CARA report examines Catholic school closings over last five years

Published: 2006-06-14

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A decline in the number of Catholic schools in the United States during the past five years reflects a demographic shift of where Catholics live more than a decline in the demand for Catholic education, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate in Washington. In a report released May 23, CARA researchers linked the closure of 339 Catholic schools in the last five years to the dynamic that "Catholic people move, schools don't." The National Catholic Educational Association commissioned CARA, an independent Catholic research agency based at Georgetown University, to research the status of U.S. Catholic elementary schools and look at both the long- and short-term trends that have brought about school closures. The results are outlined in "Primary Trends, Challenges and Outlook: A Special Report on U.S. Catholic Elementary Schools, 2000-2005."

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