Catholic schools

New Schools: A Story of Growth and New Life

April 23, 2024

As far as many people know, the story of Catholic education in the United States over the last two decades is a story of declining enrollment and closing schools. That story does fit the reality in some places. According to the NCEA Statistical Report on Schools 2023-24, enrollment in Catholic schools dropped by over 96,000 students over the last five years (5.4% of the total enrollment). In addition, over the last five years, a total of 477 Catholic schools have closed in the United States.

At the same time, the story of declining enrollment and closing schools is not the only story of Catholic education right now. There is also a story of growth and new life. Most of that enrollment decline for the last five years took place in a single, pandemic influenced year, dropping 6.4% from 2019-20 to 2020-21. Since then, however, overall Catholic school enrollment grew 3.7% from 2020-21 to 2021-22, and then grew another 0.3% from 2021-22 to 2022-23. In addition that enrollment recovery, you can see new life in the existing Catholic schools that are expanding and in the new Catholic schools that are opening across the country each year.

The contrast between these two stories of Catholic education can be seen in this table of data from the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA). While the number of schools dropped in all six regions of the country from 2018-19 to 2023-24, there were also new Catholic schools that opened in 2023-24 in five of those six regions, with a total of 20 new schools overall for the year.

Where are these new schools opening – and why?

At Meitler, our perspective on these questions is informed by our work with Catholic schools around the country. In addition to strategic planning, Meitler works with many dioceses and parishes around the country to assess the enrollment potential and financial viability of possible new schools. We have analyzed demographic trends, conducted market research surveys, and led focus group discussions in many parts of the country.

In 2023 and 2024 alone, we have engaged in 19 new school studies. Those studies have taken place in each of NCEA’s six regions from the table above. They have also involved a variety of levels of schooling. Two studies have focused on opening early childhood centers. Meitler has done five studies for potential elementary schools, nine for high schools, two for schools with grades 6-12, and one for a K-12 school. That wide range of work illuminates some patterns in terms of new Catholic schools.

One reason for the new schools is shifting demographics. Sometimes that can mean demographics at the local level. We have done a new school study in a growing suburb while at the same time conducting a planning process to address low enrollment at another Catholic school just a few miles away, in a part of the city where the population is declining. At the national level, there is greater population growth in the Southeast and West/Far West regions than in other parts of the country. Many cities in those regions did not build a large number of parishes and Catholic schools 75 to 100 years ago the way that cities in the Great Lakes and Mideast regions did, so the Catholic communities in those southern and western cities are often underserved in terms of Catholic schools.

A second factor in many of these new school studies is state funding. Wherever school choice or tax credit scholarships are available to cover a significant amount of the cost to educate a student, a wider range of families can afford Catholic schools, which makes it more feasible to open a new school to serve those families.

A third factor is an increased willingness on the part of many stakeholders to explore other options. Our focus groups and survey results over the last three years consistently show that more parents in public schools are looking for something different – sometimes because of their experience with at-home learning during the pandemic, sometimes because of concerns about controversial issues and cultural trends in the broader society. More stakeholders are also interested in pursuing a particular focus in a Catholic school. We are seeing more interest across the country in classical Catholic schools, Catholic Montessori schools, in Catholic high schools that incorporate vocational and technical programs.

Several things characterize a Meitler new school study. One is a focus on long-term sustainability. The parishes or dioceses that we work with usually hear from a group of parents who are highly interested in opening a new school, but we want to be sure that the interest is broad enough and deep enough to sustain the school into the future. We don’t want to encourage the opening of a new Catholic school just to have it close a few years later due to weak support.

We also focus on a new school’s potential impact on enrollment at other Catholic schools in the region. Our goal is to grow Catholic schools in general, so we don’t want to encourage a new school to open if it will cause another Catholic school down the road to close.

Another focus is vision. Meitler’s new school studies engage a lot of stakeholders in a visioning process to reflect on what kind of school is called for at this time and in this place. We give them space to consider doing something bold or innovative. We also work with a local study team to develop a communications plan, so that the community is informed about the potential new school and is aware that exciting new things are happening. This awareness of new opportunities and the conversations about the school’s vision often generate new life even before any shovel breaks ground for the new school.

If you are interested in working with Meitler to clarify your vision and support it with data, please reach out to us. We would be happy to partner with you.

¹ NCEA divides the country into six regions.
New England includes six states (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT).
The Mideast region includes five states (DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA) and the District of Columbia.
The Great Lakes region includes five states (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI).
The Plains region includes seven states (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD).
The Southeast region includes twelve states (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, and WV).
The West/Far West region is the biggest, with fifteen states (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OK, OR, TX, UT, WA, WY).

Value Proposition Part Two: Which Proposition?

April 4, 2024

In the first part of this blog post, we looked at one key idea about value propositions (Whose value?). This part of the blog post explores another key idea that flows from the first.

We tend to talk about “value proposition” in the singular, as if a school should have one universal message to promote. If, however, the value proposition is about what the prospective family values and how the school can deliver that, then it is important to recognize that not all prospective families value the same thing. For some of them, their top priority is a strong Catholic culture that instills church teachings and will help their kids maintain their Catholic faith. For many other parents, their top priority is strong academics, including a disciplined classroom environment and the development of good study habits. Other parents might be concerned about their children getting lost in a large public school, and they want a school where their kids will be known and can find ways to connect and belong, whether that is in the theater or on a sports team. Each of these segments of a school’s audience needs a value proposition that responds to what they value.

So schools develop a set of messages that respond to those varied parent priorities. The key question, though, is how those messages are imagined and presented.

One way we can imagine them is like a photo collage. They all fit together, they are all shown at the same time. Some are a little larger, and you look at them first. Others are a little smaller, and get less of your attention. This might be how a school’s value proposition messages are communicated on the website or in the school’s printed materials. The first message is about faith, the second message is about academics, the third message is about community, the fourth message is about athletics, and so on. It’s an efficient way to communicate, but it’s not always completely effective. If a parent’s top priority is a connected community where their child will fit in and make friends, and the first and largest message is about religious instruction and the school’s authentic Catholic identity – or vice versa – then parents may not yet be convinced that this school is the right fit for them.

A second way of thinking of the school’s value proposition messages is like the cards you hold in your hand when you are playing a game. You have six or seven cards, but each time it is your turn to play, you can pick the card that will be the best fit for that situation. This is how you can approach your value proposition messages when you have an interview and school tour. You have an assortment of authentic messages about your school to draw from, and you can pick the right two or three messages that are the most appropriate fit for that particular family. The key is to know what drives the decision-making of prospective parents, and the best way to find out is simply to ask them.

The more a school can shift its thinking about its value proposition messages from the image of a static photo collage to the image of a set of cards, to be chosen strategically based on a particular family’s priorities, the better.

Women’s Leadership in Catholic Ministries and the Movie Cabrini

March 14, 2024

A number of years ago, I was giving a presentation to Catholic school teachers about the history of Catholic education in the United States. To get things started, I asked them to imagine a movie about the story of Catholic schools and come up with a tagline to summarize the story. One woman called out, “Catholic Schools: Brought to you by The Women.”

The statement got a lot of warm laughter, and there is certainly a lot of truth to it. Yes, there have been Catholic brothers, priests, and lay men involved in Catholic schools in the United States, but the majority of teachers and principals have been women. According to NCEA data, lay women currently make up 75% of professional staff in Catholic schools around the country (54% at the secondary level, and 85% at the elementary level). They also make up 68.5% of Catholic school principals.

The lay women in Catholic schools today follow in the footsteps of many religious sisters, tracing back to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and her Sisters of Charity. Many other teaching orders followed, staffing the growing number of Catholic schools around the country, including the Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph, Sisters of Loretto, Sisters of St. Francis, School Sisters of Notre Dame, and BVM sisters. These faith-filled, mission-focused women made a difference in the lives of countless students and thousands of schools and parishes.

The women serving in Catholic schools in the past and in the present, including the dynamic, committed women that Meitler has the privilege of working with in our Catholic school projects around the country, have provided and continue to provide important leadership in the Catholic Church. Because the Catholic Church does not ordain women, however, the extent of women’s leadership in the church is not always recognized. To help shine a light on that topic, Carolyn Woo (retired President of Catholic Relief Services) wrote a book in 2022 titled Rising: Learning from Women’s Leadership in Catholic Ministries. In the first half of the book, Woo offers observations and lessons about leadership. The second half of the book is made up of the stories of sixteen different women who are leaders in various segments of Catholic ministries, such as parish ministry, diocesan ministry, Catholic education, Catholic health care, and Catholic social service organizations. The leadership journeys of these diverse women are interesting to read, and the leadership lessons Woo offers are insightful and worthwhile. I recommend the book highly.

I was reminded of that book about Catholic women’s leadership last week when I went to see the film Cabrini, the story of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and her work in New York City in the late 1800s. The film has received very positive reviews, and I found it to be compelling and inspiring.

The movie illustrates several key points from Carolyn Woo’s book.

Women have always provided leadership in the Catholic Church.

In her introduction, Woo explains some of the motivation for writing her book: “I do not hold the view that women’s leadership in the Catholic Church is as rare, unusual, and out of reach as the perceptions held by many people inside and outside of the church.” She points out that leadership and authority are not the same thing. Leadership can be exercised by any person in any position; it does not require a particular title. St. Frances Cabrini, like so many women in the Church, showed leadership by responding to the needs in front of her and by influencing others to respond as well.

One of Cabrini’s lines in the film (that was taken from one of her actual letters) reminds us that women’s leadership can be traced back to the very beginning of the church. In response to a clergyman who told her that missionaries were typically men, Cabrini pointed out that the mission of announcing the resurrection to the apostles had been entrusted to a woman, Mary Magdalene, and that therefore it seemed fitting for other women to engage in an evangelizing mission as well.

Women leaders in the Church exhibit initiative and persistence.

Mother Cabrini’s mission to the Italian immigrants in New York City did not happen because someone with ecclesial authority sent her. She wasn’t sitting in Italy waiting for direction. She took the initiative and asked for approval to go on an overseas mission. After being turned down, she asked again. And again. It took a great deal of persistence before she finally arrived in New York. She then had to demonstrate initiative and persistence in order to get her first orphanage up and running, and then later to get her first hospital built.

Carolyn Woo describes a similar dynamic in her book, saying that the women leaders she profiles in the book take ownership of problems. They don’t leave problems unsolved so they can play it safe and not be seen as rocking the boat. They don’t let the job description be the finish line where they stop; instead, they go the extra mile if that is what it takes to resolve the issue.

Women leaders in the Church seek to bridge differences.

Another characteristic that Woo sees in the leaders in her book is a commitment to reach across boundaries and bridge differences. They seek collaboration as much as possible, engaging multiple stakeholders and trying to decrease polarization.

The movie shows Frances Cabrini building bridges as well. She was certainly willing to confront the prejudice people exhibited toward the Italian immigrants, but she never condemned the people themselves. She collaborated with an Irish doctor, solicited support for her hospital from a wide range of other immigrant groups, and eventually found a way to reach an understanding with the initially antagonistic mayor.

Overall, the movie shows Mother Cabrini living out her vocation, pursuing her mission to build “an empire of hope.” Her story can inspire us all, women and men, to pursue our own missions more passionately and persistently. It can also remind us of the vital, but sometimes unappreciated, service that Catholic women leaders have provided in so many ways for so many years.

Michael Taylor

Value Proposition Part One: Whose Value?

March 5, 2024

In our work with Catholic schools, we find that more and more Catholic school leaders are familiar with the concept of a value proposition and its importance to their school’s marketing and recruitment. A value proposition is a series of statements that clearly communicate the benefits of your school to prospective families. Simply put, it is your promise to deliver value to those families.

Many schools we have worked with have found it helpful to remind themselves about a couple of key ideas related to value propositions. One of them is a question of perspective. Schools can sometimes think of their value proposition as how they convey to prospective parents the benefits of what the school cares about most strongly. The value proposition becomes about what the school values. When schools remember to flip that around, focusing the value proposition on what the parent values and how the school delivers that, the schools regain some of the power of the value proposition.

For example, we worked with a Catholic high school that focused a lot of its marketing on the fact that it is an all-girls school. In our surveys of parents, however, we discovered that the single sex nature of the school was actually fairly low on the list of decision-making factors for the parents. Many more of them chose the school because they believed it would deliver academic excellence or because they believed it would provide a safe and secure learning environment. We helped the school shift its emphasis. Rather than focusing first on its all-girls identity, which was a lower priority for most parents, they began to focus first on the academic excellence the school could provide and the safe and secure learning environment, which were higher priorities for most parents. Being an all-girls school became the second thing they talked about – an element of how they deliver the excellence and the environment that parents are looking for.

This key idea about value propositions (Whose value?) leads to another key idea (Which proposition?), which will be addressed in part two of this blog post (coming soon).

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