are very high. By a host of indicators--eligibility for federal-education entitlement programs, families with income below the federal poverty level, single-parent families--it is clear these schools serve children in need. Moreover, as the number of students below the poverty line increases, so does the likelihood that they come from an ethnic minority group--73 percent of the students in our sample were people of color. In Hispanic neighborhoods, many of the students (and their parents) did not speak English. Forty percent of principals stated that the number of minority students enrolled in their schools increased in the previous five years.

In the early days of the Catholic school system, many students came from low-income families and non-English-speaking backgrounds. With a few exceptions, however, almost all were Catholic. This is no longer the case. In our study sample, 66 percent of the students were Catholic, 17 percent were Baptist, and the remaining students were from other Protestant denominations. The vast majority of non-Catholics were African Americans.

We found that these schools were staffed almost exclusively by women, the vast majority of whom were lay. Mirroring all schools in the nation, there was an ethnic mismatch between students and teachers. On average, the staff was overwhelmingly white and female, although there was a somewhat better representation of minorities at schools where most students were from minority backgrounds. Of the staff members working in the study's schools, almost all were Christian, and 90 percent were Catholic. Teacher retention is a challenge for all urban schools--public and private--and the schools in our sample were no exception. These schools suffer from a revolving door of young teachers, who leave for higher paying jobs or to fill positions in the public sector.

Forty-four percent of the principals of these schools were laywomen, 13 percent were laymen, and 40 percent were religious sisters. A high percentage of these religious are over fifty (85 percent), a cause for concern. With these religious sisters nearing, or at, retirement age, who will replace such highly experienced, well-educated, and devoted principals at such a low salary?

In contrast to public schools, the administrative structure of the schools we surveyed was skeletal, overburdening the principal with multiple and complex tasks that included grant writing, fundraising, and forming coalitions with outside organizations. Only a few schools had other professionals on staff--such as counselors, social workers, nurses, and speech therapists--to provide for the diverse needs of children and their families. Our study also found that lower-income schools are less likely to have school boards, which means that they don't have access to the professional pro bono services that many other Catholic schools enjoy.

Rising costs and heavy dependence on tuition have taken a toll, pushing many schools into a cycle of increased tuition rates and declining enrollment, and leading to the closings we are seeing in Brooklyn, Chicago, and other dioceses. Nonetheless, there are encouraging signs. Forty-five percent of all the schools reported that nontuition income--such as donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations, as well as grants from government entitlement programs--increased between 1996 and 2001; 40 percent reported that it held steady; and only 5 percent reported that it decreased. The higher the poverty level of students in a given school, our study found, the greater the increase in nontuition income. It is also heartening that the schools with the highest percentage of minority, low-income students reported significant increases in grant activity, grant writing, and fundraising. Another hopeful sign is that over one-third of the schools were arranged in regional clusters, which allowed them to cut back on bureaucratic costs.

"Innovate or perish" is the major conclusion drawn from our study. The traditional parochial school structure cannot meet the diverse, complex demands of the twenty-first century, at least in urban centers. So we were pleased to see that some schools have tried other educational models.

One widespread innovation is the extended-day program, in which schools provide after-school academic and recreational activities for students. This not only meets the needs of working parents, but also enhances the students' educational development. Such programs exist in over four-fifths of all sample schools. Another popular new development is middle-school departmentalization, in which students have different teachers for different subjects, as is the case in public middle schools. These programs were in 69 percent of the sample schools. We also found that a number of the schools sponsored mentoring programs for novice teachers. Another welcome development is the expansion of kindergarten programs. We found, however, that preschool programs are scarce in poorer schools: fewer than 20 percent offer an early-childhood curriculum.

So what can be done to ensure the survival of inner-city Catholic schools? Our research indicates that church and educational leaders can take a number of practical steps.

After-school care: More inner-city schools should adopt early-childhood and extended-day programs. Doing so would both offer a service to the community and provide a new source of income for the school. Students attending schools in low-income neighborhoods are more likely to come from single-parent homes; it is precisely these schools that should be offering extended-day-care programs. Meanwhile, preschool programs can provide a steady source of income from fees and government vouchers that are available only for these programs. More significant, perhaps, preschool programs provide an important pool of applicants for the school's kindergarten and first grade classes.

Clusters: By pooling their resources and grouping into "clusters," inner-city Catholic schools can cut back on bureaucratic costs. Under this model, a "cluster" of schools in a given region forms a separate corporation within the diocese, such as the Faith-in-the-City consortium in Washington, D.C. The corporation hires a staff of experts to assist the schools with development, fundraising, and purchasing. (A staff member skilled in grant writing is essential to the team.) This model allows urban schools to maintain their small size and neighborhood roots while giving them access to the professional management expertise necessary for them to thrive in the twenty-first century.

School boards: Revitalized school boards are essential for the future of inner-city schools. At the very least, bishops should consider instituting regional school boards. (The Diocese of Brooklyn recently announced that a lay board would assume responsibility for a group of its troubled schools.) The bishops should also seriously consider individual school boards in parishes where pastors do not have the time or the interest to commit to the local school. There are longstanding models of effective boards in Catholic universities, secondary schools, and hospitals. By contributing expertise and funds, board members bring a level of professionalism to Catholic institutions. Of course, as boards develop and mature, questions of canon and civil law must be addressed: What is the role of the pastor? What is the role of the superintendent of schools? What is the role of the local ordinary? Who has ultimate ownership and jurisdiction over these schools?

Forming partnerships: Schools cannot accomplish their goals in isolation. That is why innovative schools form partnerships with other service providers. The majority of these partnerships are with other Catholic institutions such as hospitals, social-service agencies, or a university or college. For example, universities can provide degrees and professional development programs for teachers and administrators; they can offer expertise and volunteers in financial management, technology, athletics, physical plant development, and fundraising; they can build strong relationships by assigning student teachers and mentors to work in the schools. Social-service agencies can place social workers in schools to provide therapeutic services for individuals and groups. Hospitals can provide nurses and doctors. Partnerships with boys' and girls' clubs, libraries, churches, and other neighborhood organizations can provide other necessary services.

With ongoing cutbacks in social welfare and health care, enterprising principals can help transform the Catholic school into a place where a wide variety of people's needs are met. This will encourage more parents to send their children to Catholic schools, and it will also attract new funding from a wide array of donors. Though in its infancy, the Boston Catholic Schools Initiative is proving that philanthropists and foundations are eager to support the transformation of the traditional stand-alone parochial school into a full-service Catholic community school. For the past few years, Catholic Charities and the Catholic Health Association have explored ways of collaborating, especially on behalf of the poor. Inner-city Catholic schools need to be part of that conversation.

None of this will happen, however, unless bishops, school leaders, and the laity work together. The survival of inner-city Catholic elementary schools depends on precisely this kind of cooperation. In their 1979 pastoral letter on racism, Brothers and Sisters to Us, the U.S. bishops gave unequivocal support to inner-city Catholic schools. They wrote:

   We urgently recommend the continuation and expansion of Catholic
   schools in the inner cities and other disadvantaged areas. No other
   form of Christian ministry has been more widely acclaimed or
   desperately sought by leaders of various racial communities.

Unfortunately, in recent years the bishops' commitment to inner-city schools has been eroded by competing demands, personnel problems, and serious financial constraints. In today's climate, bishops need to reiterate their support for this ministry. In 1997, the bishops of England and Wales provided a rationale for welcoming non-Catholic students in their schools while strengthening the schools' Catholic identity. The U.S. bishops could take their lead from them.

Sharing responsibility with the bishops are education leaders who oversee the day-to-day operations of this ministry. In concert with the bishops, they must be creative leaders, who are grounded in the church's mission to educate the poor, but unafraid to innovate. Like their bishops, they will need to overcome turf issues in order to create new administrative structures within schools, changing the role of the principal to something similar to the presidency of a small college--with a staff for financial management, strategic planning, and fundraising. Skilled principals are crucial to the success of inner-city schools. Paramount among their duties is supporting their teachers. As we have seen, Catholic school teachers are not paid as well as public school teachers. Principals must therefore do all they can to promote the community's appreciation for these "front line" individuals.

Finally, the future of inner-city schools depends on the active involvement of laypeople. With their wealth and political influence, today's Catholics have the unprecedented opportunity to provide significant and sustained financial support to inner-city schools. They have the resources to sustain the legacy of these schools, but do they have the will? Here, bishops and pastors must take the lead. Since inner-city schools are so reliant on outside resources, their future depends on the emergence of a vibrant lay-involved church.

The closings in Brooklyn and Chicago are a 911 call to the Catholic community. Many more schools will close in the next few years. Still, it is my hope that schools will not close haphazardly, as was often the case in the past, but strategically. Inner-city Catholic schools have provided an excellent education to generations of American Catholics. Some question whether Catholic schools should invest money and resources in communities with few Catholics. But what would happen if these children no longer had access to a high-quality faith-based education? How might such a decision square with the church's preferential option for the poor or its commitment to racial justice, especially in the face of the achievement gap between white and minority students? Furthermore, it would be a great loss to the ecumenical movement if the church failed to support those institutions that have consistently brought together Catholics and non-Catholics in a nurturing religious environment.

There is no panacea to the problems that beset inner-city Catholic schools, but we know that the old solutions and structures will no longer suffice. Through careful research, consultation, and collaboration we can come to a clearer understanding of the problems. Most important, by studying the models that have allowed a significant number of schools to beat the odds, we can help reverse the trends of enrollment decline and school closings.

Joseph O'Keefe, SJ, is interim dean of the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.