Saturday, July 11, 2009

Fordham Professor Trying Figure Out Why Catholic Schools Are Disappearing


Gerald M. Cattaro, Ed.D.
As a professor of education, chair of the Division of Educational Leadership, Administration and Policy at Fordham, and executive director of the Center for Catholic School Leadership in the Graduate School of Education (GSE), Cattaro plays a critical role in the ongoing effort to revitalize Catholic schools.

It is a subject he knows well, and about which he is extremely passionate, having worked for 18 years as a principal at a Catholic school in Brooklyn.

“When I was in Brooklyn, we had over 250 Catholic schools. We’re down to about 130 schools now,” he said. “When I was there, I was one of four laypeople who were principals. Today, there may be 10 religious left.”
One of the ways Cattaro helped bolster Catholic education, which has been battered by closing schools and rising tuition, was to organize “Paul: Prophetic Missionary and Transforming Leader,” a weeklong conference that took place from June 25 to July 1 in Vatican City, Rome.

The conference, which linked leaders of Catholic education from states as disparate as Florida, Indiana, New Orleans and New York with counterparts in the Vatican, was inspired by conversations Cattaro had with His Eminence Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski, prefect for the Congregation for Catholic Education.

Catholic school superintendents and vicars of education from the United States had the opportunity to discuss three core issues with their counterparts at the Vatican: identity, quality and affordability.

Link (here) to the full story.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The reason there are fewer Catholic schools. Is because tuition is no longer affordable to the average Catholic family. Catholics do not always trust the religious education available at their local parish. And with the abundance of Catholic two child households, there are less potential students to educate.

Mike Shea said...

There is at least one diocese in this country where Catholic schools are thriving.

That diocese is Wichita and its story can be found here.

Anonymous said...

Catholic schools disappears where Catholic identity has disappeared.

Anonymous said...

Give some more importance to Catholic Schools...



Thanks for sharing...


___________________
Andrew
The Best PRICE for the BEST ENTERTAINMENT