Catholic Schools, Contemporary Issues

Professional Personnel

Historically, the vast majority of principals and teachers were members of religious orders (nuns or brothers) or clergy. At the elementary level, they were overwhelmingly nuns. In 2004–2005, however, the full-time professional staff at Catholic elementary schools was 95 percent laity and 5 percent religious or clergy.

This change has had several crucial consequences for Catholic schools. The financial burden is obvious; personnel from religious orders contributed services to Catholic schools in the past at little cost. The salaries and benefits for lay teachers, while they pale in comparison to those of public school personnel, nonetheless place a heavy burden on the operation of Catholic schools. In addition, the religious were steeped in the traditions of their respective orders, nurturing the schools' Catholic identity. Non-Catholic staff, as well as Catholics who have not had the opportunity to grasp the nature of the Catholic school's religious mission, can put that identity at risk.

Students

Catholic school enrollment in 2004–2005 was 2,420,590 students, of which 1,779,639 were in elementary or middle school. Minority students totaled 655,949, or 27.1 percent of the total, and 328,778, or 13.5 percent of the enrollment, were non-Catholics. The presence of non-Catholics, or Catholic children whose families are not members of the parish, can lead to difficulties with the traditional parish support of such schools. Further, some sources within the Catholic Church have questioned the schools' mission as well as the allocation of resources to schools in the inner cities, especially when a considerable number of the students are not Catholic.

Catholic schools, especially at the elementary level, have the well-earned reputation for educating the poor. Recent statistics point out that the increasing costs of tuition have led to a changed student population, economically speaking. For instance, in 1992, 5.5 percent of students in attendance at Catholic high schools were from the lowest socioeconomic quartile, while in 1972 that population was 12.3 percent. Meanwhile, the percentage from the upper quartile had risen from 29.7 percent to 45.8 percent. This change has led some to label Catholic schools as “elitist.”

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