An overall gain of 10 students across the 24 elementary schools and three high schools in the Diocese was reported. A more official count will be taken early this month.
“We’re stable,” says Patricia Vesely, Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese. “Some schools have new programs that account for their increase in students.”
Of the 24 elementary schools, ten reported increased enrollment while 13 reported a decrease. Several schools in the West End of the Diocese showed enrollment jumps, including Sacred Heart School in Rancho Cucamonga, which added 29 students over last year’s enrollment, and St. Peter and St. Paul School with a 24 student increase. Both Aquinas High School and Notre Dame High School reported double digit enrollment increases. High school enrollment is up by 27 students overall.
Vesely said she expected enrollment numbers to go up at many schools that typically get an influx of new pre-school students after Labor Day. “It’s a strategic challenge,” she said of the late arriving students, because enrollment numbers dictate school staffing and additional program budgets.
Enrollment challenges in the Catholic schools of the Diocese mirror those experienced around the nation. In the past six years, Catholic school enrollment has declined ten percent nationally. To reverse this trend, locally, 11 schools in the Diocese are participating in a program of Strategic Marketing and Development Planning offered by the group Catholic School Management.
The program focuses on sustainability through leadership structures that include the school principal and school board, and strategic planning efforts. Our Lady of the Assumption, Holy Rosary Academy, St. Catherine of Siena, Resurrection Academy and St. Francis de Sales schools are in the second year of the program.
St. James, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Riverside, St. Hyacinth Academy, Sacred Heart Academy and St. Hyacinth Academy are beginning the program this year.