As Catholic Schools Fall, Charters Rise
Across the country, Catholic schools are dying. And I'm not talking about the elite, country club-ish schools to which people like Chris Christie send their kids; no, I'm talking about inner-city and small suburban parish Catholic schools.
As is the case in many businesses on their last legs, the purveyors of Catholic schools are attempting to convince themselves that their biggest problem is marketing. Here in Jersey, the Newark Diocese just hired a layperson to rebrand their schools among the faithful and others. But the fact they had to go outside the clergy to hire someone highlights the real problem.
Catholic schools used to rely on an army of low-wage, well-educated nuns and priests to do the teaching and administrating. But unless Benedict's replacement is a radical and starts allowing women to become priests and marriage among the ordained (don't hold your breath), those days are long gone. Catholic schools just don't have the workforce of religious that made them economically viable; to survive, they must now draw from the laity, who
As is the case in many businesses on their last legs, the purveyors of Catholic schools are attempting to convince themselves that their biggest problem is marketing. Here in Jersey, the Newark Diocese just hired a layperson to rebrand their schools among the faithful and others. But the fact they had to go outside the clergy to hire someone highlights the real problem.
Catholic schools used to rely on an army of low-wage, well-educated nuns and priests to do the teaching and administrating. But unless Benedict's replacement is a radical and starts allowing women to become priests and marriage among the ordained (don't hold your breath), those days are long gone. Catholic schools just don't have the workforce of religious that made them economically viable; to survive, they must now draw from the laity, who
