Statistics released on enrollment, staffing in U.S. Catholic schools

Published: 2007-04-16

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Enrollment figures for Catholic schools in the 2006-07 academic year show "a continued significant decline in the elementary school population and a slight increase in secondary school enrollment," according to a report by the National Catholic Educational Association. Total enrollment fell by 1.8 percent, or 42,569 students, said the annual statistical report prepared by Sister Dale McDonald, a Sister of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary who is NCEA director of public policy and educational research. The 51-page report was released during the April 10-13 NCEA convention in Baltimore. "While enrollment has declined in all regions of the country (12.5 percent since 2000), the largest decreases have been centered in the large urban areas (15 percent), principally in the Mideast and the Great Lakes, areas that were populated by high concentrations of Catholic immigrants in the late 19th and 20th centuries," said the report's executive summary. "The good news is that there is a strong demand and enthusiasm for Catholic schools in areas of the Southeast and Far West," it added. "Waiting lists now exist in 34 percent of the schools, primarily in suburban areas."

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