Catholic school

This article is about Catholic schools in general, for specific schools named Catholic High School, see Catholic High School (disambiguation).

Catholic schools are education ministries of the Roman Catholic Church. These schools aim to develop their students through participation in the sacramental life of the Church, study of religion and theology, a full curriculum in secular subjects, and a variety of extra-curricular activities.

Religion is included in the learning experience, and school uniforms are often a requirement for students. While it is common for Catholic schools to require non-Catholic students to take Catholic religion classes and attend the various religious exercises of the school (except in Muslim nations where this is prohibited by law), a requirement that the student must be Catholic to attend a Catholic school is extremely rare.

Canada

In Canada, publicly funded Catholic schools are referred to as 'separate schools'. While historically Catholic schools received public funding in many provinces, currently seven of the thirteen provinces and territories still fund faith based schools[1]. A UN committee has accused the Ontario Ministry of Education of discriminating against non-Catholics by funding Catholic separate schools, but not funding other separate schools. For more information see Education in Canada.

Public schools in Québec

Public schools in the province of Québec were organized along confessional lines until amendments to the Education Act took effect on July 1, 1998. Thus there existed parallel Catholic and Protestant school boards, financed and controlled by the province, that assured public education. Before 1998, most non-Catholics attended Protestant schools because they did not overly emphasize religious devotion, perhaps due to the variety of beliefs in Protestantism. Catholic schools, on the other hand, incorporated preparatory courses for the Sacraments into the curriculum, celebrated Mass on major feast days, organized retreats and promoted prayer at the beginning of the school day and before meals. Until the changes of 1998, the law required all religion teachers in Catholic schools to be practicing Catholics. Religion courses at the time, while dealing with Theology and Church history, were more pastoral in nature, especially in elementary schools. It was thus assumed that a non-believer could not properly instruct children in the Catholic Faith.

The reforms of 1998 organized school boards along linguistic lines — English and French — and reduced their number, among other things. Masses are no longer celebrated in former Catholic schools and teachers may lead children in prayer only when it is inclusive. Religion courses are still offered in schools, though students can choose to follow moral education classes instead. Furthermore, while schools in multicultural neighborhoods removed their crucifixes and requested name changes (most Catholic schools had been named after saints), those in Catholic or immigrant neighborhoods tended to passively resist the changes. For example, crucifixes still hang on classroom walls in many schools in the east end of Montréal, which is predominantly French and Italian.

Before the reforms of 1998, each Catholic and Protestant school board had an English and a French sector. The importance of either sector varied from region to region and board to board.

For more information see Education in Québec.

Great Britain

In England and Wales, Catholic schools are either independent or Voluntary aided, with funding shared between the state and the Catholic Education Service. The service provides education for around 840,000 pupils each year through its 2,300 schools. In addition, some 130 independent schools have a Catholic character.

Catholic schools in Scotland were not absorbed into the state system until 1918, much later than in the rest of Britain. Apart from those institutions which are independent of the state system, Catholic schools all fully funded by the Scottish Government. There are legal provisions (missing in England & Wales) to ensure the Catholicity of such schools within the system e.g. applicants for positions in the areas of Religion, Guidance or Senior Management must be approved by the local Diocese, and are invariably Catholic.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, Catholic schools are termed 'integrated schools' for the purposes of funding. Effectively, this means that teachers' salaries and learning materials are publicly funded, but school property is not. New Zealand's Catholic schools are built on land owned by the diocese; if the government were to fund Catholic school property it would be transferring wealth to the bishop, breaking the separation of church and state.

United States

In the United States, Catholic schools are accredited by independent and/or state agencies, and teachers are generally certified. Catholic elementary and secondary schools receive virtually no government funding (though state-funded classroom equipment such as overhead projectors have been provided in some areas, but restricted from use in Catholic religion classes) Schools are supported through tuition payments, and fund raising. Most Catholic schools are operated by a local parish community, a diocese or archdiocese, or a religious order.

Mater Dei High School a small Catholic high school in New Jersey

Many Catholic schools in the United States accept students of all religions, ethnic backgrounds, and ability; however, some only accept Catholics, and some will accept Catholics along with Episcopalian and/or Eastern Orthodox students. More competitive Catholic schools tend to have tighter religious requirements in addition to tighter academic requirements and/or an entrance exam. It is a common expectation that non-Catholic students take religion classes and participate in the spiritual exercises of the school. Many schools have a policy (sometimes written) banning proselytizing in any form. Some schools (normally elementaries) are owned by a particular parish while high schools are often owned by a group of parishes (more common in the South and West), a religious order (more common in Northeast), or a diocese. Except in the case of independent schools, local Catholic pastors are invariably members of the school board. In some dioceses the bishop holds the title of superintendent, while others have delegated this responsibility to the head of the Office of Catholic Schools. In terms of practicality, it is the local pastors who fulfill this function.

Enrollment

The United States had 7,498 Catholic schools in 2006-07, including 6,288 elementary schools and 1,210 secondary schools. In total there were 2,320,651 students, including 1,682,412 students in the elementary/middle schools and 638,239 in high schools. Over the last decade, Catholic schools have been closing at a faster rate than new ones are opening--yielding a net loss of more than 100 schools annually nationwide.

See also

• Christian school
• Boarding school
• Liberal arts college
• Parochial school
• Private school
• Public school
• Public school (England)
• Marist School - Marikina

External links

• American Catholic Parochial School statistics 1993-4
• National Catholic Educational Association – more information on Catholic schools in the United States
• Catholic Colleges and Universities in the United States
• Catholic Schools List of Catholic schools in Australia
• Save the Catholic Schools!
• Can Catholic Elementary Schools Survive?
• Catholic Schools Fight to Keep Doors Open