ATLANTA—Independent School Counsel, Inc., will be conducting a survey on behalf of the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Office of Catholic Schools.

The survey will be conducted in southern metro Atlanta and is intended to survey opinions and attitudes about elementary and secondary Catholic education primarily in that area.

Parents and parishioners from the following schools and parishes will be surveyed.

Parents from Our Lady of Mercy High School, Fairburn, Our Lady of Victory Regional Elementary School, Tyrone, and St. John the Evangelist Elementary School, Hapeville, will receive the survey. Parents from St. Paul Lutheran School in Peachtree City, which has become a feeder school for Our Lady of Mercy High School, will also be surveyed.

Parishioners will be surveyed from St. John the Evangelist Church, Hapeville; St. Anthony’s Church, Atlanta; Most Blessed Sacreament Church, Atlanta; Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Atlanta; Sacred Heart Church, Atlanta; St. Paul of the Cross Church, Atlanta; San Felipe de Jesus Mission, Atlanta; Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Atlanta; Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Carrollton; Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Decatur; St. Theresa Church, Douglasville; St. Gabriel Church, Fayetteville; Sacred Heart Church, Griffin; St. Philip Benizi Church, Jonesboro; St. John Vianney Church, Lithia Springs; St. James Church, McDonough; St. George Church, Newnan; Holy Trinity Church, Peachtree City; Our Lady of Vietnam Church, Riverdale; St. Mary Magdalene Mission, Sharpsburg; and St. Matthew Church, Tyrone.

The survey should go out to these places within the next week or so. Surveys to school parents will be distributed to students to bring home for their parents to fill out. Surveys in parishes will be distributed according to the pastor’s plan for distribution. Parish surveys will be accompanied by postage-paid, business-reply envelopes to the ISC.

Donald Sasso, Secretary for Education, said that the survey will help with future planning.

“We want to attempt to get a handle on people’s views and perspectives regarding elementary and secondary education in the archdiocese,” he said. “It’s really important that we assess the status quo and gather some baseline information so we can use it and go from there.”

Those who receive the survey are encouraged to complete it and to be candid with regard to responses. The survey will be critical to the planning process of quality Catholic school education on the south side of metropolitan Atlanta, Sasso said.

Our Lady of Mercy High School opened in the fall of 2000 with ninth and tenth grades and has its first junior class this school year. Built for 500 students, it reported enrollment of 160 students in September.

Our Lady of Victory Elementary School opened in the fall of 1999 as kindergarten through eighth grade and has added a pre-kindergarten program. Designed for 250 students, it reported enrollment of 318 students in September.

Independent School Counsel is a consulting firm used by the Office of Catholic Schools and by non-public schools.