My grand-children attend the school my kids went to. About 2 years ago another school merged with it and 2 other schools merged together also. There are no nuns teaching at either one of them. Those parishes have gone from having 4 priests to 2 priests, but they hold mass at all four churches. Don't know what is going to happen down the road, but it is a very sad situation.
Just before Christmas, I found out the highschool I went to on Long Island is closing. They need 20 million to stay open. Declining enrollment, rising costs, and of course very few young women are becoming nuns. It still breaks my heart. I have such wonderful memories of the four years I spent there, not to mention the great education I got.
The High School I went to closed the year after I left! But the all boys school next door became co-ed then. Then it merged with another all girls school. So in Indianapolis there is one large Catholic school that basically absorbed all three. My nieces and nephews have graduated from there. I now live in a small town in PA which is very Catholic. We have a brand new co-ed Catholic school here, but I hear that enrollment is dwindling. They don't pay the teachers hardly anything, so many leave. Plus the quality of education is not there.
my high school closed several years ago and this june is the last year that my elementary school will be opened. they are having a farewell get together in a few weeks. so very sad.
I think the key here is the quality of the Public school education system where you live. In New Orleans, where my daughter lives, the Catholic school system is very stable, but the public education stinks there. I think it might be that was in Philly too.
It is a vicious circle. They can't afford quality teachers, and if the school doesn't get the job done then students leave. Thus leaving even less money for teacher's salaries. That is what is happening to our Catholic school here.
There are two reasons which immediately come to mind.
The First is that the "Baby Boomers" aren't making babies as often or in the number that their parents did. No babies means less demand.
The other reason is that young couples are either drifting away or being forced away from the church. Whatever the reason, they don't feel that a Catholic education is relevant any more. Many of them have psychological scars and don't want to put their kids through the same ordeal. They are opting for public and private vs parochial. Again, demand is down.
When we went to Catholic schools, our teachers were either nuns or Brothers. There were few if any lay teachers, so the church could afford the schools, because they did not have to pay the nuns and brothers. and also now a lot of parents who don't feel comfortable with the public school system and can't afford private schools, are home schooling their children.
