Posted by
Tom G. on Friday, April 11, 2008 3:32:23 PM
Catholic Education continues to outperform Public Education but enrollment is declining due to costs going up. This trend is most significant in Urban and Inner City Schools, costing many inner cities the benefits of a great education. The Liberal Establishment has been especially excited about the decline in Catholic Education as an option for inner city youth, but at what cost? Just last week we see that 17 of the top 50 Cities have a public education nightmare, where graduation rates are below 50%, lower than 30% in many big cities. Public Education is failing inner city America, and Liberals remain silent. Liberals have ignored the successes of Catholic Education and the long history of taking Inner City youth and producing educated young men and women.
Over the last 8 years, over 1200 Catholic Schools have closed, nearly all in the Urban Inner Cities where they are most needed. Quoting from the Report...
U. S. Catholic school enrollment reached its peak during the early 1960s when there were more than 5.2 million students in almost thirteen thousand schools across the nation. The 1970s and 1980s saw a steep decline in both the number of schools and students. By 1990, there were approximately 2.5 million students in 8,719 schools. From the mid 1990s though 2000, there was a steady enrollment increase (1.3%) despite continued closings of schools
reported school closures, and illustrates that the elementary schools in the twelve large urban areas of the country have been the most affected, with a loss of 13.3% of schools since 2003.
the national and elementary enrollment trend data. Since 2000, elementary school enrollment has declined by 24.7% in the 12 urban dioceses and 15.8% in the rest of the U.S.
Since the Milwaukee experiment in VOUCHERS, we have seen a growing success chain in the effectiveness of Educational Vouchers in the US. Despite these overwhelming successes, the Educational Establishment has thwarted even greater use and application of the only proven improvement available to students from traditionally difficult areas, or at rish areas.
Interestingly, the cost of Catholic Education has risen and impacted the availability of Catholic Schools, but this problem which has its roots in the movement from Clerics and Sisters/Brothers as faculty to Laity, remains cheaper than Public Ed. Over the last 25 years it has become less and less likely that you would be taught by a Brother or Sister and instead, you are more likely to be taught by the Laity, more like Public School than the historic Catholic Education.
Despite this normalizing of experience, the result remain dramatic, if you attend a Catholic School, no matter your background, you have a true headstart on life. While the cost is becoming more in line with general Private costs, it is still cheap in relative terms.
PUBLIC $8922
PRIVATE $4689
CATHOLIC $3236
Consider for a moment that if you provide for the MONEY to FOLLOW the STUDENT in the form of a VOUCHER, even if you provide it at 50% of the Public School average value, you'll allow for Inner City Kids to attend most schools in the region. This would leave 50% of the cost of Child A still in the Public School System if that child was able to bring the money with them. so for every child that utilizes the voucher, he or she would be leaving money in the Public School system.
Additionally, since Faculty traditionally have been Clerics, Brothers and Sisters, they have become more like Public and Private schools of late, hiring Laity to fill staff and teaching positions. This is a net gain for education specialists, not a labor shortage of positions. This practice of compitition would also raise the Salary as a result of compitition for quality Teaching.
Really, the only losers in the use of Vouchers for Catholic Schools would be Catholic Children who happen to not be eligible for the Vouchers. They would be forced to decide whether to spend additional dollars on Catholic Education or the taxes they already spend on Public Schools in their area.
Teachers would win, Inner City youth would win, Catholic Education would win and only those who do not qualify for the voucher would possibly lose...simplistic yes, but rhetorical.
Liberals talk a good game about the Children but fail nearly everytime the talk is put to the test, No Child Left Behind!