Only 3 percent of school-age Latinos attend Catholic schools, where they enjoy much higher success rates, a vexing fact given the high failure rates among Latinos in public schools, according to a study by a University of Notre Dame task force released Saturday at St. Rose of Lima Catholic School in Denver.
Latino enrollment in Catholic schools has remained stagnant for the past 15 years, despite a growing Latino population, the study said.
By 2003, one in five students in American schools was Latino, and that proportion has been increasing.
“For several years I averaged 15 students in my class; this year there were 27 students enrolled,” said Carolyn Klebba, a second- grade teacher at St. Rose.
But more than 1,400 Catholic schools have closed since 2000, and enrollment is down by nearly a half-million students. More than 690,000 seats are empty in existing Catholic schools.
The goal of the Notre Dame task force, composed of 52 Catholic educators, pastors, philanthropists and business professionals, is to more than triple the number of Latinos in Catholic schools in 10 years, increasing national enrollment to more than 1 million from 290,000. The task force would also like to see 600 schools opened in the next decade.
This is necessary for the welfare of Latino families, the Catholic Church and civil society, the task force said.
The study estimates that Catholic schools nationally save taxpayers more than $20 billion.
“Faith guides our learning, and learning guides our faith,” said eighth-grader Jesse Estrada Segura.
However, such philosophies are not always enough to move the masses toward Catholic school enrollment.
The task force heard from parent focus groups that, although often stating a preference for sending their children to Catholic schools, cited several reasons why they couldn’t. Among the reasons were: expense, difficulty in obtaining information about Catholic schools, language barriers and transportation and day-care issues.
Denver is a city where less than 20 percent of Latino male eighth-graders graduate from high school, according to a 2006 Harvard University study.
Alumni of St. Rose of Lima boast a 98 percent high school graduation rate, according to the Notre Dame study.
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com
