“Catholic schools’ primary responsibility is one of witness.”
— Congregation for Catholic Education, Educating to Intercultural Dialogue in Catholic Schools: Living in Harmony for a Civilization of Love (2013), n. 57.
Whether our energy as U.S. Catholics reflecting about Hispanic children concentrates exclusively on the education they can receive in Catholic schools or the realities that the vast majority of them (97%) have to face while attending public schools, one thing is certain: the entire Catholic community in the United States must acknowledge that the education of the next generation of American Catholics may be in peril.18
Given these realities at this historical juncture, it is imperative to ask: how can we best strengthen and use our current resources (i.e., schools, teachers, buildings, parishes, dioceses, foundations, organizations, universities, etc.) to respond to the educational needs of Hispanic Catholic children and youth? The answer requires a major analysis of current realities, the development of appropriate action plans, and the commitment to change.
A Snapshot of Participating Schools
Regional alignment for school respondents matches the four regions utilized in the National Study of Catholic Parishes with Hispanic Ministry19 to provide a consistent platform for future analysis based on the two research efforts. Most parishes with Hispanic ministry in the United States are located in the South and the West (61%) with a smaller group represented by the Northeast and Midwest (39%). The Catholic schools surveyed share a similar geographical distribution. Of the total, 63% of the schools are located in the South and the West, while 37% are located in the Northeast and Midwest. This is consistent with the distribution of the Hispanic Catholic population in the United States, yet it is different from the distribution of most Catholic schools and parishes.
Nearly two-thirds (61.3%) of all Catholic schools are concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest regions as defined in this report.20 Yet the larger percentage of those schools identified as serving Hispanic families is in the South and the West where the Catholic population is growing fast, particularly school-age Hispanics. While 53.6% of Hispanics in the South and 61.4% in the West self-identify as Catholic,21 these are also the regions of the country with the fewest resources to meet the needs of Hispanic Catholic families.
Most Catholic schools are located in those regions (Northeast and Midwest) where Catholicism flourished during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but today is experiencing some decline. This observation does not suggest that in the regions experiencing Catholic demographic decline Hispanics are absent. On the contrary, tens of thousands of Hispanic families, among other ethnic groups, are bringing new life to parishes and dioceses. It is estimated that between 2000 and 2010, the Hispanic population increased by 33% in the Northeast and 49% in the Midwest, often exceeding the capacity of existing parish resources. However, total enrollment of Hispanic children in Catholic schools in these regions—11.2% in the Northeast and 7.9% in the Midwest22—does not reflect the population shifts.
These changing demographics are challenging and ever present. Observations of responding principals are quite illuminating. One principal observed: “The Hispanic community feels somehow ‘separate’ from the rest of the Church. There is a co-existence of sorts….” Another indicates that the reason Hispanic families are not enrolled is, “Because we cannot provide ESL classes, and the students have to be fluent in English to be able to succeed.” Another principal echoes a common concern: “The Spanish-speaking community is very connected and involved in the parish. Many see the Catholic school as an elite option.” And finally this observation suggests the real test: “A challenge is when the demographics of the parish have changed over time, and now the school looks different than it did 10 years ago. Change is hard for everyone, especially adults…people are afraid of people’s difference. How do you help a community see the value of other?”
TABLE 1
REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF ALL CATHOLIC PARISHES AND CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES, PARISHES WITH HISPANIC MINISTRY, AND CATHOLIC SCHOOLS SERVING HISPANIC FAMILIES
Many individual proactive Catholic schools are meeting the needs of Hispanic families, yet there are significant differences across regions when comparing availability of schools and the Hispanic student population. And as we observed earlier, the majority of Catholic schools are located in the Northeast and Midwest and yet these are the two regions where Hispanic enrollment is the lowest. In the South and the West, serving Hispanic children does not seem to be an option since this is the dominant student population, yet the number of Catholic schools and resources is very limited.
SAMPLED SCHOOLS BY REGION
School Types, Affiliations and Facilities
Most responding school leaders are associated with pre-K–8 elementary schools, with only 6% serving in secondary schools. Ninety-four percent reported some form of association with at least one parish while 16% noted an association with two or three parishes and 12% with four or more parishes. As expected, the majority of responding schools (91%) are responsible to their arch/dioceses. The remaining 9% are independent or sponsored by a religious order. The vast majority of respondents (99%) reported the presence of an arch/diocesan office of Catholic education and 72% reported the existence of an arch/diocesan office for Hispanic ministry. Catholic schools exist in communion with the arch/bishop and are expected to work collaboratively with the arch/diocese. Key central offices are important and can be a source of support and direction for Catholic school leaders.
The majority of schools in the West and the South were established in the 1950s while in the Northeast and Midwest the median start date was between 1917 and 1924. This illustrates important regional differences regarding the age of these schools and their facilities.
Reasons for Hope
There is no doubt that most Catholic parents want to pass on the gift of the Christian faith to the next generation and want to do it while their children are prepared in the best possible way to succeed in life. For centuries, Catholic schools have been among the strongest allies of Catholic families in the United States to achieve these goals. The still strong-number of Catholic schools in the United States reminds us of their incredible potential. These institutions are uniquely positioned to play a major role in the lives of school-age Catholics and their families in our day. They have already done it. Not long ago, millions of immigrants from Europe arrived in the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with the hope for a more fulfilling life and better opportunities to live their human existence to the fullest. One of their first concerns was to procure the best possible education for their children. Catholic schools became instrumental in giving millions of Catholic children a strong grounding in the faith and the tools to succeed in society. Commitment to Catholic education ultimately meant a stronger Church and a stronger society.
The greatest treasure that our Catholic families have is their children. As the Catholic population in the United States grows steadily, thanks mainly to the Hispanic presence, the number of Catholic children in the country has never been larger. Most of these children are Hispanic. The least Catholic families expect from their church, as well as from its educational institutions, is that the treasure they cherish most dearly—their children—be joyfully embraced and intentionally cultivated. The hope of Catholic families for their children today, millions of them immigrant and Hispanic, coincides with that of Catholic families in previous generations: an education that provides a strong grounding in the faith and the tools to succeed in our contemporary society. Commitment to a Catholic education of Hispanic children
