USA Today recently ran a piece on the dwindling enrollment of Catholic schools in America. As a Catholic educator in a middle school setting, I see this as a sad fact and bellwether of the current recession. Individuals choose thermoses of coffee from home over dipping into Starbucks on the way to work. Families are being cautious before they get into financial difficulty. "Maybe after next year, we'll send the kids back to St. So-and-so's."My own diocese office of Catholic Schools sets its academic and technology standards high. We "teach to the guidelines," not just follow the textbooks' lay-outs. We're beginning cutting-edge work in curriculum mapping -- an "ooo-aaaa" Rube Goldberg contraption that will, if we ever get it all up and running, have virtual transparency and global connectedness into every teacher's lesson plans in a constant flux of changing and rechanging educational objectives' effectiveness from now until doom's day.
But will it help the current enrollment crisis per se? It may tell parents of potential students, "Look at us! Catholic schools are superior to public schools. We're smaller, more personal, superior in academics and technology. In short: your child deserves a Catholic education." But a money crunch is a money crunch, and even our better schools are struggling -- as families are -- with cash flow today.
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