After Years of Declining Enrollment, Chicago Catholic Schools Now Holding Their Own

By Reginald Williams

Marisa Sepulveda said she sends her daughter, Karolina, to St. Francis de Sales High School on Chicago’s Southeast Side because the school offers “a true perspective on good morals and religious beliefs.”

Sepulveda said the small high school, which has 265 students, enforces “a lot of discipline and teaches values and morals.”

Tuition at the school is $600 per month, which Sepulveda said poses a financial hardship for her. Her older daughter, now in college, also attended St. Francis.

Nevertheless, Sepulveda said she will always be glad she has sent both her daughters to a Catholic school. She did not elect to have them attend the local public school, Washington High School, at E. 114th Street.

Sepulveda is one of many parents in Chicago who struggles to afford the tuition for their children’s Catholic school. Some parents say attending the local Chicago Public School simply isn’t an option for them; they select a Catholic school for its traditional education and exposure to Catholic teachings and values. And after many years of declining enrollment, the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago reports that Catholic schools are now holding their own.

Ryan Blackburn, marketing director for the Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic Schools, SAID 90,000 students attend Catholic schools in Chicago. That number is dwarfed by the 400,000 students in the public school system, making Chicago the third largest system in the country following New York and Los Angeles.

Blackburn said Catholic schools in Chicago last year lost 550 students, but that is a smaller drop than in previous years, when they shed 3,000 students every year during the past decade.

“The reason for the smaller loss of students is that the schools are getting better at telling their story,” he said. “They are getting better at telling why they provide great options — a value-based education, a high quality education and a great network of parents.”

Mary Ramirez, principal at St. Francis, said the school has lots to offer.

“We’re not close to closing, because we are a vital element of the East Side community, as well as the Archdiocesan Catholic School system,” said Ramirez.

Ramirez has worked at St. Francis for 26 years and has served as principal for three. She said she has seen dramatic changes in the school. “When I first started teaching here, there was more than twice the number of students,” said Ramirez in an e-mail.

She attributed the drop in enrollment to recent tuition hikes.

Sepulveda said she agreed, adding, “The tuition in a little bit high, and parents cannot afford it in today’s economy. It is very difficult to pay the tuition. It is a struggle because you have to make a lot of sacrifices.”

Ramirez said the school has lost enrollment because of other factors as well, including the development of magnet and charter schools across the city. In 2004, Mayor Richard Daley announced Renaissance 2010 — his plan to close dozens of poorly performing schools and create 100 new ones, most of them charter and contract schools, by 2010. These new schools are drawing students from private academies, according to the CPS website.

Other competitors to the Catholic schools are the secular private schools like the Latin School and Francis Parker, both on Chicago’s North Side.

Chicago educates a high percentage of its children in private schools, but about two out of three private school students in Chicago attend Catholic schools, according to AllBusiness.com. In 2000, Chicago ranked third among the 10 largest cities in the United States in the percentage of high school students attending private schools, according to AllBusiness.com.

In this competitive environment, Ramirez said that the school has to make up for revenue that has been lost because of the drop in enrollment She said St. Francis depends more on help from corporate donors and other outside funding sources.

“We have to increase our PR and attract more corporate sponsorships to assist families in affording tuition,” said Ramirez. “I believe that St. Francis de Sales is a truly special place that provides a wonderful educational and family experience for young men and women, and I am proud to be able to say I work here and I strive to be a good leader.”

Sepulveda’s daughter, Karolina, is also glad to be attending St. Francis. “I feel comfortable in the environment of the school,” she said. “I think it does provide a better education because being in a Catholic school teaches you morals and good manners that you have to use in the real world.”