Crystal ball for Catholic schools

Re “Many Catholic schools fight to survive,” Oct. 30

There is no mystery as to why Catholic schools are losing enrollment. I removed my children from their Catholic school for many reasons. First, they were no stronger academically than the local public schools. The class size was very large, and the cost was unaffordable, especially for parents of large families.

However, in my experience, there is one singular reason why Catholic schools are losing students: They no longer teach the faith and are Catholic in name only.

The religion curriculum is watered down, and some of what my children learned in school was even contrary to the teachings of the church. What is the point of sending your children to a Catholic school if they do not learn their faith? I am now home-schooling, as are many other Catholic families who long to find a good school that teaches from a truly Catholic perspective. When I find one, I’ll be the first in line to enroll my children.

Diane Wills

Westminster

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You don’t have to be Catholic to appreciate the implications of the dramatic decrease in the number of parochial schools across the country. Over the years, these schools have provided poor children with a sound education at a modest cost. If it were not for their existence, parents too often would have little choice beyond abysmal neighborhood schools. That’s why low-income families constitute about one-fourth of Catholic school enrollment nationally.

But Catholic schools also appeal to non-Catholics, who enroll their children for the discipline and academics that have been the schools’ hallmarks for generations. At one time, Catholic schools educated one out of every eight children in the U.S., and did it quite well, as sociologist James Coleman and his colleagues documented in 1982. Catholic schools are still the largest nongovernment provider of education in the U.S., according to the National Catholic Educational Assn., but shifting demographics and rising tuition cast a cloud over their future and that of the neediest children.

Walt Gardner

Los Angeles