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Published: February 17, 2010

Another Catholic school in trouble

Resurrection Academy in Fontana struggles to survive

Enrollment at Resurrection Academy in Fontana, a Catholic school that educates students from pre-school through 8th grade, has dropped by 40 pupils since last academic year, prompting yard sales, second collections and other efforts to keep the school’s doors open.

“When school began at Resurrection Academy in Fontana this year the impact of the economic recession was painfully clear,” reports The Inland Catholic BYTE, the San Bernardino diocesan newspaper. “The school, part of Blessed John XXIII parish, had seen its enrollment plummet from above 200 students to about 160. In response to the drop, Principal Madeleine Thomas, along with Superintendent of Catholic Schools Patricia Vesely and parish pastor, Father Tim Keppel, C.R., met with school parents to discuss the need to boost enrollment and stabilize school finances.”

Vesely told parents at a meeting in November 2009 the school must enroll at least 20 more students “to avoid financial insolvency,” the BYTE reported. “Parent Mara Olamendi said the meeting raised alarm among parents about the future of the school.”

"Most are willing to roll up their sleeves and work to raise money and boost enrollment," Olamendi, who has two children at the school, told the diocesan paper. "We put our kids here for a reason. It’s not just the level of education, it’s that it’s secure here, they are taught respect, family values."

Parents and school staff, as well as members of Blessed John XXIII parish, which sponsors the school, have since engaged in a series of efforts to raise money and increase enrollment. Among the activities, said the BYTE, have been yard sales, a fundraiser at an area beauty parlor, and second collections at the parish. The efforts to raise money and to make the public aware of the school’s plight “have already brought nine new students to Resurrection Academy,” the BYTE reported.

Resurrection Academy was founded in 1961.

Other Catholic schools in California have also faced plummeting enrollment and undertaken efforts to recruit new students. In December 2009, Jesuit High School in Sacramento, which describes itself as “one of the top private high schools in the country,” began advertising in newspapers and on the radio in a campaign to attract new students.

Other Catholic schools have not been successful in bolstering enrollment, forcing their closure. In January 2009, the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary announced it was closing Loretto High, a college preparatory school for girls that had operated in Sacramento since 1955. “Enrollment at the all-girls school numbered 560 students three years ago, but had fallen to 389 students this year,” said the announcement of the closing.

The Sacramento Bee published a story in February 2009 revealing the extent of the problem at Catholic schools in the Sacramento diocese. For example, the newspaper reported, at St. Patrick School in Sacramento, “which has educated students since 1932, enrollment has dropped 64 percent in the past five years. In 2003, 303 students attended the school. This year, 109 are enrolled.” Several of the other 51 schools in the diocese “have had double-digit enrollment drops in the past few years and are struggling to keep their doors open,” said the Bee.

Citing “a decade-long decline in enrollment,” the Los Angeles archdiocese announced in October 2007 that it was closing Daniel Murphy High School. In 2008, the Diocese of San Bernardino closed Precious Blood School in Banning, which served students from pre-school to the eighth grade.

According to the National Catholic Education Association, enrollment in U.S. Catholic elementary schools fell from 2,030,702 in 1997-98 to 1,647,959 in 2007-08. “Between the 2000 and the 2008 school years, there were 1,267 schools that closed (15.5%),” the NCEA reported. “The number of students declined by 382,125 (14.4 %). The most seriously impacted have been elementary schools.”

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