最新杏吧原创

Faced with shuttered feeder schools and declining birth and baptism rates, Catholic high schools across the 最新杏吧原创 area are scrambling to attract new students by running shuttles to outlying areas, airing television and radio ads and offering new merit scholarships. They鈥檝e bolstered staffing in admissions and marketing to reach more public school and non-Catholic students. They鈥檙e hoping those efforts paid off by Friday鈥檚 application deadline for the 2020-2021 school year.

鈥淵ou can get a great education at so many places in 最新杏吧原创,鈥� said Katie O鈥橲ullivan, director of communications at Nerinx Hall. 鈥淒ifferentiating yourself in a competitive market, expanding your reach is something everyone is trying to do.鈥�

Catholic high school enrollment in the Archdiocese of 最新杏吧原创 has declined 22% over the last decade. It鈥檚 not just a local phenomenon 鈥� nearly 1,000 schools have closed nationwide since 2009, according to the National Catholic Educational Association.

There are fewer Catholics altogether, about 510,000 in the region, down from a high of 533,542 in 1990. Birth rates are slowing, and the population center is shifting west toward St. Charles County.

In 1948, seven parishes in 最新杏吧原创 city alone operated high schools. All are long closed. No high schools run by parishes remain in 最新杏吧原创 County. Now, if parents are committed to a Catholic education, they鈥檙e probably looking regionally.

鈥淵ears ago the whole admissions process in Catholic schools was much more passive,鈥� said Alan Carruthers, president of 最新杏吧原创 University High.

Policy leaders at the National Catholic Educational Association say rising tuition is the largest factor in the enrollment drop. Annual tuition tops $15,000 for many Catholic high schools here and $20,000 for at least three 鈥� Priory, Villa Duchesne and Visitation. Most charge more than the $12,000 annual tuition at the University of Missouri.

But administrators say their financial aid budgets have also grown. In the last decade, SLUH has doubled its need-based aid program to $4.2 million, offered to around 40% of students to offset the $17,100 tuition. And for the first time in memory, SLUH will offer merit scholarships next fall of up to $5,000 to boys who perform well on entrance exams.

鈥淲e are the last one in the boys鈥� marketplace to institute (the merit scholarships),鈥� Carruthers said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 the answer to the declining birth rate. It鈥檚 probably us correcting a piece that we haven鈥檛 had while many other schools have had it in place for years.鈥�

The high school south of Forest Park is the largest in the archdiocese, with 966 students. Historically, enrollment has grown as high as 1,100 and at times dipped into the 700s.

In another new program, eighth-graders can now shadow SLUH students for a day, a recruitment strategy common at other high schools. The school also started hosting receptions at students鈥� homes across the region in recent years.

鈥淓ducation is a very intimate and personal thing,鈥� Carruthers said. 鈥淭his is a big investment, a big pressure and sacrifice for many families to do this. When you can connect with people, that can be a game-changer.鈥�

In another effort to expand their reach, SLUH is among a handful of Catholic high schools now offering bus service to St. Charles County. About 10 students make the farthest journey, a 64-mile round trip each day on a shuttle from St. Peters to Cor Jesu in Affton.

The closest feeder school just east on Gravois Road, Seven Holy Founders, was once among the largest elementary schools with 755 students in 1970 but was shuttered in 2012. Now, three of the top five largest Catholic elementary schools are in St. Charles County 鈥� St. Joseph in Cottleville, Immaculate Conception of Dardenne and Assumption in O鈥橣allon. Cor Jesu launched its fee-based shuttle service in 2017, picking up students and dropping them off outside Mid Rivers Mall.

Anastasia Ramig, a senior at Cor Jesu, lives in St. Peters and said driving past many other high schools every day has been worth it. Cor Jesu is the largest 聽Catholic girls鈥� school with 561 students and boasts a top-ranking average ACT score of 29.

鈥淲hen I was looking at high schools my biggest factor was strong academics,鈥� said Anastasia, 16, who scored a perfect 36 on the ACT and plans to study mechanical engineering in college. 鈥淎fter spending a day at Cor Jesu, everybody was so happy to be there and have this opportunity to learn.鈥�

Competition is keen

The regional marketplace has contributed to the competitive atmosphere with schools trying to out-do each other by building new science labs, athletics fields and art studios.

St. Joseph鈥檚 Academy in Frontenac produced a television commercial for the first time this year 鈥渢o reach households and families who may not be familiar with (the school) or all-girls education,鈥� according to a spokesman. The school plans to open a new science and visual art facility in 2020.

At Nerinx Hall in Webster Groves, girls as young as third grade participate in admissions events. Prospective students are wooed with summer camps, Halloween parties and social outings with current high schoolers.

Sarah Hays, who graduated from Cor Jesu in 1996, said the marketing giveaways have improved since she was visiting high schools. Hays鈥� daughter Nora applied to Cor Jesu for fall of 2020.

鈥淭hey get shirts and hats and bags, and I think we mostly got pencils,鈥� Hays said.

It鈥檚 not all dire trends for the Catholic high school system in 最新杏吧原创. The percentage of local Catholic teenagers attending Catholic high schools has held steady at 31% over the past 45 years, compared with 10% nationwide. And for the first time on record, there have been more students in ninth grade than eighth grade in Catholic schools over the last five years.

That鈥檚 partly attributed to a rise in non-Catholic attendance in high schools, which has doubled to 22% over the last decade, according to the Archdiocese.

On the flip side, public schools have become stronger competitors, admissions officers said. For city parents, 最新杏吧原创 Public Schools鈥� Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, for example, opened in 2014 and outperformed every 最新杏吧原创 County public high school on state tests last year. For Nora Hays, the well-regarded Lindbergh High is her second choice after Cor Jesu.

Some suburban public schools are growing faster than their Catholic counterparts. In the last year, Rockwood School District鈥檚 four high schools in west 最新杏吧原创 County grew by 133 students, led by 58 additional students at Marquette High. By comparison, the five Catholic high schools with the highest growth added a total of 111 students, with Cardinal Ritter in 最新杏吧原创 gaining the most at 35.

In the 1940s, the 1,000-plus girls at Rosati-Kain High in 最新杏吧原创 attended school in the morning or afternoon shift. Now the school enrolls under 300 students, according to its website.

Notre Dame in south 最新杏吧原创 County is the only Catholic high school that has increased enrollment each of the past five years. But at 255 students, it is still the fourth-smallest in the region.

In the 1990s, Notre Dame鈥檚 enrollment peaked between 425 and 450, said Meghan Bohac, president of the school.

鈥淓very feeder school in the Lemay area is closed that historically would have fed into our school,鈥� she said.

When Bohac arrived in 2015, enrollment hovered around 200. It鈥檚 grown through a renewed emphasis on marketing to sell the school鈥檚 individualized curriculum, scholarships and one-to-one adviser program, among other perks. They were the first girls鈥� school to start an esports program for video gaming competitions. They鈥檙e attracting more families from Illinois and West County than in the past, she said.

The pressure on high schools builds when enrollment dips under 200 students, considered a benchmark for maintaining a comprehensive campus. Both John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in West County, which closed in 2017, and St. Elizabeth Academy in south 最新杏吧原创, which closed in 2013, had fallen below that magic number. Only two high schools in the Archdiocese currently have fewer than 200 students and they鈥檙e in less populated areas 鈥� Valle in Ste. Genevieve and St. Vincent in Perryville.

Overall, the competition to attract families has been positive because it pushes school leaders to improve their academics and modernize their facilities, said Carruthers, the SLUH president.

鈥淧eople are putting the most important things in their lives in your building 鈥� their children,鈥� he said.