By Michael Motes

The new year for Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Atlanta is off a flying start and, certainly not surprisingly, inflation can be blamed for the slight decrease in total enrollment this year.

The soaring cost of gasoline has effected the number of children being transported to schools from outlying areas, especially the area of Norcross in Gwinnett County, says Sister Valentina Sheridan, RSM, Superintendent of Schools.

Another factor in the decrease is that fewer babies were born during a period five and six years ago, thus there are fewer children entering schools for the first time.

A third area influencing school attendance, says Sister Patricia Geary, GNSH, Archdiocesan Curriculum Consultant, is that Georgia now requires kindergarten in all public schools and more people are taking advantage of sending their children to a public school.

“However,” Sister Patricia says, “we anticipate that a number of those parents who send their children to a public kindergarten will enroll the child in a Catholic school once he or she begins first grade.”

“The slight decrease of only about 25 students is certainly not an alarming figure,” says Sister Valentina. “Rather than becoming overly concerned in this area, we are continuing to focus on the academically sound structure of our archdiocesan schools.”

She pointed out that each school in the archdiocese undergoes an interim review every five years and an in-depth study every 10 years. In both instances, the school is visited by an evaluating team from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the regional accrediting agency.

During the current year, Christ the King, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Anthony, St. Paul of the Cross, St. Thomas More and St.. Mary’s in Rome are being visited by the accrediting agency.

One of the major projects the Office of Catholic Schools undertakes each year is the evaluation of certain curricular areas. This program was established in 1977 and concentrates on a special subject area, or areas, each year. Thus far, language arts and reading programs have been evaluated.

This year the focus is on mathematics and art. Teresa Decker of St. John the Evangelist school in Hapeville is chairperson of the Curriculum Committee of Teachers and parents studying mathematics and Carmella Howard of Christ the King chairs the art committee. In addition to these two specific areas, an updating of texts and materials for language arts and reading is also scheduled.

Other items on the busy agenda for the Office of Catholic Schools this year include future development of Catholic education in certain areas in the archdiocese, and the establishment of scholarships for students who otherwise would be unable to attend Catholic schools.

“The high quality of the Catholic education we are providing cannot be questioned,” says Sister Valentina. “This quality is recognized by the accreditation of our schools by SACS as well as the scholastic achievement of our students. The home and school environment variables work together in such a way as to produce scholastic achievement above the national norm.”

Sister Valentina backed her statement by saying that of the 192 students graduated from St. Pius X High School last June, 87 per cent are now enrolled in 53 colleges throughout the country, and that 27 students took advanced placement courses last school year, with 60 per cent of those students receiving college credit.

The archdiocese has welcomed several new school principals this year. They are Sister Judith Dianne McGowan, RSM, Our Lady of the Assumption; Sister Patricia Clune, CSJ, St. Anthony; Ms. Judith Jo Jenks, St. Jude the Apostle; Sister Helen Dolores Gilroy, IHM, St. Joseph in Athens; Sister Mary Owen Mulhern, IHM, Sts. Peter and Paul; and Sister Janet Ashenbrenner, RSM, St. John the Evangelist.