Weathering the Storm and Building an Ark for Catholic Schools

The research summarized in the publication, Weathering the Storm: Moving Catholic Schools Forward by Leonard DeFiore, John J. Convey, and Merylann J. Schuttloffel reminds us that there is incontrovertible evidence that Catholic schools are the answer to a whole host of important questions facing our Church and our society. No informed person seriously questions the value of Catholic schools. What is questioned is their cost and viability—especially in urban areas.

The foreword to this very insightful publication says it all: There will be no more prizes for predicting rain; only for building arks. And in this spirit, Weathering the Storm, to its great credit, offers practical suggestions for “ark building.” Let me call your attention, briefly, to what the authors recommend as “a series of strategies which, if well-planned and implemented, will significantly improve the condition of Catholic education nationally, or at least in any diocese that undertakes such reforms.” Afterward, I will offer some thoughts on how the concept of mission advancement can help us implement these “reforms” and become even more successful at building for the future.

First, in the interests of time, let me summarize—too briefly—what Weathering the Storm has to say about the value of Catholic schools. After calling attention to significant research dating from the 1960s and 70s through the present day, the authors summarize the evidence this way: “In sum, Catholic schools appear to produce a unique set of important outcomes that neither other Church programs nor secular institutions can duplicate. Thus, the praise heaped upon Catholic schools, as well as the value attached to them, is well-merited.” (WS, p. 5) This is the low-key, scholarly way of saying Catholic schools are incredibly unique and invaluable resources for our Church and for society!

The value and benefits of Catholic schools are clear. What about the challenges?
The challenges are clear also. The decline in Catholic school enrollment which began in the 1960s continues unabated. The total number of Catholic schools has also declined steadily since the 1970s. “The data are disheartening,” the authors say. Since 1970, more than 4000 Catholic schools have closed; more than 1400 since 2000. According to WS, “The dioceses with the largest number of closings are: Chicago, Detroit, Newark and Brooklyn each with over 40 school closings, and Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo, St. Louis and Cleveland, each with over 30 school closings.” (WS, p. 9)

The decline in enrollment is exacerbated by the economic recessions of the past decade which the authors say “have had powerful effects on the ability of families to afford rising tuitions and the ability of dioceses and parishes to provide adequate support.” (WS, p. 9) Competition provided by the rapidly-growing number of charter schools is a growing challenge, the authors say. The media attention given to accusations of sex abuse by clergy is also a challenge that many believe has had a negative impact on fundraising and has severely strained diocesan budgets. (No data is available to confirm or deny these assumptions about the effects of the sex abuse scandal, but the negative impressions are very strong.)

Once again, to summarize the findings outlined in Weathering the Storm, the primary challenges facing Catholic schools today are: 1) the increasing number of Catholic school closings and the negative, downward momentum this creates, 2) the continuing decline in enrollment, and 3) the growing gap between parents’ desire to send their children to Catholic schools and these schools’ affordability and availability.

Why do Catholic schools close?

The authors say, “In the vast majority of cases, Catholic schools close because the financial circumstances of the school have become untenable.” (WS, p. 12. Emphasis in the original.) They then list seven factors that contribute to a school’s “untenable” financial circumstances:

1. Declining demographics
2. Weak leadership – local parish and school as well as diocesan leadership
3. Weak Catholic identity
4. Academic problems
5. Family financial circumstances
6. Strong competition
7. Parents don’t sufficiently value Catholic education

Urban Catholic schools have all of the above problems and more. The authors cite five areas of challenge facing Catholic schools in the city: 1) finances, 2) governance, 3) leadership, 4) community or neighborhood issues, and 5) societal or cultural issues. (See WS, pp. 12-22)

I regret that we don’t have time to do more than name these issues, but we need to move on to the authors’ blueprint for “constructing the ark” and to some discussion of how mission advancement can help.

Weathering the Storm takes the position that “there is no one thing that if accomplished will ensure success.” In other words, there is no silver bullet or magic solution. Success can come only by managing well a number of strategic actions. According to the authors, “The goal is to identify a series of critical, locally-relevant factors that are managed well by strong, local leaders who directly attend to these factors and who are well supported by effective diocesan leadership, policies and procedures.”

I think the authors of Weathering the Storm are correct in their assessment, and I would add that the very complexity of responding effectively to all of the challenges facing our schools is itself part of the problem. It was not so long ago that managing a Catholic school was simple—or at least seemed simple to the ordinary observer. Is it possible to make the management of Catholic schools less complicated than it appears today? Or do we need to find new ways to deal with the increasingly complicated issues confronting the governance, leadership and management of our Catholic schools—perhaps developing new structures at the local and diocesan levels?
Critical Elements for Success
Here are the “critical elements for success” cited by the authors of Weathering the Storm:

1. Effective leadership
2. Enrollment
3. Financial stability
4. Academic quality
5. Catholic identity
6. Strategic planning

According to the authors, “while each of these elements is important itself, the key to the viability, vitality and effectiveness of schools is their attainment as a package. All of them are needed to achieve the goal of a strong and effective Catholic school” (WS, pp. 23-24).

Looking at this list of “critical elements for success” from my perspective as one who has spent more than 30 years teaching stewardship and raising funds for Catholic organizations, I can’t help but ask the question: Why isn’t mission advancement (development or fundraising) included in this list? The authors do discuss several different funding strategies at the diocesan level, and they cite the need for endowments and for increased giving at the parish level through forms of stewardship education and tithing. But nowhere do they discuss—or even call attention to—the importance of development or “advancement” at the local parish and school level or in the diocese. I believe this is a serious omission – one that contributes to the difficulty we have “moving Catholic schools forward” in the face of serious challenges in leadership, enrollment and financial management.

I support the authors’ argument that we need a comprehensive approach to advancing the mission of Catholic education nationwide. But I strongly believe that this comprehensive approach must include—and, I would argue, needs to be driven by—the concept of development or mission advancement.

The February issue of The Good Steward Newsletter will offer some practical suggestions on advancing the mission of Catholic schools.

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Copyright © 2011, Daniel Conway
Source: http://www.omearaferguson.com/gsn/gsn-jan11/